Saturday, December 03, 2011
U.S. unemployment drops below 9%
From The Hindu
President Barack Obama's sigh of relief must have blown the petals off flowers in the White House Rose Garden.
After
hovering above the 9 per cent mark for most of 2011, the United States'
unemployment rate finally dropped to 8.6 per cent for November,
representing a silver lining in an otherwise difficult economy.
In
its monthly report, the Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS) noted that
nonfarm payroll employment rose by 120,000 and employment continued to
trend up in retail trade, leisure and hospitality, professional and
business services, and healthcare.
The Obama
administration welcomed the news even as the media has been swamped with
bad news stories on the economic front, including this week's downgrade
of major U.S. banks' credit rating by Standard & Poor's and a
bankruptcy filing by American Airlines. Yet the positive employment
trend in the private sector appeared to be partially offset by
government employment, which continued to trend down, the BLS said.
Alan
Krueger, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, struck a note of
cautious optimism when he said, “Today's employment report provides
further evidence that the economy is continuing to heal from the worst
economic downturn since the Great Depression, but the pace of
improvement is still not fast enough given the large job losses from the
recession that began in December 2007.”
While
November's unemployment rate was the lowest since March 2009, Mr.
Krueger pointed out that about half of the drop in unemployment, or
315,000 individuals, in the household survey was due to a decline in the
labour force and about half, that is 278,000 individuals, was due to
employment growth.
“Despite adverse shocks that have
created headwinds for economic growth, the economy has added private
sector jobs for 21 straight months, for a total of 2.9 million jobs over
that period,” Mr. Krueger said, adding, “Nonetheless, we need faster
growth to put more Americans back to work.”
He also
pointed out that while the U.S. economy was healing, the world economy
continued to be in a “fragile state” and all economies are linked
through trade and finance. In this environment, Mr. Obama's American
Jobs Act is the right medicine to sustain and strengthen the recovery,
Mr. Krueger noted, underscoring the fact that 13.3 million Americans
were still unemployed, and 43 per cent of them unemployed for six months
or longer.
In November, the key sectors with
employment increases included retail trade (+50,000), professional and
business services (+33,000), leisure and hospitality (+22,000),
healthcare and social assistance (+19,000), and manufacturing (+2,000).
Sectors with employment declines included government (-20,000) and
construction (-12,000).
State and local governments
lost 16,000 jobs and have shed 430,000 jobs since February 2010,
possibly reflecting the high pressure emanating from drastic budget cuts
that they have faced over the last few years.
Labels: Bureau of Labour Statistics, U.S. unemployment rate
Monday, December 06, 2010
Uptick in U.S. jobless rate
From The Hindu
The U.S. economy's unemployment rate climbed to 9.8 per cent in November, according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS) monthly report, made available on Friday. It was hovering at 9.6 per cent in each of the prior three months, the BLS cautioned.
In a development that is almost certain to increase pressure on the Obama administration to intensify its job-creation efforts, the BLS also noted that nonfarm payroll employment barely changed, adding a mere 39,000 jobs. This marks the worst month for the U.S. job market, since September.
Worryingly one of the main sectors that added jobs was temporary help services — reflecting a shortfall in permanent job creation. The only other sector to add significantly to the jobs total was healthcare. Employment in retail trade, however, fell and in most major industries it changed little over the month.
Reflecting continuing weakness in job markets across sectors, the BLS data suggested that the number of job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs rose by 390,000 to 9.5 million in November.
The number of people who were looking for permanent jobs but not finding them remained more or less unchanged at 9 million.
Many of the workers in this category were employed part time for economic reasons, that is, because their hours had been cut-back or because they were unable to find a full-time job, the BLS said.
The numbers of those who were not in the labour force but wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months, rose from 2.3 million a year earlier. The November joblessness figures did not include such individuals as they had not searched for work in the four weeks preceding the survey.
In the professional and business services sectors, employment in temporary help services continued to increase in November, with 40,000 jobs added, the BLS report said.
It also noted that employment in mining continued to trend up over the month and support activities for mining added 6,000 jobs in November.
The U.S. economy's unemployment rate climbed to 9.8 per cent in November, according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS) monthly report, made available on Friday. It was hovering at 9.6 per cent in each of the prior three months, the BLS cautioned.
In a development that is almost certain to increase pressure on the Obama administration to intensify its job-creation efforts, the BLS also noted that nonfarm payroll employment barely changed, adding a mere 39,000 jobs. This marks the worst month for the U.S. job market, since September.
Worryingly one of the main sectors that added jobs was temporary help services — reflecting a shortfall in permanent job creation. The only other sector to add significantly to the jobs total was healthcare. Employment in retail trade, however, fell and in most major industries it changed little over the month.
Reflecting continuing weakness in job markets across sectors, the BLS data suggested that the number of job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs rose by 390,000 to 9.5 million in November.
The number of people who were looking for permanent jobs but not finding them remained more or less unchanged at 9 million.
Many of the workers in this category were employed part time for economic reasons, that is, because their hours had been cut-back or because they were unable to find a full-time job, the BLS said.
The numbers of those who were not in the labour force but wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months, rose from 2.3 million a year earlier. The November joblessness figures did not include such individuals as they had not searched for work in the four weeks preceding the survey.
In the professional and business services sectors, employment in temporary help services continued to increase in November, with 40,000 jobs added, the BLS report said.
It also noted that employment in mining continued to trend up over the month and support activities for mining added 6,000 jobs in November.
Labels: Bureau of Labour Statistics, unemployment, United States
Saturday, September 04, 2010
U.S. joblessness edges up
From The Hindu
The unemployment situation in the U.S. economy persisted at a low-level equilibrium in August, with non-farm jobs dropping by 54,000 and the overall unemployment rate climbing by one percentage point to 9.6 per cent, or 14.9 million unemployed persons.
According to the monthly figures released by the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS) private payrolls however showed some positive growth, bringing cheer to markets at the end of the week. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 1 per cent in early trading on Friday and in London the FTSE was up 1.24 per cent.
After a dismal August filled with negative economic news, most of it suggesting that the recovery had slowed significantly, the BLS noted that private sector payroll employment “continued to trend up modestly,” by 67,000 jobs.
However government employment fell, as 1.14 lakh temporary workers hired for the decennial census completed their work, the BLS report said. As a result the number had changed little in August.
Speaking shortly after the release of the BLS figures President Barack Obama said, “There is no quick fix to the worst recession we have experienced since the Great Depression.”
However he reassured Americans that there were “better days ahead,” reiterating that 67,000 private sector jobs were added in August although the month he took office 7.50 lakh jobs were lost. The evidence in the August report suggested that the U.S. economy was still far from escaping the clutches of the recession.
The unemployment situation in the U.S. economy persisted at a low-level equilibrium in August, with non-farm jobs dropping by 54,000 and the overall unemployment rate climbing by one percentage point to 9.6 per cent, or 14.9 million unemployed persons.
According to the monthly figures released by the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS) private payrolls however showed some positive growth, bringing cheer to markets at the end of the week. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 1 per cent in early trading on Friday and in London the FTSE was up 1.24 per cent.
After a dismal August filled with negative economic news, most of it suggesting that the recovery had slowed significantly, the BLS noted that private sector payroll employment “continued to trend up modestly,” by 67,000 jobs.
However government employment fell, as 1.14 lakh temporary workers hired for the decennial census completed their work, the BLS report said. As a result the number had changed little in August.
Speaking shortly after the release of the BLS figures President Barack Obama said, “There is no quick fix to the worst recession we have experienced since the Great Depression.”
However he reassured Americans that there were “better days ahead,” reiterating that 67,000 private sector jobs were added in August although the month he took office 7.50 lakh jobs were lost. The evidence in the August report suggested that the U.S. economy was still far from escaping the clutches of the recession.
Labels: Bureau of Labour Statistics, unemployment
Friday, July 02, 2010
U.S. lost 125,000 jobs in June
From The Hindu
Stoking fears of a “double-dip” recession amidst a fragile global economic recovery, the United States Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS) on Friday reported the total nonfarm payroll employment declined by declined by 125,000 in June.
The decline in payroll employment reflected a decrease of 225,000 jobs among the temporary employees working on the payroll of the U.S. Census 2010, the BLS noted, adding however that private-sector payroll employment edged up by 83,000 for the month and the overall unemployment rate edged down to 9.5 per cent.
Commenting on the results, President Barack Obama said that despite the job losses last month, “All told, our economy has created nearly 600,000 private sector jobs this year. [And that is] a stark turnaround from the first six months of last year, when we lost 3.7 million jobs at the height of the recession.”
In a statement following the BLS announcement Mr. Obama admitted, “We are not headed there fast enough for a lot of Americans. We’re not headed there fast enough for me, either… And we continue to fight headwinds from volatile global markets.”
However he also announced that as part of the efforts to spur on the recovery in the U.S. economy, his administration would invest in 66 new projects across America that would aim to bring “reliable broadband Internet service to communities that currently have little or no access.” These projects would create about 5,000 construction and installation jobs around the country, he noted.
Following the monthly update, Christina Romer, Chair of Mr. Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, said, “Today’s employment report shows continued signs of gradual labour market recovery… However, much stronger job gains are needed to repair the damage caused by the financial crisis and put the millions of unemployed Americans back to work.”
Explaining the employment impact of 2010 census she said, “[The payroll employment] decline had been widely anticipated because some of the temporary employment related to the Census began to wind down last month.” She noted that non-Census employment rose by 100,000, reflecting a rise in private employment of 83,000 and a rise in other types of Federal employment.
Ms. Romer added that it was important to emphasise the magnitude of the damage that remained following the recession. “That is why the President continues to work with the Congress to pass targeted jobs measures such as an extension of emergency unemployment insurance, a program for small business lending that will enable small firms to get the credit they need to expand and create jobs, and more aid for troubled state and local governments to prevent layoffs of teachers, fire-fighters, and police,” she said.
Seeking to touch an optimistic note Mr. Obama said, “Now, Sunday is the Fourth of July. And if that date reminds us of anything, it’s that America has never backed down from a challenge. We’ve faced our share of tough times before. But in such moments, we don’t flinch. We dig deeper, we innovate, we compete and we win.”
Stoking fears of a “double-dip” recession amidst a fragile global economic recovery, the United States Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS) on Friday reported the total nonfarm payroll employment declined by declined by 125,000 in June.
The decline in payroll employment reflected a decrease of 225,000 jobs among the temporary employees working on the payroll of the U.S. Census 2010, the BLS noted, adding however that private-sector payroll employment edged up by 83,000 for the month and the overall unemployment rate edged down to 9.5 per cent.
Commenting on the results, President Barack Obama said that despite the job losses last month, “All told, our economy has created nearly 600,000 private sector jobs this year. [And that is] a stark turnaround from the first six months of last year, when we lost 3.7 million jobs at the height of the recession.”
In a statement following the BLS announcement Mr. Obama admitted, “We are not headed there fast enough for a lot of Americans. We’re not headed there fast enough for me, either… And we continue to fight headwinds from volatile global markets.”
However he also announced that as part of the efforts to spur on the recovery in the U.S. economy, his administration would invest in 66 new projects across America that would aim to bring “reliable broadband Internet service to communities that currently have little or no access.” These projects would create about 5,000 construction and installation jobs around the country, he noted.
Following the monthly update, Christina Romer, Chair of Mr. Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, said, “Today’s employment report shows continued signs of gradual labour market recovery… However, much stronger job gains are needed to repair the damage caused by the financial crisis and put the millions of unemployed Americans back to work.”
Explaining the employment impact of 2010 census she said, “[The payroll employment] decline had been widely anticipated because some of the temporary employment related to the Census began to wind down last month.” She noted that non-Census employment rose by 100,000, reflecting a rise in private employment of 83,000 and a rise in other types of Federal employment.
Ms. Romer added that it was important to emphasise the magnitude of the damage that remained following the recession. “That is why the President continues to work with the Congress to pass targeted jobs measures such as an extension of emergency unemployment insurance, a program for small business lending that will enable small firms to get the credit they need to expand and create jobs, and more aid for troubled state and local governments to prevent layoffs of teachers, fire-fighters, and police,” she said.
Seeking to touch an optimistic note Mr. Obama said, “Now, Sunday is the Fourth of July. And if that date reminds us of anything, it’s that America has never backed down from a challenge. We’ve faced our share of tough times before. But in such moments, we don’t flinch. We dig deeper, we innovate, we compete and we win.”
Labels: Barack Obama, Bureau of Labour Statistics, jobs, U.S., unemployment
Saturday, April 03, 2010
U.S. unemployment rate holds steady
From The Hindu
Unemployment remained at near-peak levels in March, with 15 million people, or 9.7 per cent of the labour force, out of work during the month, figures released by the Bureau of Labour Statistics today showed.
However the BLS report also said that non-farm payroll employment increased by 162,000 -- a large part of the addition to jobs coming from temporary help services (40,000 jobs) and health care (27,000 jobs). Employment in Federal Government also registered an increase, reflecting the hiring of temporary workers for the decennial Census 2010 (48,000 jobs). The report however said “Employment continued to decline in financial activities and in information.”
Observers noted that job-creation was at its best since March 2007, yet cautioned that this figure would have been lower if not for the temporary hires for the Census. They further said that the March numbers reflected a relative jump from February's lower figures, which “had been depressed by temporary job losses related to severe winter storms.”
According to Christina Romer, Chair of the administration’s Council of Economic Advisers, “It is obvious that the American labour market remains severely distressed. More than eight million Americans have lost their jobs since the start of the recession in December 2007. It will take sustained, robust employment growth to bring the unemployment rate down.”
Speaking to The Hindu Gary Burtless, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, said that a range of government stimulus-related policies, including $65 billion in aid to the unemployed, the financial markets rescues of 2008 and 2009, and ongoing fiscal relief to state governments had each played a role in supporting ordinary American households by shoring up their labour income, financial income and proprietor income, and offsetting the “huge loss” in their wealth due to falling housing prices.
Explaining the latest figures, Mr. Burtless also said, “The rise in the number of employed has been only slightly larger than the increase in the number of Americans in the labour market. This helps explain why the unemployment rate remains stubbornly high.” Nonetheless, it is an encouraging sign that people who were out of the labour force three or four months ago now believe it is worthwhile to look for a job, Mr. Burtless added.
According to the BLS report, among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (10.0 per cent), adult women (8.0 per cent), teenagers (26.1 per cent), whites (8.8 per cent), African-Americans (16.5 per cent), and Hispanics (12.6 per cent) showed little or no change in March. The jobless rate for Asians was 7.5 per cent, it added.
The Obama administration may worry, however, that the number of long-term unemployed – those jobless for 27 weeks or more – increased by 414,000 to 6.5 million. It may also be increasingly concerned about the structure of employment -- involuntary part-time workers, or those working part time but not by their own choosing increased to 9.1 million in March. Typically such workers work part-time for economic reasons, such as their hours being cut back or their inability to find a full-time job.
Further the February scenario of a large number of “marginally attached” individuals was seen again in March – around 2.3 million persons were not in the labour force, wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. Yet the BLS did not count such individuals as unemployed “because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks pre-ceding the survey.”
In the private sector, manufacturing employment showed an increasing trend, while construction, transportation and warehousing, leisure and hospitality, retail and wholesale trade held steady. Financial activities jobs continued their downward trend, shedding 21,000 jobs in March. Employment in the information industry decreased by 12,000, the report added.
Unemployment remained at near-peak levels in March, with 15 million people, or 9.7 per cent of the labour force, out of work during the month, figures released by the Bureau of Labour Statistics today showed.
However the BLS report also said that non-farm payroll employment increased by 162,000 -- a large part of the addition to jobs coming from temporary help services (40,000 jobs) and health care (27,000 jobs). Employment in Federal Government also registered an increase, reflecting the hiring of temporary workers for the decennial Census 2010 (48,000 jobs). The report however said “Employment continued to decline in financial activities and in information.”
Observers noted that job-creation was at its best since March 2007, yet cautioned that this figure would have been lower if not for the temporary hires for the Census. They further said that the March numbers reflected a relative jump from February's lower figures, which “had been depressed by temporary job losses related to severe winter storms.”
According to Christina Romer, Chair of the administration’s Council of Economic Advisers, “It is obvious that the American labour market remains severely distressed. More than eight million Americans have lost their jobs since the start of the recession in December 2007. It will take sustained, robust employment growth to bring the unemployment rate down.”
Speaking to The Hindu Gary Burtless, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, said that a range of government stimulus-related policies, including $65 billion in aid to the unemployed, the financial markets rescues of 2008 and 2009, and ongoing fiscal relief to state governments had each played a role in supporting ordinary American households by shoring up their labour income, financial income and proprietor income, and offsetting the “huge loss” in their wealth due to falling housing prices.
Explaining the latest figures, Mr. Burtless also said, “The rise in the number of employed has been only slightly larger than the increase in the number of Americans in the labour market. This helps explain why the unemployment rate remains stubbornly high.” Nonetheless, it is an encouraging sign that people who were out of the labour force three or four months ago now believe it is worthwhile to look for a job, Mr. Burtless added.
According to the BLS report, among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (10.0 per cent), adult women (8.0 per cent), teenagers (26.1 per cent), whites (8.8 per cent), African-Americans (16.5 per cent), and Hispanics (12.6 per cent) showed little or no change in March. The jobless rate for Asians was 7.5 per cent, it added.
The Obama administration may worry, however, that the number of long-term unemployed – those jobless for 27 weeks or more – increased by 414,000 to 6.5 million. It may also be increasingly concerned about the structure of employment -- involuntary part-time workers, or those working part time but not by their own choosing increased to 9.1 million in March. Typically such workers work part-time for economic reasons, such as their hours being cut back or their inability to find a full-time job.
Further the February scenario of a large number of “marginally attached” individuals was seen again in March – around 2.3 million persons were not in the labour force, wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. Yet the BLS did not count such individuals as unemployed “because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks pre-ceding the survey.”
In the private sector, manufacturing employment showed an increasing trend, while construction, transportation and warehousing, leisure and hospitality, retail and wholesale trade held steady. Financial activities jobs continued their downward trend, shedding 21,000 jobs in March. Employment in the information industry decreased by 12,000, the report added.
Labels: Bureau of Labour Statistics, U.S., unemployment
Saturday, March 06, 2010
U.S. unemployment rate stabilises
From The Hindu
For only the second month since April 2008 the unemployment rate in February did not rise, remaining at its January level of 9.7 percent, figures released by the Bureau of Labour Statistics on Friday showed.
The stabilisation in unemployment however came on the back of 36,000 jobs that were lost in February. However, the BLS report added, “Severe winter weather in parts of the country may have affected payroll employment and hours”.
According to Gary Burtless, labour market specialist at Brookings, although job prospects for the long-term unemployed remain grim, the last two months’ BLS reports suggest there may be “faint light at the end of the tunnel”. Markets reacted positively to the news and rose by around 1.2 percent.
President Obama described the moderation in the unemployment rate last month as “better than expected” and argued that it demonstrated that the measures that his administration had taken to turn the economy around were having some impact. However he said “it's more than we should tolerate”.
According to the BLS report the number of long-term unemployed – those jobless for 27 weeks and over – was 6.1 million in February and has been about that level since December. About 40 percent has been unemployed for 27 weeks or more.
In reality the actual numbers of those affected by job insecurity, even if not by unemployment, is likely to be much higher. The number of involuntary part-time workers – working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job – rose from 8.3 million to 8.8 million last month, the BLS report revealed.
A further 2.5 million people were classified as marginally attached to the labour force in February, representing increase of 476,000 from a year earlier. Marginally attached people, not counted as unemployed, refers to those who were not in the labour force, wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months.
Sector-wise, while employment fell in construction and IT, it remained more or less constant in manufacturing and retail trade and rose in temporary help services, healthcare and federal government.
Reiterating the commitment to his top priority for 2010 Mr. Obama said, “I'm not going to rest, and my administration is not going to rest… until our economy is working again for the middle class, and for all Americans”.
For only the second month since April 2008 the unemployment rate in February did not rise, remaining at its January level of 9.7 percent, figures released by the Bureau of Labour Statistics on Friday showed.
The stabilisation in unemployment however came on the back of 36,000 jobs that were lost in February. However, the BLS report added, “Severe winter weather in parts of the country may have affected payroll employment and hours”.
According to Gary Burtless, labour market specialist at Brookings, although job prospects for the long-term unemployed remain grim, the last two months’ BLS reports suggest there may be “faint light at the end of the tunnel”. Markets reacted positively to the news and rose by around 1.2 percent.
President Obama described the moderation in the unemployment rate last month as “better than expected” and argued that it demonstrated that the measures that his administration had taken to turn the economy around were having some impact. However he said “it's more than we should tolerate”.
According to the BLS report the number of long-term unemployed – those jobless for 27 weeks and over – was 6.1 million in February and has been about that level since December. About 40 percent has been unemployed for 27 weeks or more.
In reality the actual numbers of those affected by job insecurity, even if not by unemployment, is likely to be much higher. The number of involuntary part-time workers – working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job – rose from 8.3 million to 8.8 million last month, the BLS report revealed.
A further 2.5 million people were classified as marginally attached to the labour force in February, representing increase of 476,000 from a year earlier. Marginally attached people, not counted as unemployed, refers to those who were not in the labour force, wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months.
Sector-wise, while employment fell in construction and IT, it remained more or less constant in manufacturing and retail trade and rose in temporary help services, healthcare and federal government.
Reiterating the commitment to his top priority for 2010 Mr. Obama said, “I'm not going to rest, and my administration is not going to rest… until our economy is working again for the middle class, and for all Americans”.
Labels: Bureau of Labour Statistics, jobs, recession, U.S. economy
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