Wednesday, January 11, 2012
U.S. unemployment rate drops to 8.5%
From The Hindu
The United States Bureau of Labour Statistics has announced that
in December non-farm payroll employment rose by 200,000 and the unemployment
rate dropped to 8.5 per cent in a sustained if slow downward trend. The news is
likely to bring cheer to Democrats and the White House in an election year
focused on the economy.
Noting that the end of 2011 saw the economy gain jobs in
transportation and warehousing, retail trade, manufacturing, health care, and
mining, the BLS said in its monthly report on Friday that unemployment rate
declined by 0.6 percentage points since August.
However, it cautioned that the labour market conditions for the
long-term unemployed, those jobless for 27 weeks or more, did not change
significantly remaining at 5.6 million, or 42.5 per cent of the total number of
those unemployed.
Unlike previous months in 2011 though, there was little change in
the civilian labour-force participation rate at 64 per cent and the
employment-population ratio at 58.5 per cent, suggesting that the drop in the
unemployment rate was due to new hires and was a sign of improving labour market
health.
Despite this positive trend the BLS statistics indicated that a
bulk of individuals considered “marginally attached to the labour force” in
December was scarcely different from a year earlier at nearly 2.5 million.
These individuals, who the BLS does not count as participating in
the current labour force, were those who wanted and were available for work, and
had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months but had not searched for
work in the four weeks preceding the survey for reasons such as school
attendance or family responsibilities.
Within this group marginally attached individuals is a subsection
of those labelled “discouraged workers” and they numbered 945,000 in December.
These were persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs
are available for them.
Sectors that made a major contribution to December’s job gains
included transportation and warehousing, where employment rose “sharply”, adding
50,000 new positions, the BLS said.
Retail trade was said to have continued to add jobs, with a gain
of 28,000 and manufacturing employment expanded by 23,000. The health care
sector similarly expanded in December with an upward tick of 23,000 jobs and
leisure and hospitality, employment in food services and drinking places added
24,000.
However suggesting continuing downward pressure from deep budget
cuts in federal and state governments, which have affected public sector
employment, the BLS noted that government employment changed little in December
but was down by 280,000 over the year. Job losses in 2011 occurred in local
government; state government, excluding education; and the U.S. Postal Service,
the report said.
Observers generally agree that the trends in these statistics
between now and November, the month of the next presidential election, will be
one of the top factors influencing voter behaviour in that election.
President Obama has continued to keep the economy in his sights in
his campaigns this year, winning a major victory last month when House Speaker
and Republican John Boehner agreed to the White House plan for extending the
payroll tax cut for middle class Americans.
Labels: 2012 presidential elections, Obama White House, U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics
Saturday, November 05, 2011
U.S. unemployment ticks down to 9%
From The Hindu
After an unrelenting three month-stretch of 9.1 per cent unemployment, the United States economy finally returned to the psychologically-important 9 per cent mark in October, a month that saw the labour markets add another 80,000 jobs.
In its monthly jobs report, the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS) noted that employment in the private sector rose, with modest job growth continuing in professional and businesses services, leisure and hospitality, health care, and mining. Government employment, still reeling under pressure from budget cuts at the state and federal levels, continued to trend down.
Yet the BLS also said that the previous two months' record was better than initial estimates had suggested, and it revised upwards the jobs figures for August and September. The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for August was revised from 57,000 to 104,000, and the change for September was revised from 103,000 to 158,000.
The marginal drop in unemployment figures came even as President Barack Obama issued a statement criticising the Republican opposition for blocking the White House's Infrastructure Bill, aimed at boosting job creation in this sector.
In a statement on Thursday the President said, “For the third time in recent weeks, every single Republican in the United Sates Senate has chosen to obstruct a jobs bill that independent economists said would boost our economy and put Americans back to work. At a time when more than a million construction workers are looking for a job, they voted ‘no' to putting them back to work doing the work America needs done — rebuilding our roads, bridges, airports and transit systems. That makes no sense.”
The remarks also underscored the dire state of government finances and the continuing adverse impact that it has had on government jobs. According to the BLS, the government shed 24,000 in October, with most of the decline in the non-educational component of state government. It added that employment in both state government and local government had been trending down since the second half of 2008.
In the private sector, however, employment in professional and business services rose by 32,000 jobs in October, in leisure and hospitality jobs edged up by 22,000, in health care employment expanded by 12,000 jobs and in mining it increased by 6,000. Average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls increased by 5 cents, or 0.2 per cent, the BLS noted, to $23.19.
Labels: Obama administration, U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics, U.S. unemployment figures, United States economy
Friday, June 03, 2011
U.S. unemployment hits plateau at 9.1 per cent
From The Hindu
The United States labour markets continued to be buffeted by the economic downturn, with a mere 54,000 payroll employment jobs added in May, which left the overall unemployment rate essentially unchanged at 9.1 per cent.
The grim news came when U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics released its monthly jobs report, in which it said although private-sector employment continued to trend up with a net addition of 83,000 jobs, even that figure was a much smaller amount than the average for the prior three months, which was 244,000.
Reacting to the negative news, even as President Barack Obama continued to keep job creation at the top of his 2011 policy agenda, the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, Austan Goolsbee, said, “There are always bumps on the road to recovery, but the overall trajectory of the economy has improved dramatically over the past two years.”
While he sought to focus attention on private-sector job growth arguing that this sector added more than 2.1 million jobs over the past 15 months, Mr. Goolsbee conceded that the unemployment rate was “unacceptably high and faster growth is needed to replace the jobs lost in the downturn.”
The slowdown in the jobs growth rate comes at a particularly challenging time for the Obama White House, as the recent clashes with the U.S. Congress over raising nation’s the debt limit are likely to put the brakes on any further initiatives to boost employment. In this context Mr. Goolsbee noted, “We will continue to work with Congress to responsibly reduce the deficit and live within our means.”
Thus while numerous measures such as the payroll tax cuts and business incentives for investment have already been implemented and may well have contributed to employment growth thus far, even Mr. Goolsbee admitted that the latest BLS report “is a reminder of the challenges that remain.”
Most worrying for the current administration must be what the BLS report indicates about stalled recovery in the manufacturing, real estate and construction sectors. The report said that employment in some manufacturing areas actually dipped in May, with 5,000 jobs being lost.
Construction employment was essentially unchanged in May, the report said, noting that employment in the industry has “shown little movement on net since early 2010, after having fallen sharply during the 2007-09 period.”
Further the report suggested that states and local governments were continuing to reel under deficit pressures. Employment in local government declined during May, by 28,000 jobs. In fact since an employment peak in September 2008 local governments in the U.S. have lost 446,000 jobs, the report cautioned.
Yet Mr. Goolsbee struck a note of hope on the employment-boosting policies of the administration. He said, “We are focused on promoting exports, reducing regulatory burdens and making the investments in education, research and development, and infrastructure that will grow our economy and create jobs.”
The United States labour markets continued to be buffeted by the economic downturn, with a mere 54,000 payroll employment jobs added in May, which left the overall unemployment rate essentially unchanged at 9.1 per cent.
The grim news came when U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics released its monthly jobs report, in which it said although private-sector employment continued to trend up with a net addition of 83,000 jobs, even that figure was a much smaller amount than the average for the prior three months, which was 244,000.
Reacting to the negative news, even as President Barack Obama continued to keep job creation at the top of his 2011 policy agenda, the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, Austan Goolsbee, said, “There are always bumps on the road to recovery, but the overall trajectory of the economy has improved dramatically over the past two years.”
While he sought to focus attention on private-sector job growth arguing that this sector added more than 2.1 million jobs over the past 15 months, Mr. Goolsbee conceded that the unemployment rate was “unacceptably high and faster growth is needed to replace the jobs lost in the downturn.”
The slowdown in the jobs growth rate comes at a particularly challenging time for the Obama White House, as the recent clashes with the U.S. Congress over raising nation’s the debt limit are likely to put the brakes on any further initiatives to boost employment. In this context Mr. Goolsbee noted, “We will continue to work with Congress to responsibly reduce the deficit and live within our means.”
Thus while numerous measures such as the payroll tax cuts and business incentives for investment have already been implemented and may well have contributed to employment growth thus far, even Mr. Goolsbee admitted that the latest BLS report “is a reminder of the challenges that remain.”
Most worrying for the current administration must be what the BLS report indicates about stalled recovery in the manufacturing, real estate and construction sectors. The report said that employment in some manufacturing areas actually dipped in May, with 5,000 jobs being lost.
Construction employment was essentially unchanged in May, the report said, noting that employment in the industry has “shown little movement on net since early 2010, after having fallen sharply during the 2007-09 period.”
Further the report suggested that states and local governments were continuing to reel under deficit pressures. Employment in local government declined during May, by 28,000 jobs. In fact since an employment peak in September 2008 local governments in the U.S. have lost 446,000 jobs, the report cautioned.
Yet Mr. Goolsbee struck a note of hope on the employment-boosting policies of the administration. He said, “We are focused on promoting exports, reducing regulatory burdens and making the investments in education, research and development, and infrastructure that will grow our economy and create jobs.”
Labels: Obama administration, U.S., U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics, U.S. economy, unemployment
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