U.S. jobless rate steady in June at 5.5%
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Posted Jul 3, 2008
Economy
U.S. jobless rate steady in June at 5.5%
By Susan A. Baird
PBN Web Editor
WASHINGTON – The jobless rate nationwide was steady last month at 5.5 percent and the nation’s unemployment rolls were “essentially unchanged” at 8.5 million job seekers, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said in a report today.
That represented a substantial increase from a year ago, when the U.S. unemployment rate was 4.6 percent and the number of people listed as unemployed was 7.0 million. But the BLS cited a rise in unemployment among prospective workers ages 16 to 24.
“Labor market weakness persisted in June,” BLS Commissioner Keith Hall said in a statement to Congress this morning.
U.S. non-farm payrolls continued to shrink in June, losing 62,000 workers nationwide, the same as in May (READ MORE), for an average loss of 73,000 positions per month over the first half or the year, Hall said. But the nation has added about 7.8 million jobs since August 2003, the BLS noted. And employment increased in 35 states and the District of Columbia in the 12 months ended in May, the latest month for which such figures are available.
“In June, job losses continued in construction, manufacturing and employment services, while health care and mining added jobs,” Hall said.
“Construction job losses totaled 43,000 in June and were spread throughout the industry. Employment in the industry has fallen by 528,000 since its September 2006 peak,” he added. “More than two thirds of the decline (-373,000 jobs) occurred since October 2007.”
Manufacturing, which lost 33,000 jobs last month, has seen average losses of 39,000 jobs per month in the first half of this year, after losing 22,000 jobs per month in 2007, Hall said.
“Employment services lost 59,000 jobs in June, with half of the decline in temporary help services,” he added. “Temporary help lost 154,000 jobs in the first half of 2008, about twice the number lost in all of 2007.
“Health care employment continued to grow (15,000), although the June gain was half the size of the average increase over the prior 12 months. Health care added 170,000 jobs in the first half of 2008. Employment in food services continued to trend up over the month, although job growth has slowed markedly since last October.”
Meanwhile, the number of people newly unemployed shrank by 532,000 last month, after surging in May. And the number of people working part-time for economic reason was “about unchanged” at 5.4 million, or 1.1 million more than a year ago, Hall said.
The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory workers on private non-farm payrolls was unchanged from May at a seasonally adjusted 33.7 hours, the BLS reported. The manufacturing workweek shrank 0.1 hours to 40.9 hours, while factory overtime held steady at 3.9 hours.
Average hourly earnings rose 6 cents, or 0.3 percent, compared with May – to a seasonally adjusted $18.01– after falling 6 cents in May and 2 cents in April. Compared with a year ago, hourly earnings rose 3.4 percent.
Average weekly earnings rose 0.3 percent last month – to $606.94 – bringing the increase over the past 12 months to 2.8 percent.
“Today’s employment data reflect the impact of the headwinds we face from high energy prices, the housing correction and the credit disruption,” Assistant U.S. Treasury Secretary Phillip Swagel said in a statement after the BLS announcement. “The rebate checks and investment incentives in the stimulus package are helping to support spending while adjustments continue in housing and financial markets.”
Additional information, including the 29-page Employment Situation Summary and the BLS Commissioner’s Statement on the Employment Situation release, is available from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics at www.bls.gov.
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Posted Jul 3, 2008
Economy
U.S. jobless rate steady in June at 5.5%
By Susan A. Baird
PBN Web Editor
WASHINGTON – The jobless rate nationwide was steady last month at 5.5 percent and the nation’s unemployment rolls were “essentially unchanged” at 8.5 million job seekers, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said in a report today.
That represented a substantial increase from a year ago, when the U.S. unemployment rate was 4.6 percent and the number of people listed as unemployed was 7.0 million. But the BLS cited a rise in unemployment among prospective workers ages 16 to 24.
“Labor market weakness persisted in June,” BLS Commissioner Keith Hall said in a statement to Congress this morning.
U.S. non-farm payrolls continued to shrink in June, losing 62,000 workers nationwide, the same as in May (READ MORE), for an average loss of 73,000 positions per month over the first half or the year, Hall said. But the nation has added about 7.8 million jobs since August 2003, the BLS noted. And employment increased in 35 states and the District of Columbia in the 12 months ended in May, the latest month for which such figures are available.
“In June, job losses continued in construction, manufacturing and employment services, while health care and mining added jobs,” Hall said.
“Construction job losses totaled 43,000 in June and were spread throughout the industry. Employment in the industry has fallen by 528,000 since its September 2006 peak,” he added. “More than two thirds of the decline (-373,000 jobs) occurred since October 2007.”
Manufacturing, which lost 33,000 jobs last month, has seen average losses of 39,000 jobs per month in the first half of this year, after losing 22,000 jobs per month in 2007, Hall said.
“Employment services lost 59,000 jobs in June, with half of the decline in temporary help services,” he added. “Temporary help lost 154,000 jobs in the first half of 2008, about twice the number lost in all of 2007.
“Health care employment continued to grow (15,000), although the June gain was half the size of the average increase over the prior 12 months. Health care added 170,000 jobs in the first half of 2008. Employment in food services continued to trend up over the month, although job growth has slowed markedly since last October.”
Meanwhile, the number of people newly unemployed shrank by 532,000 last month, after surging in May. And the number of people working part-time for economic reason was “about unchanged” at 5.4 million, or 1.1 million more than a year ago, Hall said.
The average workweek for production and nonsupervisory workers on private non-farm payrolls was unchanged from May at a seasonally adjusted 33.7 hours, the BLS reported. The manufacturing workweek shrank 0.1 hours to 40.9 hours, while factory overtime held steady at 3.9 hours.
Average hourly earnings rose 6 cents, or 0.3 percent, compared with May – to a seasonally adjusted $18.01– after falling 6 cents in May and 2 cents in April. Compared with a year ago, hourly earnings rose 3.4 percent.
Average weekly earnings rose 0.3 percent last month – to $606.94 – bringing the increase over the past 12 months to 2.8 percent.
“Today’s employment data reflect the impact of the headwinds we face from high energy prices, the housing correction and the credit disruption,” Assistant U.S. Treasury Secretary Phillip Swagel said in a statement after the BLS announcement. “The rebate checks and investment incentives in the stimulus package are helping to support spending while adjustments continue in housing and financial markets.”
Additional information, including the 29-page Employment Situation Summary and the BLS Commissioner’s Statement on the Employment Situation release, is available from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics at www.bls.gov.
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