Jobless claims spike to 26-year high

Number of Americans applying for first-time unemployment benefits rises to 667,000. Continuing claims top 5 million for the first time.

By Lara Moscrip, CNNMoney.com contributing writer

Last Updated: February 26, 2009: 9:12 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The number of Americans filing initial claims for unemployment insurance spiked, and those living on unemployment benefits hit a record high, according to a government report released Thursday.

For the week ended Feb. 21, 667,000 Americans filed initial jobless claims, up 36,000 from a revised 631,000 the previous week. That's the highest figure since October 1982.

Economists polled by Briefing.com were expecting claims to drop to 625,000.

In a sign that more jobless Americans are having trouble finding work, 5,112,000 continued on unemployment for the week ended Feb. 14, the most recent data available. That's the highest number since the Labor Department began keeping records since 1967.

Initial claims are expected to sharply increase, and it's likely they will reach 750,000 per week in the upcoming months, according to Ian Shepherdson, economist at High Frequency Economics in New York.

He noted that weekly filings, adjusted for population growth, would have to exceed the 1 million mark in order to break the jobless claims reported from the mid-1970s and early 1980s.

"We fervently hope that does not happen but we are not confident. Companies are throwing in the towel as they recognize that no sector is safe," Shepherdson wrote in a note.

The 4-week moving average of initial claims was 639,000, an increase of 19,000 from the preceding week. The average is used to smooth fluctuations in data.

The 4-week moving average for people continuing on unemployment was 4,932,250, an increase of 89,250 from 4,843,000 in the previous week.

The insured unemployment rate is 3.8%, nearly double the 2.1% rate from a year ago.

Stimulus: The stimulus bill that President Obama signed into law has several provisions that help those living on unemployment benefits.

The weekly unemployment benefit will temporarily increase by $25 on top of the roughly $300 jobless workers currently receive.

In addition, the first $2,400 of benefits in 2009 would be exempt from federal income taxes.

The stimulus also provides jobless workers with an additional 20 weeks in unemployment benefits, and 13 weeks on top of that if they live in what's deemed a high unemployment state.

Washington jobless rate jumps to 7.8%

Washington’s unemployment rate jumped to 7.8 percent in January from 7.1 percent in December, the state’s Employment Security Department reported Tuesday, in another sign of the deepening recession.

In January, an estimated 303,570 people were jobless and looking for work in Washington – the largest number ever in the state.

“These are rough times for the unemployed, but it’s also an opportunity to get some training for a new career,” said Employment Security Commissioner Karen Lee.

The biggest declines were seen in manufacturing, information services, construction, motor vehicles and parts dealers, and truck transportation.

Washington's January unemployment rate of 7.8 percent was higher than the national unemployment rate of 7.6 percent. Washington's jobless rate was up significantly from a year ago, when it was 4.5 percent.

In the Seattle/Bellevue/Everett area, the unemployment rate was 6.8 percent, up from 6.2 percent in December. In January 2008, the Seattle area's jobless rate was 3.7 percent.

Pierce County had 9.1 percent unemployment rate in January, Snohomish County was 8.5 percent, and King County was 6.7 percent. Spokane County had 9.6 percent unemployment rate.

The state lost an estimated 7,000 seasonally adjusted nonfarm jobs in January.

The Employment Security Department characterized the January unemployment numbers as a preliminary estimate. The department normally receives unemployment data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, but the January data was delayed due to a computer project. Employment Security said it generated its own January data using a “computer model that historically has closely matched the official number.”

Canada loses record 129,000 jobs

Unemployment rate hits 7.2 per cent

BY PAUL VIEIRA, FINANCIAL POST

Read article under copywright by following link

UK jobless total at 1.97 million

UK unemployment rose to 1.97 million between October and December, the highest level since 1997, figures show.

The jobless number climbed 146,000 for the three-month period, data from the Office for National Statistics showed.

For January, the number of those getting jobseeker's allowance added 73,800 to reach 1.23 million.

The unemployment rate hit 6.3%, the highest since 1998, and comes as The Bank of England recently warned of a "deep recession" for 2009.

See how unemployment has risen

Many analysts had forecast that unemployment could reach two million for the three-month period - which would have been the highest since 1997.

But there are fears the situation will worsen further in the months ahead as the economy cools.

Tony Dolphin, senior economist at the Institute for Public Policy Research said: "Unfortunately it seems inevitable that unemployment will exceed 3 million during 2009".

As the recession bites, this strengthens still further the case for making a sharp reduction in the number of non-EU workers permitted to come to Britain Sir Andrew Green, Migration Watch Increase in foreign-born workers

Peter Mooney, head of consultancy with Employment Law Advisory Services, said: "From early in December, the number of firms seeking our help in making redundancies simply exploded."

He added: "Things will certainly get worse before they get better. We would expect to see another significant increase in the number of people out of work in the figures published next month, as many more firms were forced to cut staff early in the New Year."

Young people between the age of 18 and 24 have been particularly hard hit, with the unemployment rate for the three-month period standing at 11.8%.

The number of those receiving jobseeker's allowance has now climbed for 12 consecutive months. At 1.23 million, it stands at the highest level since the summer of 1999.

Apprenticeships

Following the release of the data, David Kern, chief economist at the British Chambers of Commerce, commented: "Unemployment continues to rise in the face of a worsening recession.

"We know businesses do not want to lose key staff, but they are struggling with cash-flow."

Mr Kern added that cutting business rates, freezing the national minimum wage and scrapping plans to increase National Insurance would help firms retain employees.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown is meeting business leaders later to discuss how to help.

We know businesses do not want to lose key staff, but they are struggling with cash-flow David Kern, chief economist, British Chambers of Commerce Special report: Britain's jobless

Executives from Sainsbury's, the Royal Mail, Whitbread, Centrica, National Express and Travelodge are expected to attend Downing Street for the first meeting of the National Employment Partnership.

The companies, as well as NHS and local authority leaders, will agree to advertise all non-specialist vacancies through the Jobcentre Plus network and to start offering more apprenticeships.

FROM THE TODAY PROGRAMME More from Today programme

A local employment partnership scheme has been launched to get people back into work.

Councillor Margaret Eaton, chairman of the Local Government Association, said: "The LGA has committed to working with local authorities to increase the number of council apprenticeships by 7,500 to ensure that people are given practical skills that will stand them in good stead for years to come."

Redundancies mounting

BBC business correspondent Nils Blythe says figures on the wider measure of unemployment - which also includes people not claiming benefits - only cover the three months up to December, so do not include the most recent job losses.

However, our correspondent says the total is expected to rise above two million once the latest redundancy programmes are captured in official statistics.

The sector with the largest fall in jobs was finance and business services, which shed 72,000 positions.

As employers seek to cut costs, the number of jobs available falls.

Vacancies for the three-month period fell to 504,000, down 76,000 from the period to October. In the same period a year earlier, vacancies had been 684,000.

A TUC study said that while unemployment in the UK was lower than the European average, it was now increasing twice as fast as the average across Europe.

The UK's unemployment rate remains below the European average, which is 7.7%.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: "The UK began the global recession with a relatively strong jobs position, but our advantage is beginning to disappear as redundancies mount."

In the Bank of England's latest forecast for economic growth and inflation, it said the UK economy would contract sharply in the first half of the year.

Unemployment rate highest in 16 years; 598,000 layoffs announced in January

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' latest damage report with regard to the jobs scenario, the worrying pace at which massive layoffs were announced by industries has resulted in the highestunemployment rate in the last 16 years.

The leap in jobless rate to 7.6 percent was an upshot of the nearly 598,000 layoffs in January. Figures show that out of the 3.6 million jobs cut since December 2007, when the downturn began, almost half of the job-cuts came during the last three-month span.

As per the January unemployment figures of the recession-hit economy, the manufacturing sector cut 207,000 jobs - the largest layoffs in one single month since October
1982 - while construction cut 111,000 jobs. On the whole, the unemployed figures for January stood at 11.6 million.

Emphasizing the need for swift passage the economic stimulus bill, Sen. Edward Kennedy said that the job-loss figures bear out the fact that the economy remains in "free-fall," and added: "We need strong measures to put people back to work."

In the opinion of most economists, the economy is expected to go from bad to worse before a turnaround for the better; and the unemployment rate may even rise to 9 percent before improving.

Bank of Americs chief economist, Mickey Levy, said that, without doubt, the recession has intensified, and the economy at present is passing through its "worst part."

Jobless rate soars to 7.2% — analysts comment

Posted: February 06, 2009, 12:16 PM by Jamie Sturgeon

Ottawa, Bank of Canada, Manufacturing, Economy, stimulus, Employment, Jobs

The Canadian unemployment rate climbed a much worse-than-expected 0.6% in January as a deteriorating economy shed another 129,000 last month, almost all in full-time positions, Statistics Canada reported Friday. The figure represents the worst single-month decline since the federal agency began tracking employment data in 1976. The jobless rate now sits at 7.2%. Here are some analysts' comments:

BENJAMIN REITZES, economist, BMO Capital Markets

"The figures are far worse than consensus and paint a bleak picture for the first quarter. The details were soft as well, with full-time positions tumbling 113,900. The unemployment rate surged 0.6 ppts to 7.2% — the highest since November 2004. Average hourly wage growth surprisingly accelerated to a 4-year high ... but don’t expect that to last with the big job losses. This bleak report will likely prompt a March rate cut by the Bank of Canada."

DAWN DESJARDINS, assistant chief economist, RBC Capital Markets

"Today's data just adds to the stream of increasingly grim reports on the state of Canada's economy. The Bank of Canada and federal government have made efforts to limit the extent of the downturn by implementing stimulative policies and although these actions will not prevent the economy from contracting in the near term, we expect they will contribute to a rebound by the second half of 2009."

DEREK HOLT, economist, Scotia Capital

"The optimists are taking body blows left, right and centre on what is a rapidly deteriorating picture for the Canadian economy. Manufacturing accounted for over 78% of the jobs losses in January as the sector shed 100,900 workers, the largest monthly decline in the industry on record. The bulk of the losses were in Ontario, Quebec and B.C. although factory employment was also down in Alberta and Manitoba."

CHARMAINE BUSKAS, senior strategist, TD Securities

"Finance Minister [Jim] Flaherty was right when he said that today’s employment numbers would be ‘regrettable'. Indeed, they were. The Canadian labour market report for January was absolutely disastrous, pushing the unemployment rate to 7.2% from 6.6% in December. What makes the report even worse is the fact that most of these jobs were private sector, full-time jobs. The case continues to build for another 50 [basis-point] rate cut in March to leave the overnight rate at 0.5%, as it is clear that the economy has downshifted dramatically."

AVERY SHENFELD, senior economist, CIBC World Markets

"Factories still count. Manufacturing no longer carries the heft it had in bygone days in terms of its share of employment, but its ups and downs still have much to do with the business cycle. You don’t trigger a recession by people getting their hair cut less often. Shut down much of the auto sector, as Canada did in the last couple of months, and kick other manufacturing sectors to a lesser degree, and the resulting layoffs explained most of the overall jobs decline. The only good news here is that at least some of these jobs will return later this year when, however slowly, excess inventories of North American vehicles and other manufactured goods are winnowed down."

YANICK DESNOYERS, assistant chief economist, National Bank Financial

"Jobs anxiety will certainly increase in the coming months as more job cuts are expected. That said, with the infrastructure plan taking effect probably in the second half of the year and a very accommodative monetary policy coming from the Bank of Canada, we still believe that the current recession will be shorter than the two previous one and are forecasting a more subdued rise in unemployment rate, with a target between 8% and 9%. This contrasts with the double digits unemployment rate of the last two recessions."

Jamie Sturgeon

New Zealand Jobless Rate Rises to Five-Year-High 4.6%

Feb. 5 (Bloomberg) -- New Zealand’sjobless rate rose to a five-year high in the fourth quarter as a prolonged recession prompted companies to cut production and fire workers.

The unemployment rate increased to 4.6 percent from 4.2 percent in the previous three months, Statistics New Zealand said in Wellington today, citing seasonally adjusted figures. The forecast matched the median estimate of 10 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Rising unemployment will curb consumer spending and adds to signs New Zealand’s economy is unlikely to emerge from a recession until the second half of 2009. Reserve Bank Governor Alan Bollard has slashed interest rates and the government is lowering provisional tax payments to revive business confidence after it fell to a record low last year.

“Employers aren’t looking to take people on, which suggests the unemployment rate will go higher,” said Darren Gibbs, chief New Zealand economist at Deutsche Bank AG in Auckland. “The economy is slowing. The hours worked data suggest that if people were employed they weren’t doing as much.”

New Zealand’s dollar rose to 51.02 U.S. cents at 11:45 a.m. in Wellington from 50.68 cents immediately before the report, which also showed that employment unexpectedly increased in the quarter. The yield on a three-month bank-bill futures contract maturing in March rose 9 basis points to 3.2 percent. A basis point is 0.01 percentage points.

March Review

Traders reduced bets that Bollard may cut the interest rate by as much as 100 basis points at his next review in March, Gibbs said.

Employment rose 0.9 percent, or about 21,000 jobs, in the fourth quarter, the statistics agency said. Economists expected employers would shed 15,000 jobs. Employment also gained 0.9 percent from a year earlier.

Total actual hours worked declined 1.9 percent from the third quarter, adding to signs that output from the economy slowed, the agency said.

Telecom Corp., the largest telephone company, this week said it will shift 250 call-center jobs to Manila over the next 18 months to reduce costs. Air New Zealand Ltd., the largest airlines, is firing 200 workers including long-haul cabin crew as it reduces capacity on flights to Asia amid a slump in international travel.

New Zealand’s economy began contracting in the first quarter of last year and will probably remain in recession until June 30, Bollard said last week. The government reports fourth- quarter figures for gross domestic product on March 27.

Trading Outlook

A net 43 percent of companies expected trading would slow in the first three months of 2009, the most since records began in 1970, according to a New Zealand Institute of Economic Research Inc. survey published on Jan. 13. The net figure is calculated by subtracting those reporting an increase in activity from those seeing a drop.

The same survey showed a net 32 percent of companies expect to fire workers in the next year, the most since 1991.

Prime Minister John Key last month said the jobless rate could reach 7.5 percent by mid-2010 as the economy stands still this year. The U.S. jobless rate was 7.2 percent in December; Australia’s was 4.5 percent in January.

Bollard has cut the benchmark interest rate by 4.75 percentage points since July to 3.5 percent to bolster demand. Key yesterday announced a package of business tax reforms designed to reduce the frequency with which small and medium sized companies make tax payments.

Participation rate

The number of people unemployed rose to 105,000, the highest in more than six years.

The number of people working or seeking work rose 31,000 to 2,296,000 and most of the additional people found jobs, the agency said. The number not looking for work or unavailable to work declined 19,000.

The participation rate, which measures the proportion of the population working or seeking employment, rose to a record 69.3 percent from 68.7 percent in the third quarter. Economists expected 68.4 percent.

The highest unemployment rate since December 2003, when it was also 4.6 percent, will ease pressure on wages and slow spending, justifying Bollard’s decision to cut borrowing costs.

Wages for non-government workers rose 3.2 percent last year, the slowest pace in 18 months, the statistics agency said Feb. 2.

Full-time employment gained by 6,000 jobs, or 0.3 percent, in the fourth quarter after seasonal adjustments.

Part-time employment increased by 17,000 jobs, or 3.5 percent. Statistics New Zealand adjusts the full-time and part- time employment figures separately, which means they may not add to the total change in employment.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tracy Withers in Wellington attwithers@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 4, 2009 18:07 EST

Study: Employment Outlook Dims

A Conference Board study shows a plunge in job vacancies advertised online, a sign that January's unemployment numbers will be disheartening

By Phil Mintz

Online job sites Monster.com (MWW) andCareerBuilder.com tried to promote business for their online career sites with ads during this year's Super Bowl. But they may be swimming against the tide. According to aConference Board study of online job demand released on Feb. 2, advertised job vacancies plunged in January, an indicator that unemployment is going to continue to rise.

According to the study, advertised vacancies dropped 506,000, to 3,355,000, in January, bringing the December and January decline to more than 1 million, or 23%.

The report doesn't bode well for the unemployment numbers for January that are to be released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Feb. 6. The U.S. unemployment rate hit 7.2%, a 16-year high, in December, and some experts are predicting double-digit rates this year. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Action Economics calls for a 525,000 decline in nonfarm payrolls in January, compared with 524,000 in December. The unemployment rate is forecast to rise to 7.5%.

JOBS: SUPPLY AND DEMAND IMBALANCE

The Conference Board said that advertised vacancies dropped in all 50 states, and only two states—North Dakota and Wyoming—continue to have fewer unemployed persons than advertised vacancies. The worst supply and demand imbalance was in Michigan, where there were more than six unemployed for every advertised vacancy. Other states with more than four people for every vacancy include Mississippi (5.04), Indiana (4.78), Kentucky (4.72), North Carolina (4.31), Georgia (4.24), Florida (4.20), South Carolina (4.05), and California (4.03).

"The very sharp declines in advertised vacancies throughout the nation in the last two months are clearly making it increasingly hard for those who are unemployed to find new positions," Gad Levanon, senior economist at the Conference Board, said in a news release. "An expected increase in the unemployment numbers coming out at the end of this week, combined with this sharp January drop in labor demand, will widen the labor supply/demand gap."

The Conference Board said job weakness is across the board—from relatively high-paying management jobs to lower-paying work, including transportation and food-service jobs. Health-care support jobs, which have remained strong during the recession, showed just a modest decline in advertised positions in January.

The Conference Board study measures the number of new and reposted jobs on more than 1,200 job Web sites.

Mintz is news editor for BusinessWeek.com in New York.

California's Unemployment Rate Increases To 9.3 Percent

By: California Employment Development Department (EDD)

SACRAMENTO Jan. 23, 2009 - California's unemployment rate was 9.3 percent in December, and nonfarm payroll jobs declined by 78,200 during the month1, according to data released today by the California Employment Development Department (EDD) from two separate surveys.

The number of people unemployed in California was 1,732,000 - up by 166,000 over the month, and up by 653,000 compared with December of last year.

Of the unemployed, 785,200 were laid off, 125,300 left their jobs voluntarily, and the remaining were either new entrants or reentrants into the labor market, or persons who completed temporary jobs, according to the federal household survey.

PAYROLL EMPLOYMENT DETAIL (SEASONALLY ADJUSTED)

EDD's report on payroll employment (wage and salary jobs) in the nonfarm industries of California totaled 14,913,600 in December, a net loss of 78,200 jobs since the November survey. This followed a loss of 73,500 jobs (as revised) in November.

One category, educational and health services, added jobs over the month, gaining 2,300 jobs. Ten categories (natural resources and mining; construction; manufacturing; trade, transportation and utilities; information; financial activities; professional and business services; leisure and hospitality; other services; and government) reported job declines this month, down 80,500 jobs. Trade, transportation and utilities posted the largest decline over the month, down by 25,400 jobs.

In a year-over-year comparison (December 2007 to December 2008), nonfarm payroll employment in California decreased by 257,400 jobs (down 1.7 percent).

Three industry divisions (natural resources and mining; educational and health services; and government) posted job gains over the year, adding 58,700 jobs. Educational and health services showed the strongest gain on a numerical basis, adding 51,600 jobs (a 3.1 percent increase). On a percentage of growth basis, natural resources and mining showed the strongest gain, up 4.3 percent (adding 1,100 jobs).

Eight categories (construction; manufacturing; trade, transportation and utilities; information; financial activities; professional and business services; leisure and hospitality; and other services) posted job declines over the year, down 316,100 jobs. Construction employment showed the largest decline on both a numerical and percentage basis, down by 92,600 jobs (a decline of 10.8 percent).

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE CLAIMS (NOT SEASONALLY ADJUSTED)

In related data, the EDD reported that there were 655,445 people receiving regular unemployment insurance benefits during the December survey week. This compares with 593,670 last month and 451,098 last year. At the same time, new claims for unemployment insurance were 87,979 in December 2008, compared with 80,920 in November and 56,984 in December of last year.

The U.S. unemployment rate also increased in December to 7.2 percent.

In November, the state's unemployment rate was 8.4 percent, and in December 2007, the unemployment rate was 5.9 percent. The unemployment rate is derived from a federal survey of 5,500 California households.

Nonfarm jobs in California decreased by 78,200 over the month, for a total of 14,913,600, according to an EDD survey that is larger and less variable statistically. The survey of 42,000 California businesses measures jobs in the economy. The year-over-year (December 2007 to December 2008) change shows a decrease of 257,400 jobs (down 1.7 percent).

EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT IN CALIFORNIA

The federal survey of households, done with a smaller sample than the state employer study, also shows a decrease in the number of employed people. It estimates the number of Californians holding jobs in December was 16,917,000, a decrease of 100,000 from November, and down 323,000 from the employment total in December of last year.

NOTE: The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has changed some of its prescribed methods for estimating state job losses and gains in order to try to better match the estimates that come from the larger national sample of businesses. The BLS' new methodology gives less significance to historical data and more significance to sample data from similar industries, as well as extreme high- and low-end survey responses from employers. The BLS hopes these changes will better capture the magnitude of job change during a time of rapid economic change. For many states, including California, the adoption of those changes means a much higher revision in announced job loss estimates for November than usual for any given month. It also means significant job loss estimates for the month of December.

Since these estimates are based on recent survey data, the degree to which these new methods better reflect actual economic events will not be known until the monthly estimates are compared to the universe data reported with employers' quarterly Unemployment Insurance tax returns in the annual benchmarking process that will be conducted in early 2010.

Labor group: 2.4M layoffs due in Latin America

LIMA, Peru: As many as 2.4 million Latin Americans could lose their jobs this year because of the global economic crisis, the International Labor Organization warned on Tuesday.

The global slowdown will reverse last year's gains across the region, where urban unemployment dropped to 7.4 percent from 8.1 percent, according to a statement from the labor monitor's offices in the Peruvian capital.

During 2009, unemployment is expected to increase in the region for the first time since 2003, to an annual average between 7.9 percent and 8.3 percent.

"We are talking about between 1.5 and 2.4 million jobs that could be lost this year," the statement read, warning that the loss could reverse advances against poverty.

The ILO report was based on information provided by the region's governments from January through November 2008.

Last year's unemployment rate of 7.4 percent represents 15.7 million people. It is the lowest regional rate since 1992.

Uruguay and the Dominican Republic achieved the largest reductions in unemployment last year. Peru registered the smallest improvement.

The report says that Latin America began to feel the affects of the global financial crisis in the third quarter of 2008, with reduced demand for exports, falling prices for raw materials, tighter credit and declining remittances from relatives abroad.

Spain's jobless rate hits 13.9%

Spain's unemployment rate, which was already the highest in the eurozone, hit 13.9% in the last quarter of 2008.

During the period, 3.2 million people were out of work, which was nearly 1.3 million more than in the same three months of the previous year.

The Spanish government expects it to peak at 15.9%, but the European Union says it could go as high as 19%.

The collapse of the property sector sparked Spain's recession, with tourism and the service sector also weak.

Reduced production by international car firms operating in Spain has also increased unemployment.

"All the economic analyses show Spain as the European country which has been hardest hit by the crisis and will take the longest time to recover," said Esther Sanchez, professor of labour rights at the economic institute Esade.

There are also signs that many people are giving up looking for jobs.

In the least three months of 2008, Spain's total workforce, which measures the number of people working or looking for a job, fell by 400,000 having fallen by 70,000 in the previous three months.

New Jersey Loses 15,200 Jobs; Unemployment Rate at 7.1 Percent

TRENTON, January 21, 2009 – The effects of the national recession are having an increasing impact on employment in the Garden State, according to the latest data.

According to a release, employment in New Jersey was down substantially in December, lower by 15,200 jobs, and the state’s unemployment rate rose to 7.1 percent. Additionally, preliminary employment estimates for November were revised dramatically lower, indicating a loss of 19,600 jobs in November.

“The end of 2008 was marked by a deepening national recession and New Jersey certainly felt its effects,” said Labor Commissioner David J. Socolow. “Last month, New Jersey employers cut large numbers of jobs in such industries as professional and business services, retail trade, construction, and manufacturing, mirroring the national trend.”

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has instituted changes in estimation procedures which may not provide an accurate picture of New Jersey’s labor market during the last two months of 2008.

The state's unemployment rate rose in December, up by 1.0 percentage points, to 7.1 percent from the November rate of 6.1 percent and is New Jersey’s highest unemployment rate in nearly 15 years (March 1994). New Jersey’s December rate remains below the United States rate, which increased by 0.5 percentage point to 7.2 percent last month, the highest national unemployment rate in 16 years. The comparable New Jersey jobless rate for the same month one year ago was 4.2 percent.

Job reductions in December 2008 were recorded in both the private (-14,600) and public sectors (-600) of New Jersey’s economy. Substantial private sector job losses in December occurred in the following supersectors: professional and business services (-5,000), trade, transportation and utilities (-4,500), construction (-3,000), manufacturing (-1,900), and education and health services (-1,900). The only sectors to record job gains were leisure and hospitality (+1,300) and other services (+900).

Over the month, the unadjusted workweek for manufacturing workers decreased by 0.1 hours to 41.3 hours, average hourly earnings rose by $0.07 to $18.19 and weekly earnings were up by $1.08 to $751.25. Compared with December of last year, the unadjusted workweek for manufacturing workers was down by 0.9 hours, average hourly earnings rose by $0.55 and weekly earnings were higher by $6.84.

Employment figures released each month are estimates from surveys and are subject to annual revisions. This annual process, or benchmarking, is required by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and incorporates more complete data from all New Jersey employers. The benchmarked data, which will provide a more accurate picture of the New Jersey economy for the entire calendar year, will be released on March 4, 2009.

Job loss in Utah reaches 24,600

By Laura Hancock

Deseret News

Utah lost as many as 24,600 jobs in 2008, and the Utah Department of Workforce Services' chief economist estimates that the state may lose thousands more this year.

Department economist Mark Knold said Tuesday that by the end of the recession, in mid-2009, the state may have lost as many as 30,000 jobs since the downturn began in December 2007.

Knold had previously said that 19,000 jobs would be lost between the end of 2007 and 2009, but job losses may be deeper than originally anticipated, he said.

"I do think the darkest period of the recession we're in is right now," Knold said. "And that will cover the fourth quarter of 2008 and the first and second quarters of 2009, which will take us up to June. In the second half of 2009, we'll stop the bleeding, so to speak."

The department on Tuesday released the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' December employment data for Utah. The state's job growth from December 2007 to December 2008 was minus 1.9 percent, close to the national job growth rate of minus 2 percent. Utah's unemployment rate was 4.3 percent, compared with the national unemployment rate of 7.2 percent.

At the peak of the recession, Knold said, Utah's unemployment rate will reach 5 or 6 percent

Most of the jobs lost in Utah last year were in construction. Between December 2007 and December 2008, 18,300 construction jobs disappeared. In that same time, 5,800 manufacturing jobs were lost and 4,000 jobs in trade, transportation and utilities.

Although the number of education and government jobs continued to grow, the December numbers may not reflect recent cuts in state and local government, and may not be reflected in employment statistics for months, Knold said.

Even so, he believes the Bureau of Labor Statistics' figure of 24,600 jobs lost in Utah may be an overestimate. Typically, the federal government allows states to analyze the data. In December, the bureau asked for Knold's help with crunching the data but not his analysis, and Knold said he ran out of time to do it himself.

Historically, Utah has always had job growth during November and December, when employees are needed for the holiday and ski seasons. "The difference between the October and December (job) numbers range from 3,000 higher and 15,000 higher, depending on the quality of the economy that year," Knold said. "In other words, in bad economies, it can be as much as 3,000 higher. In good economies it's 15,000 higher."

The federal government's December numbers do not account for ski and holiday employment, and Knold wants state legislators, who begin a new session on Monday, to realize the most recent data has that caveat. The federal government revises its data months after it initially releases it, and time will tell whether the December data were correct. Still, Knold believes that if job losses in Utah haven't yet reached 24,600, it will in a few months.

Most economists believe unemployment will stop increasing — and maybe even decrease — in the second half of the year if Congress passes President Barack Obama's economic-stimulus proposals aimed at increasing employment.

"Then, hopefully, we'll start adding jobs from there," Knold said about the second half of 2009. "The best scenario is we don't lose more than 30,000."

E-mail: lhancock@desnews.com

Indy packaging plant leads list of layoffs

Color-Box to trim 74 jobs; Employers in Middlebury, Richmond will cut 209 more

By Tom Spalding





In Indianapolis, Color-Box will shed 74 jobs at its cardboard-packaging plant, according to filings with the Indiana Department of Workforce Development.

Elsewhere:

Ohio-based General Aluminum plans a layoff of 84 workers in Richmond starting around March 8.

Middlebury-based Patriot Homes says it is closing its 11-year-old Crystal Valley division, laying off 125 employees in Elkhart County.

In the past year, manufacturers in all sectors laid off or eliminated 30,000 jobs in Indiana, contributing to the state's 7.1 percent unemployment rate in November.

The state's rate for December is expected to be announced next week. Nationally, the unemployment rate for December jumped to 7.2 percent, the highest in 16 years.

Unemployment in Indiana has neared levels last seen in the final years of the crippling 1980s recession that battered the Midwest's industrial base.

"Usually unemployment is the lagging indicator. It'll get a lot worse before it gets better," said Matt Will, afinance professor at the University of Indianapolis.

Call Star reporter Tom Spalding at (317) 444-6202.

Australian Unemployment Rate up to 4.5%

Unemployment rate remained steady at 4.5%. The male unemployment rate increased by 0.3 percentage points to 4.4%, and the female unemployment rate decreased by 0.3 percentage points to 4.5%.

The following is an unedited transcript of the news release from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. TREND ESTIMATES (MONTHLY CHANGE) Employment increased to 10,749,400  Unemployment increased to 498,100  Unemployment rate remained steady at 4.4%  Patricipation rate remained steady at 65.0% SEASONALLY ADJUSTED ESTIMATES (MONTHLY CHANGE) EMPLOYMENT  decreased by 1,200 to 10,742,300. Full-time employment decreased by 43,900 to 7,640,200 and part-time employment increased by 42,800 to 3,102,200.  UNEMPLOYMENT increased by 2,600 to 501,100. The number of persons looking for full-time work increased by 2,600 to 349,400 and the number of persons looking for part-time work remained steady at 151,700. UNEMPLOYMENT RATE remained steady at 4.5%. The male unemployment rate increased by 0.3 percentage points to 4.4%, and the female unemployment rate decreased by 0.3 percentage points to 4.5%. PARTICIPATION RATE decreased by 0.1 percentage point to 65.0%. Available at: http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs%40.nsf/mf/6202.0

Canada's jobless rate rises to 6.6% in December

2.6 Million Jobs Cut In 2008

New Yorkers Fall Off Unemployment Rolls

Jobless rate jumps to 7.2 percent in December

State jobless rate jumps

158,000 Maryland job-seekers unable to find work as unemployment rises to 5.3 percent

By Lorraine Mirabella | lorraine.mirabella@baltsun.com

December 20, 2008

Maryland's jobless rate climbed to 5.3 percent last month, keeping it at a more than 12-year high, the Labor Department said yesterday.

It was the worst unemployment rate for the state since January 1996, when it hit 5.4 percent, and the number reflected the worsening turmoil in the financial, credit and housing markets.

"It's to be expected in light of worsening economic conditions," said Daraius Irani, director of applied economics for the RESI consulting arm of Towson University. "Maryland is going to get hit, and going forward will see an increase in the unemployment rate."

Maryland's November unemployment rate increased, on a seasonally adjusted basis, from 4.9 percent in October. The Bureau of Labor Statistics adjusted that rate from the preliminary number of 5 percent reported last month.

Maryland was among 37 states and the District of Columbia reporting month-over-month jobless increases in November.

The nation's jobless rate last month rose to 6.7 percent, the government had reported earlier, as U.S. employers shed 533,000 jobs. That was the biggest job loss in a single month since December 1974. Maryland is expected to be buffered to some extent from the nation's rate of job losses because the region is not heavily dependent upon manufacturing and has a high share of federal government jobs.

Still, the number of out-of-work Maryland residents is growing. Preliminary numbers released yesterday showed that about 158,000 Maryland residents are looking but have been unable to find work, a 52 percent jump since the beginning of the year.

On a month-to-month basis, payroll employment fell in 41 states. Maryland lost 4,900 jobs in November, bringing payroll employment down to 2.63 million jobs, the government statistics showed. Many of those likely came in the hardest-hit sectors of construction, retail, financial services and manufacturing, or were tied to the auto industry, as manufacturers slow production.

Maria Solitario, a Lutherville resident with a background in psychology and early childhood education, has been looking for a job mostly at hospitals or preschools for more than a year. Solitario was laid off in October 2007 as a supervisor for a residential treatment facility in Baltimore as part of budget cuts, and now she finds herself overqualified for many jobs. But she says she can't afford to take an entry-level job.

"If I take a position for less than $10 an hour, I just can't survive off of that," says Solitario, who relies on unemployment insurance to rent an apartment for herself and her three young-adult children. "It's just so tough. Between rent, car insurance, food, it's difficult because you have to juggle everything. I can't even understand what's happening."

Local employers have announced hundreds of layoffs in recent weeks.

Volvo AB of Sweden said about a week ago that it is cutting production and workers at its Mack Powertrain Division plant in Hagerstown, effective Jan. 25, as sales of trucks and buses have dropped. Two Baltimore-area manufacturers are laying off a total of 267 workers, including Harland Clarke, which is shutting down a check-printing operation inGlen Burnie by the end of March. Solo Cup Co. plans to lay off 147 workers at its Owings Mills plant and 29 people in its Owings Mills corporate offices.

Baltimore money manager Legg Mason Inc. earlier this month cut 8 percent, or about 200 people, from its corporate work force, affecting about 99 employees in the Baltimore region. And Baltimore-based energy giant Constellation Energy Group blamed the near certainty of a prolonged, deep recession for plans to cut more than 800 people, mostly from its commodities trading division, with about half those jobs in the Baltimore area. And more layoffs are expected as part of Provident Bankshares announcement yesterday that is has agreed to sell itself to M&T Bank Corp.

The state's jobless rate has risen significantly on a nonseasonally adjusted, year-over-year basis. Maryland unemployment had been at 3.4 percent in November 2007, data show.