New year, new jobs? Not really…
Let’s just say that the newest payroll numbers from December weren’t a great way for the country to ring in the New Year. The U.S. gained 18,000 jobs overall last month, which the Bureau of Labor Statistics likes to phrase as “essentially” or “relatively unchanged.” I like to phrase this minuscule jump in numbers as BAD. But I don’t want to scare anyone away with my negative antics, so I’ll stick to reporting the facts and leave the drawing of worrisome conclusions to you.
I know that my post about November’s BLS report talked a lot about revisions, specifically how September’s employment numbers plummeted in the months following their initial release. I am happy to report that the revisions listed in the December press release were moderate. The number of jobs gained in October slipped a bit from 170,000 positions to 159,000, while November’s projected gains rose from 94,000 jobs to 115,000. So I suppose the revisions balance each other out. Based on the growth in October and November (which wasn’t stellar to begin with), you can see why an increase of 18,000 jobs across the entire nation isn’t exactly good news.
What’s more is that the unemployment rate in the U.S. has jumped from 4.7 to 5.0 percent in the span of just one month. In 2007, payroll employment increased by 1.3 million positions overall. In 2006, the country experienced a gain of 2.3 million jobs. Even though this past year’s economic downfall has been gradual, its effects are definitely being felt.
Some industries did make progress last month. Professional and technical services added 33,000 positions in December, which contributed to a total gain of 322,000 jobs over the year. Within this industry, employment in management and technical consulting services increased by 12,000 and administrative and support services (to buildings and dwellings) contributed another 19,000 jobs. The health care sector and food services, typically bright spots in the employment situation report, added 28,000 and 27,000 positions, respectively. In 2007, the health care industry gained 381,000 jobs, while employment in food services has risen by 304,000 positions.
The construction sector took a big hit in December with a loss of 49,000 jobs. Credit intermediation lost another 7,000 positions last month, and the manufacturing sector lost 31,000. Retail trade dropped 24,000 jobs as well. The average workweek held steady yet again at 33.8 hours, and the average hourly earnings of all U.S. workers increased by seven cents. The median weekly income for the country’s employees now stands at $598.60.
The employment situation report for the month of January 2008 will be released on February 1, so if the payroll numbers continue to trend downward, at least we get to deal with the bad news on the first day of the month. (And then forget about it…for a little while…maybe…let’s hope.) As usual, if you are in the market for a new career, I only have good, reliable things to say about health care.