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U.S. and California unemployment – September & October

I noticed this week that I have not written about unemployment since September 16, even though it continues to slow the economic recovery. I am making up for that omission, tonight.

Back on September 16, the August unemployment rate in the U.S. was 9.1%, and that of California, 12.4%. (California’s was later revised to 12.1%.) So… what has been happening LATELY? :-)

First, the U.S.:

In September, the U.S. unemployment rate remained at 9.1%. In October, the unemployment rate for the U.S. was 9.0%. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on November 4 that nonfarm payroll employment continued to trend upward (+80,000) in October, except for government employment which trended downward (-24,000). Employment in both state government and local government has been trending down since the second half of 2008. Employment in the private sector showed modest growth in professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, health care, and mining. Over the past 12 months, payroll employment has increased by an average of 125,000 per month.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.

It must be nice to be able to make errors that large and still keep your job, although ERRORS are not the reasons that most people lose theirs. :-)

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate declined for blacks (15.1 percent) in October, while the rates for adult men (8.8 percent), adult women (8.0 percent), teenagers (24.1 percent), whites (8.0 percent), and Hispanics (11.4 percent) showed little or no change. The jobless rate for Asians was 7.3 percent, not seasonally
adjusted.

In October, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) declined by 366,000 to 5.9 million, or 42.4 percent of total unemployment.

The number of people employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) decreased by 374,000 to 8.9 million in October. These individuals were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job.

In October, 2.6 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force, about the same as a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.) These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey.

Among the marginally attached, there were 967,000 discouraged workers in October, a decrease of 252,000 from a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.) Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them. The remaining 1.6 million persons marginally attached to the labor force in October had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey for reasons such as school attendance or family responsibilities.

In the private sector in October, employment INCREASED BY 104,000!

Employment in professional and business services continued to trend up in October (+32,000) and has grown by 562,000 over the past 12 months. Within the industry, there have been modest job gains in recent months in temporary help services and in management and technical consulting services.

Employment in leisure and hospitality edged up over the month (+22,000). Since a recent low point in January 2010, the industry has added 344,000 jobs.

Health care employment continued to expand in October 2011 (+12,000), following a gain of 45,000 in September. Offices of physicians added 8,000 jobs in October. Over the past 12 months, health care has added 313,000 jobs.

In October, mining employment continued to increase (+6,000); oil and gas extraction accounted for half of the increase. Since a recent low point in October 2009, mining employment has risen by 152,000.

Manufacturing employment changed little in October 2011 (+5,000) and has remained flat for 3 months. In October, a job gain in transportation equipment (+10,000) was partly offset by small losses in other manufacturing industries.

Within retail trade, employment increased in general merchandise stores (+10,000) and in motor vehicle and parts dealers (+6,000) in October. Retail trade has added 156,000 jobs over the past 12 months.

Construction employment declined by 20,000 in October, largely offsetting an increase of 27,000 in September; both over-the-month changes largely occurred in nonresidential construction. Employment in both residential and nonresidential construction has shown little net change in 2011.

Employment in other major private-sector industries, including wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, information, and financial activities, changed little in October.

Now for California:

In September of 2011, California’s unemployment rate declined to 11.9%, vs. 12.5% for September of 2010.

Nonfarm jobs in California totaled 14,098,500 in September, an increase of 11,800 jobs over the month, according to a survey of businesses that is larger and less variable statistically. The survey of 42,000 California businesses measures jobs in the economy. The year-over-year change (September 2010 to September 2011) shows an increase of 250,600 jobs (up 1.8 percent).

Twelve California counties had unemployment rates in September of 15.0% or greater, with Imperial County #1 at 29.6% unemployment!

In October, California’s unemployment rate declined again, to 11.7%, and nonfarm payroll jobs increased by 25,700 during the month for a total gain of 192,900 jobs since the beginning of 2011. In October of 2010, California’s unemployment rate was 12.5% (revised slightly upward from the first-reported 12.4%).

Nonfarm jobs in California totaled 14,151,600 in October, an increase of 25,700 jobs over the month, according to a survey of businesses that is larger and less variable statistically. The survey of 42,000 California businesses measures jobs in the economy. The year-over-year change (October 2010 to October 2011) shows an increase of 239,000 jobs (up 1.7 percent).

The federal survey of households, done with a smaller sample than the survey of employers, shows an increase in the number of employed people. It estimates the number of Californians holding jobs in October was 16,008,000, an increase of 92,000 from September, and up 128,000 from the employment total in October of last year.

The number of people unemployed in California was 2,123,000 – down by 28,000 over the month, and down by 144,000 compared with October of last year.

A detailed examination of payroll employment in October was also given in the report:

EDD’s report on payroll employment (wage and salary jobs) in the nonfarm industries of California totaled 14,151,600 in October, a net gain of 25,700 jobs since the September survey. This followed a gain of 39,200 jobs (as revised) in September.

Seven categories (construction; information; financial activities; professional and business services; educational and health services; leisure and hospitality; and other services) added jobs over the month, gaining 35,500 jobs. Professional and business services posted the largest increase over the month, adding 17,300 jobs

Four categories (mining and logging; manufacturing; trade, transportation and utilities; and government) reported job declines over the month, down 9,800 jobs. Manufacturing and government posted the largest decreases over the month, each down 3,900 jobs.

In a year-over-year comparison (October 2010 to October 2011), nonfarm payroll employment in California increased by 239,000 jobs (up 1.7 percent).

Nine categories (mining and logging; construction; manufacturing; trade, transportation and utilities; information; professional and business services; educational and health services; leisure and hospitality; and government) posted job gains over the year, adding 243,700 jobs. Professional and business services posted the largest gain on a numerical basis, adding 83,300 jobs (up 4.0 percent). Information posted the largest gain on a percentage basis, up by 5.9 percent (an increase of 25,400 jobs).

Two categories (financial activities and other services) posted job declines over the year, down 4,700 jobs. Other services posted the largest decline on both a numerical and percentage basis, down by 2,400 jobs (a decrease of 0.5 percent).

As always, a lot of tabular data are given in the state report. Thirteen counties of California reported unemployment rates of 15.0% or greater in October 2011, with Imperial County again number one at 28.9% unemployment.

-Bill at

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