Payrolls Decrease in 36 U.S. States, Led by Michigan
Sept. 17 (Bloomberg) -- David Resler, chief economist at Nomura Securities International Inc., talks with Bloomberg's Melissa Long and Michael McKee about the outlook for the U.S. economy. Resler says he sees increased unemployment and lower inflation. (Source: Bloomberg)
Sept. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Marc Cenedella, chief executive officer of TheLadders.com, talks about the state of the jobs market for U.S. executives. TheLadders.com is an online job search service that focuses on positions paying $100,000 or more a year. Cenedella speaks with Margaret Brennan on Bloomberg Television's "InBusiness." (Source: Bloomberg)
Payrolls dropped in 36 U.S. states in August, led by Michigan, indicating the labor market will take time to rebound from the worst recession since the 1930s.
Employers in Michigan cut 50,300 jobs last month, the biggest drop since January 2009, figures from the Labor Department showed today in Washington. Texas and California rounded out the three states with the biggest job losses. Joblessness climbed in 27 states, with Nevada reaching a record 14.4 percent rate, the highest in the nation.
Companies added 67,000 jobs in August, less than in the prior month, Labor Department figures showed on Sept. 3. The unemployment rate, which climbed to 9.6 percent last month, is forecast to average more than 9 percent through next year, one reason Federal Reserve policy makers may consider new measures to stimulate the economy during today’s meeting.
“We’re still in a very weak employment environment because demand remains weak,” said Russell Price, a senior economist at Ameriprise Financial Inc. in Detroit. “The unemployment rate is going to languish in the 9.5 percent to 10 percent range for some time, until the economy is able to gain better traction.”
Another report today showed housing starts increased more than forecast in August, outstripping a gain in building permits that signals residential construction will hold close to record lows. Builders began work on 598,000 homes at an annual rate, up 10.5 percent and the most since April, the Commerce Department said. Permits, an indicator of future activity, were issued at a 569,000 rate.
Texas, California
Texas lost 34,200 jobs, and California eliminated 33,600, the Labor Department said. The number of states where payrolls dropped was the highest this year.
The 14 states showing an increase in employment were paced by an 18,600 gain in North Carolina and a 3,600 advance in Missouri, today’s report said.
Six of eight categories showed declines in payrolls, led by government agencies and trade and transportation. Government agencies cut a combined 158,000 workers from payrolls, in part reflecting a drop in temporary census workers.
Nevada’s jobless rate climbed from 14.3 percent in July. Unemployment in Florida and Maryland showed the biggest statistically significant increase, the report said.
Less Unemployment
Thirteen states showed a decrease in the jobless rate, led by a 0.8 percentage-point drop in Mississippi and a 0.5 point decrease in Alabama.
California’s unemployment rate rose to a three-month high of 12.4 percent last month from 12.3 percent in July, the state announced on Sept. 17.
New York City’s unemployment rate held at 9.4 percent in August after seven consecutive monthly decreases, the state Labor Department said Sept. 16. The state’s jobless rate rose 0.1 percentage point to 8.3 percent.
New Jersey’s jobless rate fell 0.1 percentage point to 9.6 percent, state figures showed last week.
At the national level, the 13 months of unemployment at 9.5 percent or higher matches the period from mid 1982 to mid 1983 as the longest span of elevated joblessness since monthly records began in 1948.
State and local employment data are derived independently from the national statistics, which are typically released on the first Friday of every month. The state figures are subject to larger sampling errors because they come from smaller surveys, making the national figures more reliable, according to the government’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Mounting budget deficits will continue to prompt staff reductions at state and local government agencies.
Budget Cuts
Washington Governor Christine Gregoire ordered a 6.3 percent cut in state spending to cope with a projected $520 million deficit through June. The move may eliminate as many as 9,000 slots at community and technical colleges, close a prison and trim funding for 3-of-4 school districts that get extra state money, Gregoire, a Democrat, said last week in a statement. The step takes effect Oct. 1.
Companies cutting jobs include FedEx Corp., the second- largest U.S. package-shipping company. Memphis, Tennessee-based FedEx on Sept. 16 said it will eliminate 1,700 jobs, less than 1 percent of its global workforce, and forecast earnings for the current quarter that fell short of analysts’ estimates.
“We expect a phase of somewhat slower economic growth going forward,” Chief Executive Officer Fred Smith said on a conference call with analysts.
To contact the reporter on this story: Shobhana Chandra in Washington at schandra1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christopher Wellisz at cwellisz@bloomberg.net
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