Private Sector Gained 582,000 Jobs in Q2 2012; California Led With 108,383 New Jobs

From March 2012 to June 2012 gross job gains from opening and expanding private sector establishments were 7.0 million, an increase of 69,000 from the previous quarter, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over this period, gross job losses from closing and contracting private sector establishments were 6.4 million, an increase of 301,000 from the previous quarter.

The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment gain of 582,000 jobs in the private sector during the second quarter of 2012. Continue Reading

Despite Hurricane Sandy, Jobs Up 146,000 and Unemployment Down From 7.9 to 7.7%

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 146,000 in November, and the unemployment rate edged down to 7.7 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment increased in retail trade, professional and business services, and health care.

Hurricane Sandy made landfall on the Northeast coast on October 29th, causing severe damage in New Jersey, New York, and other states. Nevertheless, the BLS survey response rates in the affected states were within normal ranges. Its analysis suggests that Hurricane Sandy did not substantively impact the national employment and unemployment estimates for November.
Continue Reading

Economy Gained 814,000 Jobs in 1st Quarter 2012

From December 2011 to March 2012 gross job gains from opening and expanding private sector establishments were 6.9 million, an increase of 26,000 from the previous quarter, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Over this period, gross job losses from closing and contracting private sector establishments were 6.1 million, a decrease of 399,000 from the previous quarter.

The difference between the number of gross job gains and the number of gross job losses yielded a net employment change of 814,000 jobs in the private sector during the first quarter of 2012. Continue Reading

Layoffs Down 19% From 2011 and Lowest Since 1997

Downsizing activity remained relatively flat in September as US-based employers announced plans to cut 33,816 jobs from their payrolls during the month.  That was up 4.9 percent from a 20-month low of 32,239 job cuts in August, according to the latest report released Thursday by global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

Last month’s total was 71 percent lower than a year ago, when planned job cuts unexpectedly surged to a 29-month high of 115,730.   It was, in fact, the lowest September total since 1997 when only 20,698 were announced.

September brings to an end one of the slowest job-cut quarters in over a decade.  Employers announced 102,910 job cuts in the third quarter, down 27 percent from the previous quarter (139,997), and 56 percent lower than the third quarter of 2011 (233,258).  It was the lowest quarterly total since the second quarter of 2000, when planned layoffs numbered 81,568.

Employers have now announced 386,001 planned job cuts in 2012, which is 19 percent fewer than the 479,064 job cuts recorded by this point last year.  One has to go back to 1997 to find fewer job cuts announced through the first nine months of the year.  That year, employers announced 281,496 job cuts through September.

Contributing to the decline in monthly job cut figures is the significant drop-off in the number of layoffs announced by the government sector.  These employers announced just 14,186 job cuts through September, compared to 119,027 by this point in 2011.  Continue Reading

Excellent News: Private Sector Jobs Rocket Up by 201,000 in August

Employment in the U.S. nonfarm private business sector increased by 201,000 from July to August, on a seasonally adjusted basis. The estimated gain from June to July was revised up from the initial estimate of 163,000 to 173,000. Continue Reading

Private Sector Added 163,000 More Jobs in June

Employment in the U.S. nonfarm private business sector increased by 163,000 from June to July, on a seasonally adjusted basis. The estimated gain from May to June was revised down slightly, from the initial estimate of 176,000 to 172,000. Public sector layoffs — particularly at the state and local level — have been the primary drag on the employment numbers for months. These public sector numbers won’t be known until Friday’s report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Continue Reading

Economy Creates Hiring Hang-Up for Employers

While employers may want to hire more workers, some are uninspired by the current economy. Continue Reading

753,000 Job Gains in 3rd Quarter 2011 Largest Since 2006

From June to September 2011 gross job gains from opening and expanding
private sector establishments were 7.1 million, an increase of 166,000
jobs from the previous quarter, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
reported today. Over this period, gross job losses from closing and
contracting private sector establishments were 6.3 million, a decrease
of 9,000 jobs from the previous quarter.

The difference between the number of gross job gains and gross job
losses yielded a net employment change of 753,000 jobs in the private
sector during the third quarter of 2011. This is the largest net job
gain since the first quarter of 2006.
Continue Reading

Private Sector Employment Increased by 170,000 in January — Mostly From Small Businesses

The January 2012 ADP National Employment Report was just released and contains mostly good news about the economic recovery.

Employment in the U.S. nonfarm private business sector increased by 170,000 from December to January on a seasonally adjusted basis. The estimated advance in employment from November to December was revised down to 292,000 from the initially reported 325,000.

Employment in the private, service-providing sector rose 152,000 in January, and employment in the private, goods-producing sector increased 18,000 in January, while manufacturing employment increased 10,000.

Employment on large payrolls—those with 500 or more workers—increased 3,000, and employment on medium payrolls—those with 50 to 499 workers—rose 72,000 in January.

Employment on small payrolls—those with up to 49 workers—rose 95,000 that same period. Of the 95,000 jobs created by small businesses, 11,000 jobs were created by the goods producing sector and 84,000 jobs were created by the service-producing sector.

Employment in the construction industry increased 2,000 this month, which is down from an increase of 27,000 in December. Employment in the financial services sector increased 9,000 in January, which is up from an increase of 1,000 in December, and represents the largest gain in two years.

Federal Agencies Cutting Jobs — Even Military, Intelligence Aren’t Safe

Not even the nation’s ranks of spies will be safe from federal budget cuts, according to a recent article at Wired.com.   Major cuts to the intelligence community’s $80 billion annual budget could result in widespread job cuts across the various spy agencies.   With a mandate to cut federal spending by $2.1 trillion over the next decade, every government agency is at risk of job cutting, including the military.

Over the past two months, multiple military branches have announced personnel reductions totaling more than 67,000.  Meanwhile, the United States Postal Service, which is facing financial insolvency resulting from significant declines in mail volume and retiree health benefit prefunding costs imposed by Congress, has proposed a plan that would cut its workforce by 220,000 between now and 2015 (100,000 of which would come from attrition). Continue Reading