e-EDGE is now available as an RSS feed. [Click here to subscribe to it.]The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has released county-level employment data covering the third quarter of 2009 (3q2009). The information is somewhat dated, but it provides an interesting comparison of how different parts of the nation fared as the U.S. economy reached the bottom of the recession. For the nation as a whole, employment totaled 128.1 million workers in September, 2009. This represented a decline of -5.3% compared with September, 2008.
Three of the ten largest counties in the U.S.—measured by employment in September, 2009—were in Southern California.
These five counties followed Los Angeles County in the employment rankings:
Two other counties completed the top ten employment rankings as of September 2009:
Of the top ten counties, only the two big Texas counties performed “less worse” than the nation as a whole: Harris, TX (down by -3.4% over the year) and Dallas, TX (-5.2%), while New York, NY matched the national decline (-5.3%). However, employment declined by more than average in all three Southern California counties. (Nancy D. Sidhu)
Source: www.bls.gov
Results for the retail sales industry were mixed in April. Total U.S. retail and food services sales increased by +0.4% last month, but were up by +8.8% compared with April 2009. Only six out of fourteen sectors registered higher sales in April. The biggest increases over the month were reported by: building material & garden equipment & supplies dealers (+6.9%); followed by health & personal care stores (+0.9%). Motor vehicle & parts dealers and gasoline stations both posted an uptick of +0.5%, while nonstore retailers and food services & drinking places edged up by +0.2% and +0.1% respectively. Categories reporting lower sales in April were: sporting goods, hobby, book & music stores (-1.9%), department stores (-1.5%), furniture & home furnishings stores (-1.2%), clothing & clothing accessories stores (-1.0%), food & beverage stores (-0.5%), and electronics & appliance stores (-0.4%). [All figures in this paragraph are seasonally adjusted]
Comparing the February-April 2010 sales with the same months last year gives a decidedly sunnier perspective. [All figures in this paragraph are not seasonally adjusted]. Total retail and food services sales were up by +7.3% compared to this time last year. The details by store type revealed solid gains in all sales categories. The leading sectors were gasoline stations (up by +27.6%, due to lower prices early in 2009); nonstore retailers (mostly catalog and internet, +12.7%); motor vehicle & parts dealers (+11.1%); and clothing & clothing accessories stores (+5.1%).
Smoothing out the recent month-to-month variations, total retail & food services sales were up by +2.4% in the February-April period compared with the previous three months (November – January). Again, all fourteen sectors registered sales gains in this comparison. (Kimberly Ritter)
Source: http://www.census.gov/retail/marts/www/marts_current.pdf
The U.S. Commerce Department reported that the U.S. trade deficit expanded to $40.4 billion in the month of March, up from $39.4 billion in February. The deficit increased by +2.5% over the month. The March trade deficit was the largest since December 2008. The most significant developments in March were higher oil import prices and higher demand for industrial supplies & materials.
U.S. imports increased by +3.1% in March to $188.3 billion. The $5.4 billion monthly rise in imports reflected the ongoing U.S. economic recovery, as demand for industrial supplies & materials and autos & auto parts witnessed the largest gains.
U.S. exports rose by +3.2% to $147.9 billion in March due to increased foreign demand for U.S. made industrial supplies & materials, other goods and consumer goods. Most major categories of exports experienced increases with the exception of autos & auto parts, which remained nearly the same.
The U.S bilateral trade deficit with China expanded by +2.4% in March to $16.9 billion from $16.5 billion in February and continued to be the largest trade deficit with any country. Year-to-date imports from China have grown by +12.4% relative to last year, while exports to China have jumped by +46%. Overall, the monthly trade deficit with China has fallen significantly from its record level of $28 billion in October 2008. Imports from China were $24.3 billion in March, while exports were $7.4 billion. For the second straight month, U.S. trade deficits with Mexico, Japan and the European Union all widened in March, while the deficit with Canada declined. (Ferdinando Guerra)
Source: http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/international/trade/2010/pdf/trad0310.pdf
California maintained its position as the second largest exporting state in March, with total exports valued at $12.4 billion. Merchandise exports in March were up by +25.7% over the year, the fifth consecutive year-to-year increase.
The top California export markets in March were Mexico, China, Canada, Japan, and South Korea. All of California’s top export markets experienced gains. Exports to Mexico, California’s largest market, increased by +28.3% over the year. California’s fifth largest market, South Korea, witnessed the highest annual increase for the second consecutive month, with a surge of +37.9% over the year to March. The state’s second largest market, China (including Hong Kong and Macau), experienced the fourth largest year-to-year increase, with a +12.4% rise in March. Exports to Canada and Japan also strengthened by +13.0% and +9.8%, respectively. From an industry standpoint, the top three product exports (ranked by dollar value) were computers & electronic products, machinery, and transportation equipment. (Ferdinando Guerra)
The total number of containers handled in April at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach rose by +14.8 percent on a year-to-year basis to 1,080,343 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent units). This was the fifth consecutive month of year-to-year increases and ends the two month trend of TEU totals below one million. The Port of Long Beach experienced the largest gain in trade volumes over the year, as total containers grew by +18.7 percent in April. The Port of Los Angeles also witnessed a gain in volumes as total containers were up by +11.9 percent on a year-to-year basis.
Loaded inbound traffic at the Port of Long Beach rose by +21.2 percent from April 2009 to April 2010, rising from 199,051 TEUs to 241,245 TEUs (excluding empties). The Port of Los Angeles reported an increase in the total number of inbound loaded containers, to 302,225 TEUs in April 2010 compared with 279,194 TEUs in April 2009, a rise of +8.2 percent.
The Port of Long Beach reported a total of 130,155 loaded outbound TEUs (excluding empties) in the month of April, an increase from 112,976 TEUs in April 2009 (+15.2%). The Port of Los Angeles saw a total of 158,338 loaded outbound TEUs for the month of April, an increase of +12.4 percent from April 2009.
The Port of Oakland reported that its total inbound and outbound container traffic both strengthened from a year earlier. The total number of inbound TEUs was 79,152 in April, while the total number of outbound TEUs came in at 107,155. Over the year, Oakland’s total TEU count was up by +10.3 percent, to 186,317 TEUs. (Ferdinando Guerra)
Sources: http://www.portoflosangeles.org/maritime/stats.asp,http://www.polb.com/, http://www.portofoakland.com/
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