e-EDGE is now available as an RSS feed. [Click here to subscribe to it.]The Bureau of Labor Statistics just released its latest U.S. Labor Market Report covering the U.S. employment situation in May. The overall message was pretty positive, though not so positive as some observers had expected. The unemployment rate ticked down, which was nice. Meanwhile, nonfarm employment soared in May, mainly because of the federal government's hiring of +411,000 temporary Census workers.
Looking first at the employer survey, total nonfarm employment grew by +431,000 jobs in May, compared with revised gains of +290,000 jobs in April, +208,000 jobs in March, and +39,000 jobs in February. Indeed, this was the fifth consecutive monthly increase, the first such string in three years.
Government payrolls grew by +390,000 workers in May. While federal job counts grew, state/local governments and school districts reduced headcounts by a combined -22,000 workers. Employment rolls in the private sector swelled by +41,000 workers last month, the fifth consecutive monthly increase following 24 dreary months of decline.
Looking at the private industry detail, six of ten major sectors reported higher payrolls in May. Manufacturing payrolls were up for the fourth consecutive month, this time by +29,000 workers. Business & professional services employment grew by +22,000 workers, due entirely to an increase of +31,000 jobs at temporary help agencies. Private education & health care services employment rose by +17,000 jobs compared with April, while transportation & warehousing reported a gain of +11,000 jobs. The leisure & hospitality and wholesale trade sectors both reported modest increases of +2,000 jobs. Three sectors reported payroll declines over the month: construction (-35,000 jobs); financial activities (-12,000 jobs) and retail trade (-7,000 jobs). The information sector reported no change in employment last month, as gains in motion pictures offset losses in telecommunications.
The picture wasn't quite as rosy compared with May, 2009 (though the comparisons were much less negative than in previous months). Nonfarm employers in the U.S. have reduced payrolls by -585,000 workers over the past year, a decrease of -0.45%. Private-sector employment dropped by -925,000 jobs, or -0.85%, over this period. Just two major private-sector industry groups reported higher payrolls versus last year: education & health services (+357,000 jobs) and business & professional services (+78,000 jobs, bolstered by temporary help agencies' hiring of +294,000 workers). On the downside, the industries shedding workers over the past year were led by the construction and manufacturing sectors. Compared with May 2009, job counts have plunged by -529,000 jobs and -251,000 jobs respectively.
Aside from education & health services, employment has also increased over the year in sixteen smaller industries. There were only eight smaller industries on this list in April. Industries in this group adding the most new jobs included: motor vehicles & parts (up by +38,800 jobs); computer systems design services (+23,300 jobs); mining (+19,700 jobs); clothing & accessories stores (+18,900 jobs); wholesale trade agents & brokers and electronic markets (+18,500 jobs); and performing arts & spectator sports (+15,600 jobs). The other ten smaller industries added between +800 and +7,700 new jobs in May.
The separate BLS-sponsored survey of households suggested that labor market conditions in May returned to their first-quarter trends. The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 9.7% last month, the same as in January-March and down by -0.2 percentage points from April's uptick. Joblessness in May remained above the 9.4% rate of May 2009.
Comparing the major demographic groups with May 2009, the jobless rate for adult men was the same as in May 2009 (at 9.8%). The unemployment rate for women rose by +0.6 percentage points over this period (to 8.1%), while the rate for teenagers jumped by +3.2 percentage points (to 26.4%). Over the past year, the jobless rates for whites and blacks increased by +0.2 percentage points and +0.5 percentage points respectively. Joblessness among Asian workers grew by +0.8 percentage points, while the unemployment rate among Hispanics fell by-0.3 percentage points.
It appears the labor market recovery is finally under way, though progress to date has been uneven from one month to the next. Total nonfarm employment plunged by -8.36 million workers in the 24 months between December 2007 and December 2009. In the five month since December, payrolls have increased by +982,000 workers. While jobs counts should continue to grow in the private sector, the Census jobs will surely disappear in coming months. There's a long, hard climb ahead. (Nancy D. Sidhu)
Source: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm
Light vehicle sales increased over the year in May for the seventh consecutive month. Total light vehicle sales last month were 11.6 million (seasonally adjusted annual rate or SAAR), up by +17.9% from May 2009. Sales also rose over the month – increasing by +3.7% compared with April.
Total car sales, including both foreign and domestic models, jumped by +14.9% last month from twelve months earlier (to 5.6 million SAAR). Sales of domestic autos surged by +23.0% (to 3.9 million SAAR), but foreign auto sales failed to keep pace and slipped by -0.9% (to 1.6 million SAAR). On a month-over basis, domestic sales edged up by +0.5% while sales of foreign nameplates dipped by -0.1%.
Combined sales of foreign and domestic light trucks soared last month (helped in part by increased sales to businesses). Over the year total light truck sales were up by +20.9% (to 6.0 million vehicles SAAR). Over the month, the number of light trucks sold rose by +7.4%. Domestic models continued to dominate the light truck segment last month. Rising by +23.9% (to 5.1 million SAAR), sales of domestic nameplates easily pulled ahead of sales of foreign models, which rose by +6.2% (to 0.9 million SAAR).
Sales of medium-heavy trucks posted another strong year-over gain in May, increasing by +14.9% (to 0.2 million SAAR) compared to the same period last year, but were down over the month by -4.3%.
Automotive sales in May made a strong showing, boosted in part by stronger demand for some pickup truck and SUV models, and increased sales to daily rental firms, which having held on to their vehicles during the recession, are now renewing their fleets. While the general consensus among industry analysts is that vehicle sales have troughed, potential threats to the industry’s nascent recovery remain. Pickup truck sales are closely tied to the housing sector, and recovery in that market has been on-again, off-again at best. Additionally, consumer confidence is still wobbly. People are spooked by recent declines in the stock market and the high unemployment situation, and may be reluctant to take on a new car payment if they are still waiting for more solid evidence that the economy is, in fact, getting better. (Kimberly Ritter)
Source: www.bea.gov
The March hotel numbers from PKF Consulting were pretty good. In Los Angeles County, the occupancy rate was 72.6% compared with 67.9% last year. The average daily room rate (ADR) was down by only -4.0% to $140.50, so operators saw modest gains in revenue per available room, +2.7%. Around the County, the highest occupancy rates in March were found in Santa Monica (84.5%) and the Airport area (89.1%). And in Santa Monica, operators were able to get a +0.6% increase in the ADR. The highest room rate in March was $355.72 in Beverly Hills, and this was down by just -0.5% over the year.
The hotel occupancy rate in Orange County in March was 73.7% compared with 67.5% last year. The ADR fell by -4.4% to $137.10, which resulted in a +4.4% gain in revenue per available room. As to the highest occupancy rate by area in the County during the month, it was almost a tie. Orange County Airport came in at 77.7% while North Orange County recorded a 77.5% rate. The highest ADR during the month was $181.44 found in South Orange County, but these properties were still struggling as this was a -12.1% decline over the year.
San Diego County’s hotels also saw some pretty good results in March. The occupancy rate was 72.6% compared with 63.5% last year, while the ADR was down by -7.3% to $144.80. But the revenue per available room increased by +5.9%. By area, the highest occupancy rate was 83.7% in Sports Arena/Old Town. The highest ADR was $216.41 in the San Diego Bay area.
In San Francisco in March, the occupancy rate was 76.8% compared with 68.3% a year ago. The ADR fell by -6.8% to $149.18. By area in the City, Fisherman’s Wharf had the highest occupancy rate during the month, 86.0%. San Jose/Peninsula’s March hotel occupancy rate was 65.5% compared with 55.8% last year. The ADR declined by -9.3% to $116.34. (Jack Kyser)
World Trade: The World Trade Organization (WTO) announced this past week announced that world trade volumes rose by nearly +25% in the first quarter 2010 on a year-to-year basis. Exports increased by +27.0%, while imports climbed by +24.0% in the first quarter compared to a year earlier. The key factor to this growth has been a surge in Asian demand, as China and India lead the global economic recovery. From a regional perspective, the Russian Federation (+62.0%) and the Commonwealth of Independent States (+54.0%) led the way in export growth, while China (+65.0%) and India (+55.0%) experienced the highest gains in imports. The U.S. saw trade volumes jump by nearly +21.0% on a yearly basis, while the six core East Asian nations—including China, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore (all top ten LACD trading partners)—collectively saw trade volumes surge by +45.0% compared to a year earlier.
Separately, the Netherlands Bureau of Economic Policy Analysis, also known as the CPB, announced that world trade volumes rose by +3.5% in March from the previous month, which had grown by a revised +1.7%. World exports increased in every region across the globe with the exception of Africa and the Middle East area. World imports climbed in all regions of the world in March with the exception of Japan. On a monthly basis, the Euro Area saw the largest jump in March on the export side, while Latin America experienced the biggest gain on the import side. (Ferdinando Guerra)
Saturday, June 12, 2010: Valley Economic Development Center: Where's the Money? Access to Capital Business Expo
8am - 2:30pm. Sheraton Los Angeles Downtown (711 South Hope St.). Only $10 to register! Registration Includes: Breakfast—Expo—Lunch—Workshops—One on One Consultation.
Join us for a day of Education, Resources & Business Growth! Discuss your financing needs with lenders – schedule a one-on-one consultation. Obtain information from a wide range of business resource providers. Attend workshops where these topics will be discussed by panels of experts.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010: LA NABE: 4th annual Robert T. Parry Award Luncheon: Banking Conditions, Risks and Supervisory Responses
11:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. – Registration and Networking. 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. – Lunch, Session Talk, Award & Scholarship Presentations. Due to security restrictions, you must register by June 8th to be able to attend this event. Los Angeles Branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco (950 South Grand Avenue), Los Angeles.
With Featured Speaker Teresa M. Curran, Group Vice President, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Presentations of Robert T. Parry Award to a local economist for his or her contribution to their community and the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Association for Business Economics, and LA NABE Scholarship Award to a local high school student who has shown academic excellence in Economics.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010: Future Ports: Clearing the Air: Building our future begins now
7:30am registration. 8:00am - 2:00pm program. Doubletree Hotel San Pedro. FuturePorts Members $99. Non-Members $120 ($140 after June 7). Govt/Non-Profit $70 ($85 after June 7).
The Southern California region depends on the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles as their economic engine, and the benefits of that activity can be felt in every job sector. Direct and indirect jobs created by goods movement and the supply chain industry have been negatively affected by the Great Recession of 2008-09. This conference will explore what is in store for jobs in our industry, and what we can do to continue making progress on cleaning the air while building the infrastructure that will support the jobs of our future. Morning Keynote Speaker: Senator Roderick D. Wright, California State Senate, District 25.
REGISTER NOW!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010: LAEDC 2010 Mid-year Economic Forecast
7:00 a.m. Breakfast & Networking. 8:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Program. Los Angeles Marriott Downtown.
L.A. County residents and government organizations have committed more than $50 billion in public dollars to upgrade our region’s infrastructure, but will that be enough money to meet our needs? World-class infrastructure underpinned the rise of the Los Angeles County economy to the 19th largest economy in the world, but to maintain our competitive edge in today’s global economy, the region must fix the infrastructure development process and invest in upgrading its critical infrastructure. The LAEDC Mid-Year Economic Forecast is the premier source for in-depth economic information and analysis on Los Angeles County and the surrounding areas. Our first panel will discuss critical infrastructure improvement programs. The second panel will discuss the trends on the housing industry, and 5-County Southern California region, California, and national economy outlook.
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