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 July. The headlines were downbeat, though the details inside the report were mixed in nature. The unemployment rate didn't move up or down, but it still remained too high for comfort. Nonfarm employment declined in July, solely because the federal government fired another -143,000 temporary Census workers.
Looking first at the employer survey, total nonfarm employment fell by -131,000 jobs in July, compared with a revised loss of -221,000 jobs in June and a revised gain of +432,000 jobs in May.
Government payrolls shrank by -202,000 workers in June, with federal job counts down by -154,000 jobs. State/local governments and school districts reduced headcounts by a combined -48,000 workers. Employment rolls in the private sector grew by +71,000 workers last month, the seventh consecutive monthly increase following 24 dreary months of decline.
Looking at the private industry details, eight of eleven major sectors reported higher payrolls in July. Manufacturing employment grew by +36,000 workers, the seventh consecutive monthly increase. Private education & health care services employment rose by +30,000 jobs compared with June, while transportation & warehousing recorded a gain of +12,000 jobs. Wholesale and retail trade job counts grew by +8,000 jobs and +7,000 jobs respectively. The leisure & hospitality sector recorded an increase of +6,000 jobs, as did "other services." The information sector recorded a nominal gain of +1,000 jobs, as falling employment in telecommunications was offset by increases in motion pictures, other information services, broadcasting and data processing services. The three private-industry sectors recording payroll declines over the month were: financial activities (-17,000 jobs), professional & business services (-13,000 jobs), and construction (-11,000 jobs).
The jobs picture wasn't as rosy compared with July, 2009 (though the year-over comparisons were much less negative than in earlier months). Nonfarm employers in the U.S. reduced payrolls by -52,000 workers over the past year, a decrease of just -0.04%. Private-sector employment dropped by -41,000 jobs, also down by -0.04%, over the year. Two major private-sector industry sectors recorded higher payrolls versus last year: education & health services (+372,000 jobs); and professional & business services (+269,000 jobs, bolstered by temporary help agencies' hiring of +338,000 workers). On the downside, the nine sectors shedding workers over the past year were led by construction (-376,000 jobs): financial activities (-146,000 jobs); information (-73,000 jobs); and retail trade (down by -59,000 jobs).
Outside the education & health services and temporary help services sectors, employment has also increased over the year in 22 smaller industries. Industries in this group adding the most new jobs included: mining (up by +46,700 jobs); motor vehicles & parts (+41,800 jobs); clothing & clothing accessories stores (+33,200 jobs); wholesale trade agents & brokers and electronic markets (+27,700 jobs); manufacturers of fabricated metal products (+25,700 jobs); department stores (+22,700 jobs); plastics and rubber products (+22,100 jobs); primary metals (+19,400 jobs); computer systems design services (+18,100 jobs); performing arts & spectator sports (+17,900 jobs); support activities for transportation (+12,000 jobs); and transit & ground transportation (+11,600 jobs). The other 10 smaller industries added between +300 and +7,200 new jobs in July.
The separate BLS-sponsored survey of households suggested that labor market conditions in July were about the same as in June. The U.S. unemployment rate remained at 9.5% last month, still a high level though little changed from July 2009 (when joblessness stood at 9.4%).
Comparing the major demographic groups with July 2009, the jobless rate for adult men (at 9.7%) was down by -0.1 percentage point over the year. The unemployment rate for adult women rose by +0.3 percentage points over this period (to 7.9%), while the rate for teenagers jumped by +1.6 percentage points (to 26.1%). Over the past year, the jobless rates for whites and Asian workers both decreased by -0.1 percentage point. Joblessness among black workers increased by +0.9 percentage points, while the unemployment rate among Hispanics came down by -0.3 percentage points.
Looking at all these details, it appears the labor market recovery continued in July, though at a very modest pace. Results over the past few months were complicated by the federal government's hiring—and firing—of workers for Census 2010. Note that there are still 196,000 temporary Census workers on federal payrolls. More government jobs will surely disappear in coming months and continue to dampen the headline job creation figures.
Still, government jobs were never going to be enough to generate a real recovery in the labor market. To get a proper perspective on the status of the recovery, focus instead on private-sector employment, which shrank by -8.47 million jobs during the 24 months of 2008 and 2009. In the first seven months of 2010, private payrolls have grown by +630,000 jobs (versus a total employment increase of +654,000 jobs). That's an improvement but still leaves a net loss of -7.84 million private-sector jobs since the recession began in December 2007. The labor market recovery has begun but still has a long way to go! (Nancy D. Sidhu)
Light vehicle sales increased over the year in July for the ninth consecutive month. Total light vehicle sales last month were 11.5 million (seasonally adjusted annual rate or SAAR), up by +2.7% from July 2009. This was the slowest rate of growth posted since automotive sales began to recover late last year, but sales in July 2009 received a lift from the start of CARS (Car Allowance Rebate System aka Cash-for-clunkers) program. Over the month sales were up by +4.2%.
The slowdown in growth last month was primarily attributable to passenger vehicle sales. Total car sales, including both foreign and domestic models fell by -8.9% compared with the same period last year (to 5.6 million SAAR). Sales of domestic autos dropped by -7.9% (to 3.8 million SAAR), while foreign auto sales tumbled by -10.9% (to 1.8 million SAAR). On a month-over basis, however, domestic sales ticked up by +1.6% in July and sales of foreign nameplates rose by +3.8%.
Combined sales for foreign and domestic light trucks in July jumped by +16.8% over the year (to 5.9 million SAAR), and were up by +6.1% compared with June sales. Domestic truck models remained the most popular with American consumers last month. Accounting for the bulk of vehicle sales in July, domestic truck sales were up by +20.4% (to 5.0 million SAAR), while sales of foreign models nudged up by +0.2% (to 0.9 million SAAR).
Sales of medium-heavy trucks soared by +26.3% (to 250,000 SAAR) compared to the same period last year. This was the largest year-over gain for heavier duty trucks since the summer of 2005. This is good news because increased sales in this sector indicate greater demand for commercial freight transportation and goods delivery services. Over the month, sales increased by +17.4%.
Vehicle sales last month continued to increase over year-ago levels, albeit at a slower pace than we have seen in the preceding eight months. We can also expect August sales to be down compared with last year – August 2009 received a big boost from the Cash-for-Clunkers program. Although consumer confidence has wavered recently, recovery in the automotive industry still appears to be gaining traction even if forward momentum is more like “slow ‘n go” than “zoom zoom”. (Kimberly Ritter)
Source: www.bea.gov
June total passenger traffic and air cargo reports are in from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Ontario International Airport and John Wayne/Orange County Airport. Only LAX airport reported a higher level of passenger traffic compared to a year ago, while both LAX and Ontario airports reported higher air cargo tonnage.
LAX total passenger counts (domestic and international) came in at 5.2 million passengers in June. Domestic passengers numbered 3.8 million and international passengers totaled 1.4 million. LAX experienced a rise of nearly +4.0 percent in total passenger traffic compared to June 2009. Total air cargo tonnage jumped up by a notable +19.2 percent from June 2009 to June 2010.
Ontario International Airport’s passenger traffic figures were down in June, dropping by -5.2 percent over the year. However, air cargo tonnage moved up by +10.4 percent from June 2009.
John Wayne/Orange County Airport’s passenger traffic figures declined on a year-to-year basis, falling by -1.7 percent in June. Meanwhile, air cargo tonnage decreased by -4.3 percent over the year. (Ferdinando Guerra)
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South Korea: The South Korean Ministry of Knowledge Economy announced last week that exports rose for the ninth consecutive month in July. Exports increased by nearly +30% when compared to a year earlier. The strong performance in exports reflects the global economic recovery combined with the depreciation of the South Korean Won. Exports are especially important to Asia’s fourth-largest economy (after Japan, China and India), as exports account for nearly 50% of South Korea’s GDP. The largest consumer of South Korean goods is China, and exports there climbed by nearly +37% in July. The growth of exports to the U.S. was even higher in July, as exports grew by nearly +50%. The top South Korean exports by product were autos, electronic goods and semiconductors.
(Ferdinando Guerra)
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People are now coming together to help implement the plan and you can be part of it. David Flaks, SVP of Strategic Initiatives at the LAEDC, will explain the plan, outline what’s being done to implement it and show you how you can be involved. Please join the Los Angeles Chapter of the National Association for Business Economics (NABE) at lunch on August 24, 2010 for this exciting discussion. Space is limited – reserve today at www.LANABE.org.
Tuesday, August 24: L.A. NABE: Los Angeles County Strategic Plan: A discussion of the Economic Development Plan with David Flaks of LAEDC.
11:30 am to 1:30 pm at the City National Bank Building (555 S. Flower St. 13th Floor, Los Angeles)
Endorsed by the LA County Board of Supervisors and the City of Los Angeles, the LAEDC partnered with a diverse group of local entities to formulate this plan. David Flaks is the Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives for the LAEDC. He is responsible for directing the LAEDC's consulting, policy and strategic communications competencies to support the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Economic Development in L.A. County (2010-2014) and affect policy in a way that furthers the LAEDC's mandate to attract, grow and retain businesses and jobs in L.A. County.
Saturday, September 25: Valley Economic Development Center: Where's the Money Access to Capital Business Expo
8:00 AM - 2:30 PM at The Odyssey Restaurant (15600 Odyssey Drive), Granada Hills.
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.
Save the Date! Wednesday, November 10: The LAEDC 15th Annual Eddy Awards
6:30 p.m. Reception. 7:30 p.m. Dinner and Awards Program. At the Beverly Hilton. Contact Justin Goodkind (213) 236-4813 for sponsorship and tickets.
The Eddy Awards® is a cocktail, dinner, and awards gala to support fulfillment of the LAEDC mission to attract, retain, and grow businesses and jobs for the regions of Los Angeles County. The Awards were introduced by the LAEDC in 1996 to celebrate individuals, organizations, and now cities that demonstrate exceptional contributions to positive economic development in the region. We are also pleased to present the 2010 Most Business-Friendly City in Los Angeles County award. The winning city will be announced live at the event.
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