Get more! Sign up for PLANSPONSOR newsletters.
January New Jobs Lower than Forecast
On the up side, the US Department of Labor (DoL) reported in its monthly employment survey that the nation’s January jobless rate dropped from 4.9% in December to 4.7%. The last time it was that low was July 2001.
According to DoL data, theUS labor market grew by 193,000 jobs in January – below the 240,000 predicted by economists polled by Reuters. Among the monthly revisions the government now says 140,000 positions were added in December (compared to the original 108,000). The DoL said 354,000 jobs were created in November (compared to the originally reported 305,000). The revisions were part of its annual adjustment of the data, the DoL said.
The DoL said that January construction employment
increased by 46,000; over the year, construction
employment has risen by 345,000. Specialty trade
contractors added 28,000 jobs over the month, while
residential building and heavy and civil engineering
construction added 8,000 each. Mining continued its
upward trend in January, adding 6,000 jobs. Support
activities for mining, particularly those related to oil
and gas, accounted for two-thirds of the over-the-month
gain.
In the goods-producing sector, manufacturing
employment was little changed for the second month in a
row. Within durable goods, employment gains in
nonmetallic mineral products (6,000) and primary metals
(3,000) were partially offset by a decline in computer
and electronic products (-6,000).
In the service-providing sector, employment in health
care and social assistance rose by 38,000 in
January. Ambulatory health care services (which
includes doctors’ offices and home health care) added
15,000 jobs. Job growth also occurred in hospitals
(7,000) and in nursing and residential care facilities
(7,000). Health care employment increased by
287,000 over the year. Employment in social assistance
continued to trend up in January and has grown by 77,000
over the year.
Over the month, financial activities employment was up by
21,000, following little change in December. Credit
intermediation added 11,000 jobs in January, and
real estate employment rose by 10,000.
Employment in food services and drinking places grew by
31,000 in January; over the year, this industry has added
214,000 jobs. In January, wholesale trade
employment increased by 15,000. Employment in
retail trade was flat over the month and has shown no net
growth since July 2005.
Employment in professional and business services
continued to trend up over the month (24,000); the number
of jobs in the industry has increased by 515,000 over the
year. In January, computer systems design services
gained 7,000 jobs. Temporary help services employment was
little changed over the month but has increased by
187,000 over the year. Following a strong
employment increase in December, accounting and
bookkeeping services lost 18,000 jobs in January.