Job Losses Continue to Mount as U.S. Unemployment Rate Hits 6.5%

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--As the economy has continued its monthly slide into recession, the nation's unemployment rate has been tagging along for the ride. The Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics released its unemployment figures for the month of October, showing that the unemployment rate has reached a 14-year high of 6.5%. This means an additional 240,000 jobs were lost during the month of October alone as the rate jumped from 6.1% in September, marking the 10th straight month of job losses in the United States.

These numbers come on the heels of August and September numbers that were initially reported incorrectly. Job losses in August topped the 127,000 mark, much higher than the reported 73,000, and in September 284,000 jobs disappeared as opposed to the 159,000 previously announced. Analysts had been expecting the October numbers to show the jobless rate only increasing to 6.3% with around 200,000 jobs lost, but they were obviously woefully underestimating the effect the economy slip has had on the job market. In 2008, over 1.2 million jobs have been eliminated.

A more detailed examination of where these job losses continue to occur shows that the biggest loser was service-related industries, losing 108,000 jobs last month, which is not altogether unexpected in a sliding economy. The manufacturing sector placed a close second with 90,000 jobs lost, while the construction industry remained in third place with 49,000 jobs lost. The only sectors to show positive job numbers were education, health services and the government sector, but these were easily overshadowed by massive jobs losses in other areas.

The biggest loser during the month within the key manufacturing segment of the report was the aerospace sector with 27,000 jobs lost for the month primarily because of the machinists union strike at The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA) (Chicago, Illinois). Other sectors that fared badly during the month included:

• the fabricated-metal products sector with 11,000 jobs lost
• the furniture and related products sector with 10,000 jobs lost
• the automotive sector with 9,000 jobs lost
• the plastics and rubber products sector with 6,000 jobs lost
• the printing sector with 4,000 jobs lost.

Fixing the failing economy and stemming the flow of jobs losses will be some of the key issues that President-Elect Obama will have to address quickly once he takes office in January 2009. The President-Elect has begun meeting with key leaders on Capitol Hill as he attempts to get his strategy in place prior to actually taking office. But with additional bailouts potentially looming on Wall Street and a dismal automotive sector begging for bailout financing, the incoming administration may well have their respective plates overflowing come January.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is a marketing information service specializing in industrial process, energy and financial related markets with products and services ranging from industry news, analytics, forecasting, plant and project databases, as well as multimedia services.