September Unemployment Remains at 6.1%, but an Additional 51,000 Manufacturing Jobs Lost During the Month

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--For the first time in months, the national unemployment rate did not increase, holding steady at 6.1% through the month of September. Job losses, however, continued within the manufacturing and construction sectors, which respectively lost 51,000 jobs and 35,000 jobs during September, continuing the downward slide in employment in these key areas. Hiring remains at a four-year low and is not expected to improve in the near future, especially with the recent turmoil on Wall Street.

Long-term unemployment, referring to those who have been jobless for 27 weeks or more, rose dramatically during September, despite the overall unemployment rate remaining at 6.1%. Long-term unemployment peaked at 2 million workers in September, an increase of 167,000 for the month. Over the past 12 months, the long-term unemployment number has increased by 728,000.

Part-time employment figures continue to rise as well. In September, the part-time employment figure increased by 331,000 to 6.1 million. In the past 12 months, part-time employment numbers have increased by 1.6 million as more and more people who have lost their job during the past two years have been forced to seek part-time employment to keep money coming into their households.

Of the 51,000 lost manufacturing jobs in September, 35% of these, or 18,000 jobs, fell within the automotive sector. The automotive sector has been experiencing multiple problems domestically and has been cutting jobs and closing plants left and right throughout the last two years. Over the last 12 months, the automotive sector has lost a total of 140,000 jobs among motor vehicle assembly facilities, parts manufacturers and tier suppliers. The losses are expected to continue well into 2009.

Other sectors that showed large losses during September include the fabricated metal products sector with 7,000 jobs lost, the housing, building products and furniture sector with 10,000 jobs lost, and the plastics and rubber products sector with 4,000 jobs lost. Other industries are seeing job losses as well. In the paper industry, over 3,000 jobs were lost in September. The trucking industry has been hit hard in recent months, losing 12,000 jobs in September alone.

The unemployment situation in the United States is not expected to improve in the near future. With the bailout of Wall Street last week, more jobs are certainly going to be lost as the government delves into correcting the mistakes made in the financial industry in the coming months. In fact, it would not be at all surprising if job losses continued to rise before they show signs of decreasing as the country works its way through this latest crisis. The balance of 2008 is going to be rough on many sectors around the country as the economy tightens up, and job losses should continue to mount once the October numbers are released.

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.