•Press Release
May 2, 2008 (Jobs Byte)
Jobs Byte by Dean Baker
For Immediate Release: May 2, 2008
Contact: Alan Barber, (202) 293-5380 x115
“Health care employment has grown at a 3.1 percent annual rate this year.”
The unemployment rate edged down to 5.0 in April, even as the establishment survey showed the economy losing another 20,000 jobs. The decline was driven by a loss of 61,000 jobs in construction and 46,000 in manufacturing. The private sector lost 29,000 jobs, the fifth consecutive month of job loss.
The employment situation in construction continues to worsen, with losses in residential now being compounded by declining employment in the non-residential sector as well. It is likely that job loss in this sector had been understated at the start of the housing downturn, since there were many undocumented workers in the industry who never showed up in the data. With most undocumented workers having already lost their jobs, the reported job loss probably corresponds more closely to the actual job loss. The pace of job loss in manufacturing is also striking. The sector has lost 198,000 jobs since November, or 1.4 percent of total employment. The auto sector has accounted for 64,000 of the lost jobs.
The retail sector is also shedding jobs at a rapid pace, losing 26,800 jobs in April and 130,000 since November. With several major retail chains having announced plans for store closings and others scaling back expansion plans, this decline is likely to continue. The temporary help sector also continues to lose jobs at a rapid pace, with employment falling by 9,300 in April. Since November, the sector has lost 80,000 jobs or 3.1 percent of total employment. Insofar as employment in this sector is a harbinger of growth in permanent employment, this is not good news.
