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Generally, I try to start my BLS report summaries off in a light-hearted manner, maybe with an anecdote, a clever analogy, a self-depreciating comment thrown in here and there. But I’m tired, and there are only so many ways to diffuse the attention off of the situation at hand: our country is losing jobs. Has been for awhile.

As you might have already guessed, our employment situation’s downward spiral continued through the month of September. The U.S. dropped another 159,000 positions. That’s the largest monthly decline in five years.

Luckily, the unemployment rate held at 6.1 percent (after that painful spike in August), but economists estimate it’s only because many people stopped actively looking for work in light of the nation’s economic problems — so they’re no longer categorized as unemployed for the purposes of the BLS survey. Additionally, the ratio of people who work part-time for non-economic reasons (they do it just for fun!) to people who do it for financial reasons has slipped from 5:1 to 3:1 in the last twelve months. In other words, more people are working part-time because they have to, not because they want to. The amount of people who work part-time because that’s the only work they can find has also doubled over the past year.

This most recent decrease in U.S. jobs brings our casualty count for the year to 760,000. We all know that hurts. In an effort not to belabor this bad news too much, I’ll resort to a list to illustrate which industries contributed most to our latest deficit in positions. Ahh yes, I give you the stars of September…

- Construction (-35,000)
- Manufacturing (-51,000)
- Retail trade (-40,000)
- Transportation and warehousing (-16,000)
- Financial activities (-17,000)
- Professional and business services (-27,000)
- Leisure and hospitality (-17,000)*

The only sectors able to add positions were, predictably, health care services (+17,000), government (+9,000), and mining (+8,000). But those increases were minor compared to the industries’ typical gains, specifically health care’s. Which may have a lot (or at least something) to do with the precarious situation that September’s left us in. I’d like to say it couldn’t get much worse, but in all reality, who’s feeling confident after looking at 2008’s track record?

Maybe it’s not such a bad time to be heading back to school…or your computer…to weather this economic storm…

*Used to be one of the good guys. But plummeting economy = no disposable income = no leisure, no hospitality, no fun, maybe even no sunshine and puppies.

On my brief hiatus from covering the monthly employment situation reports, I skipped over a less than stellar report that was released by the BLS in July. But no worries, I’m back, and this time I’m here to recap an even worse report from August. Figures. But let’s move along to the discouraging details, shall we?

The national unemployment rate in the U.S. rose another four-tenths of a percentage point to reach 6.1 percent in August, the highest it’s been in five years. Total nonfarm payroll employment fell by 84,000 positions last month as well. With the employment numbers from July and June being revised to reflect larger losses than before, the total number of jobs that have been lost in our country since the start of 2008 now stands at 605,000.

These developments within the U.S. job market in August have done the most to spark discussions of a recession. The manufacturing industry bore the brunt of the cuts, posting a loss of 61,000 jobs last month. Almost 40,000 of these positions were lost in motor vehicles and parts manufacturing. Employment services also dropped 53,000 jobs over the month. Surprisingly, the construction sector only lost 8,000 positions in August, signifying a major slow-down in losses for the industry when compared with recent months. Wholesale trade cut another 10,000 positions, while retail trade dropped close to 20,000.

Job creation responsibilities, for the most part, fell solely on the shoulders of the health services industry. Health care and social assistance positions increased by 38,000 over the course of August. Food services and drinking places have officially fallen flat, adding only 2,300 jobs last month. Government managed to add 17,000 jobs as well, while the mining industry, which has been touted as a top-performing sector by the BLS as of late, added about 12,000 positions.

The average hourly earnings of U.S. workers jumped up another seven cents in August, and our average weekly earnings rose by almost half a percent to reach $611.32. In the last year, average hourly earnings in the country have increased by 3.6 percent.

In an effort not to delay the inevitable, I’ll break the bad news to you first: the U.S lost 62,000 positions in June. To make matters worse, it looks as though the employment numbers (or rather, losses) from every month since the start of 2008 have been revised downward to reflect larger losses. Admittedly not great news for the U.S., but not that surprising either. The country has consistently posted negative payroll numbers in recent months, and the BLS seems to love revising every number it releases, even if some changes are more slight than others.

I realize that introducing bad news first implies that there is some sort of good news to report. What can I say, I felt like misleading all of you this afternoon. The employment situation data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Thursday morning held few positive details. The health care sector did manage to generate jobs in June — 15,000 of them — but even that was a drop from the 30,000 positions that the industry’s been gaining on average each month since the middle of last year. Food services and drinking places (+16,000) and the government (+29,000) also added a respectable number of jobs, but clearly not enough to pull the country out of the red this past month.

The U.S. unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5.5 percent. The number of newly unemployed persons (those jobless for fewer than five weeks) jumped upward in May by 760,000 and then decreased by more than 530,000 in June. Consequently, the number of persons in the country unemployed between five and 14 weeks rose by 530,000.

The most notable losses last month came in the construction (-43,000), manufacturing (-33,000), and professional and business services (-51,000) sectors. I mentioned in my overview of May’s report that the nation’s overall job losses in 2008 had surpassed 320,000. With the revisions made to prior months’ numbers and the new cuts that came in June, the U.S. has now dropped 438,000 positions since the start of the year.

But the average hourly rate for U.S. workers did increase by six cents to reach $18.01 in June, and I always like to think that the next BLS report (and another chance for an actual gain in jobs) is only four weeks away. So until then…let’s all hope for a miracle together.

The bad news continues to bear down on us this month, with the U.S. losing close to 50,000 jobs over the course of May and the unemployment rate rising by another half a percent. That, unfortunately, makes our country’s streak of declining payroll numbers five months strong. And seeing as I naturally possess a low level of optimism (I like to think of myself as a realist), I’m having trouble mustering up some words of encouragement for all of you regarding the latest BLS employment situation report. So in an effort not to pontificate on this “streak” of ours in a way that isn’t all gloomy and doomsdayish, I’ll cut straight to the facts.

The nation is currently flirting with an unemployment rate of 5.5 percent, which is a dramatic jump from April’s much more tolerable rate of an even 5.0 percent. The additional 49,000 positions that were dropped from the payroll totals in May bring our overall job losses in 2008 to 324,000. The employment situation report released on Friday morning specifically reported higher unemployment rates among adult men and women, teenagers, blacks, and whites. The number of newly unemployed persons in the nation spiked upward in May by 760,000 as well, bringing that segment of the population to 3.2 million.

Job losses and gains were, once again, standard. The construction industry suffered a loss of 34,000 positions. Manufacturing employment also trended downward (-26,000 jobs), as did retail trade (-27,000 jobs). Professional and business services rounded out the large losses in May with 39,000 less positions. Within this industry, temporary help services alone lost 30,000 jobs. Much of last month’s overall drop in nonfarm payroll employment could be contributed to the professional and business services sector. The industry fluctuates and hasn’t consistently lost jobs over the past few months, unlike the construction, manufacturing, and retail trade industries.

With regard to employment gains, health care posted one of the only significant numbers in May, adding 34,000 positions overall. This latest increase brings the health care sector’s job creation over the past 12 months to almost 400,000 positions.

In closing, the average workweek for production and nonsupervisory workers was unchanged (at 33.7 hours) over the past month. And the average hourly earnings of U.S. workers rose by another five cents in May — bringing the average weekly earnings of these employees to $604.58. Since May 2007, the average hourly wages for the country’s workforce have risen 3.5 percent.

I won’t lie; I’m feeling somewhat at ease after reading the latest employment situation report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics this morning. Sure, the country lost 20,000 positions in April. And yeah, maybe the construction and manufacturing sectors are sinking faster than the toddlers who leap defiantly into the deep end of the swimming pool without their bubbles on. But after suffering through a combined loss of close to 240,000 jobs in the months of January, February, and March of this year; America’s going to take what it can get.

So thank you, month of April, for making the dwindling payroll totals a little easier to stomach on this Friday afternoon.

The total number of unemployed persons in the U.S. now sits at 7.6 million, compared with 6.8 million at this time last year. The overall unemployment rate in April of 2007 was 4.5 percent, whereas this past April’s unemployment rate stagnated around 5.0 percent. So a year has left a lot to desire. Total nonfarm payroll employment for the nation now comes in at just above 137.8 million.

As a whole, the health care sector added 37,000 jobs in April, with the biggest additions coming in popular subcategories like ambulatory health care services and hospitals. Professional and technical services contributed a surprising 27,000 positions as well. Computer systems design (+10,000 jobs) and accounting and bookkeeping services (+9,000 jobs) both played a crucial role in this industry’s growth last month. Despite a significant contribution from food services (+18,000 positions), this sector has consistently been experiencing slower growth over the past several months.

The country’s employment losses were, in a word, typical. Construction dropped another 61,000 jobs. The industry is approaching a loss of nearly 500,000 positions since its peak in the fall of 2006. The manufacturing segment cut close to 50,000 jobs in April, most notably in durable goods manufacturing. Retail trade also declined by 27,000 positions.

In less dramatic news, the average workweek for production and nonsupervisory workers was down by 0.1 hour to 33.7 hours, while our average hourly wages increased by only one cent (compared with six cents in February and March). Over the past 12 months, the country’s average weekly earnings have risen by 3.1 percent.

Today’s post on the employment situation report from March is going to have to be short, because, well, there really isn’t anything good to say about it. March’s drop in payroll numbers hurts, and if we’re building off of my masterful analogy from last month…it sort of feels like someone whacked that bruise with a baseball bat, taking both legs out from under the U.S. economy in the process.

Basically, the nation lost 80,000 jobs in March. The payroll numbers from January and February have both (unsurprisingly) been revised downward, making for a total three-month loss of 232,000 positions. That isn’t the most encouraging way to start off a new year. The national unemployment rate finally reflected these losses, rising from 4.8 to 5.1 percent in March alone. Unemployment rates rose in most of the country’s demographic categories as well, including adult men and women, Hispanics, blacks, and whites.

So where did all these nasty numbers come from? Well, that’s an easy enough question to answer. Jobs in construction? Declined by over 50,000. The manufacturing industry? Another 48,000 positions lost. Professional and business services? Cut 35,000 jobs. To be fair, a large part of the deficit in manufacturing positions was due to a strike in the auto parts sector. However, it isn’t as though the other numbers look any better standing alone.

The health care industry somehow managed to add 23,000 jobs in March. Food services tacked on another 23,000 positions as well. I find it interesting (and a tad bit disheartening) that BLS officials felt the need to tout increased employment in the mining industry as another highlight from March. The sector gained 6,000 jobs last month. But hey, I guess it’s better than a loss.

Based on my personal threshold for depressing statistics, I think that’s a sufficient amount of bad news to tide you over until next month, or at least next week, if you’re the type who’s able to bounce back quickly. (And by saying that, I’m implying that you’re able to disregard serious economic problems within the span of just a few days…and that maybe something is wrong with you.) The average workweek edged upward to reach 33.8 hours in March, and our hourly earnings increased by five cents to place the average American worker’s weekly salary at $603.67. I figured I’d at least leave you with that: we’ve broken the $600 mark people. And don’t forget, it’s Friday, so you’ve got the entire weekend to try and forget you ever read this post. Me? I’ve got another month ahead of me to hope that these employment reports get a little easier to write about.

I think I may have overstepped my bounds a bit in recent posts. Based on the latest employment situation reports, as well as my best judgment, I more or less dismissed the idea of manufacturing as a viable career. For explicit proof, see the following excerpt taken from my post on the payroll numbers from January:

So, what advice is there to gain from January’s BLS report? First, steer clear of jobs in the goods-producing sector in the upcoming year — or at least anything related to non-essential goods. Service is a stronger alternative, as health care continues to prove its resiliency.

While my advice regarding the health care industry was well-founded, I’ll admit that I was quick to discount the opportunities available in various goods-producing sectors. In my overview of February’s employment situation report, I stated that the strength of the economy lies in the service industries right now. This is a better way of phrasing our current situation. Because even though the goods-producing industries as whole lost nearly 90,000 jobs last month, that’s only a small fraction of the entire employment picture (think 0.006 percent of the U.S. civilian labor force). And a loss like that impacts the perception of our country’s economy a whole lot more than the fate of individual workers.

That being said, the manufacturing industry is in a recession. The sector has dropped close to three million jobs since 2001, and more than 80,000 manufacturing positions have been lost in the first two months of 2008 alone. But a detail that’s easily overlooked, or at least one that was missed by yours truly, is that not all manufacturing professions are suffering. In actuality, manufacturing jobs requiring a mix of advanced skills in areas such as math, science, and technology have grown by 37 percent; and 80 percent of U.S. manufacturers report a lack of qualified job applicants to choose from. In a way, it’s like a job shortage hidden within a recession. And you wonder why some people have given up on trying to analyze the country’s job market…

Because of the scarcity of skilled professionals pursuing careers in manufacturing, and the negative, outdated stereotypes surrounding the industry, The National Association of Manufacturers recently teamed up with several national partners to launch the Dream It. Do It. campaign. The campaign was initially introduced in Kansas City, and the purpose behind it is to educate young adults about the unconventional, lesser known careers in manufacturing worth pursuing. Following the success of Dream It. Do It. in Kansas City, the movement has since spread to several other regions within the U.S. The advertising campaign has also begun circulating around YouTube, Facebook, and MySpace.

A few of the dream jobs featured on the Dream It. Do It. website include bioprocess supervisors, electronics engineering technicians, food science technicians, mechanical engineers, and robotics technicians. Food science technicians are responsible for testing consumer food products and creating nutrition labels, and they make close to $50,000 a year with a bachelor’s degree. Bioprocess supervisors oversee the creation of products like pharmaceuticals and pesticides, while robotics technicians design everything from remote-controlled bulldozers to robotic appendages. You can view all of the profiled manufacturing careers here. The education required for each profession ranges from a high school diploma with an apprenticeship to a Ph.D., and the salaries fluctuate in about the same way. Be sure to browse through all the career profiles to gain a better sense of contemporary manufacturing, and to rid yourself of the visions of assembly line workers dancing through your head.

In all honesty, I was shocked and excited to begin my morning with information that is so contradictory to everything that we’re reading today about the U.S. economy and its weaker industries. If you are willing to get the necessary training and education, and research your preferred industry extensively, you can most likely find worthwhile employment opportunities in any sector. And I know that makes me (and hopefully you) feel a little more at ease about a few pitiful BLS reports.

After reading over what I had to say about the BLS report last month, I realize now that I sounded a bit pessimistic. Telling you to stay in bed on the first Friday of every month from now on because the payroll numbers wouldn’t be worth looking at, that was melodramatic of me. That’s not to say that I wasn’t right. (Because, for the record, I was.) It’s just that there are worse things to wake up to in the morning than a few lost jobs. Allow me to set up an analogy here while you ponder inappropriate responses to my last comment.

For argument’s sake, we’ll say that the current state of the U.S. economy is like a large bruise. And the employment situation report from February is the equivalent of someone kicking that bruise…really hard. The action doesn’t leave a fresh mark, but it still hurts like hell. And the entire experience convinces you of the fact that the person who kicked you is cruel, and may have no soul. The kicker in this metaphor will remain unnamed. And that, my friends, is me being positive. I know what you’re thinking, I put a whole new spin on optimism.

Anyways, let’s get on with the ugly details, because I’ve got happier things to fill my Friday afternoon with…like sunshine, rainbows, maybe even some ice cream. The U.S. lost 63,000 jobs in February, which means that I’m going to need a cone piled high with Cookie Dough Delight directly after writing this post.

All joking aside, the payroll numbers from last month were pretty miserable, with only a few economic bright spots to fall back on. December and January’s numbers were also revised, and not in a good way. December shifted from +82,000 jobs to +41,000, making the month’s overall progression go a little something like this: +18,000 to +82,000 to +41,000. Even if you don’t enjoy the news they’ve been releasing lately, you’ve got to love the Bureau of Labor Statistics for making everyone else look a little less indecisive. January’s employment situation, on the other hand, suffered a minor drop from -17,000 positions to -22,000.

The country’s unemployment rate now comes in at 4.8 percent, with the employment-population ratio holding steady at 62.7 percent. The average workweek in February remained unchanged at 33.7 hours, and our average hourly earnings rose by another five cents. That puts the average weekly earnings of Americans at just under $600. Over the last year, the nation’s hourly and weekly earnings have increased by 3.7 percent.

If you want to better understand the job losses that occurred in February, you should look at the breakdown of the industries first. The manufacturing sector lost a whopping 52,000 jobs last month, with significant losses in areas such as motor vehicles and parts (-13,000), furniture (-6,000), and wood products (-5,000). Retail trade felt a hit as well, dropping 34,000 positions in February. Construction employment continued to trend downwards, with 39,000 jobs lost last month. Since September of 2006, the construction industry has dropped over 330,000 positions. Residential specialty trades and residential building are two sectors that have suffered considerably during the industry’s downturn.

The health care industry was able to add 36,000 jobs over the course of February, and its biggest gains came in ambulatory health care services (+14,800 jobs) and hospitals (+16,500 jobs). Food services and drinking places gained close to 20,000 positions as well. Similar to what I gathered after browsing through January’s BLS report, February’s numbers leave me with only one conclusion: the strength of our economy lies in the service sectors right now. The service-producing industry as a whole added 26,000 jobs in February. Conversely, the players in the goods-producing industry generated a deficit of 89,000 positions last month. This is the primary reason why our payroll numbers suffered so much in February.

At this point, you may be wondering what I, with all my unofficial expert wisdom, think of this whole situation. Well, if the service industry picks up a bit in March, and the manufacturing and retail sectors recover somewhat over the next few weeks, the country’s employment picture could get a whole lot prettier by the time April hits. Oh, and if you’re the type of person who prefers stability, get a degree in health care. There, that was rather hopeful, now wasn’t it?

There’s nothing like a pitiful employment situation report on a Friday morning to make you wish that you were back home in bed. At least then I’d be safe from the dead weight that is our current economy, and by safe I mean blissfully unaware.

Payroll numbers for January were released this morning, and at first glance, the Bureau of Labor Statistics is estimating that the U.S. lost 17,000 jobs over the course of last month. The only positive news to offset this drop in employment are the revised numbers from December, which indicate that the nation gained 82,000 positions that month, rather than the 18,000 that December’s BLS report initially suggested.

Despite the recent loss in jobs, the country’s unemployment rate was able to improve slightly between December and January, dropping one-tenth of a percentage point to 4.9 percent. I normally begin recapping the industries with gains in jobs first, but seeing at the payroll numbers have dipped into the negative spectrum, I figure I’ll start with the losses first:

The construction industry’s stability continues to plummet with another 27,000 positions lost in the month of January. The manufacturing sector took a hit as well, dropping 28,000 jobs over the past month. As a whole, the goods-producing industry lost 51,000 positions. State government education also cut 26,000 jobs, and the professional and business services industry lost 11,000 positions overall.

As expected, health care was one of the only occupational areas to add a significant number of jobs last month (+27,000). Ambulatory health care services gained nearly 14,000 positions, while hospitals added another 10,000. Food services and drinking places, an industry that normally adds just as many jobs as health care, was only able to post a gain of 14,800 positions in January (which is still better than most).

The average workweek for U.S. employees decreased slightly to 33.7 hours, and our average hourly earnings rose by four cents to $17.75. Over the year, the country’s average hourly earnings have increased by 3.7 percent. January’s BLS report also includes a table of revisions for January through December of last year. I consider this data table to be extremely useful, as the initial predictions for jobs gained (or lost) during one month can be dramatically revised in the months that follow.

So, what advice is there to gain from January’s BLS report? First, steer clear of jobs in the goods-producing sector in the upcoming year — or at least anything related to non-essential goods. Service is a stronger alternative, as health care continues to prove its resiliency. Oh, and there’s no need to rush out of bed on the first Friday of the month in the near future, because I doubt that the next few payroll reports will be anything to write home (or in this case, blog) about. But I suppose you never know; some trends suggest that payroll gains are lowest towards the beginning of the year. So as always, I’ll be here next month to recap and hopefully reenergize my interest in the jobs report.

The first Friday of the month is already upon us, and it’s brought bad news. Payroll employment in the country is up 18,000 positions, which…in the grand scheme of things…sort of amounts to nothing. I am happy to say that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics isn’t reporting a loss for December, but a number this small isn’t much better.

One number that did make a big move last month? The national unemployment rate, which has jumped from 4.7 percent to 5.0 percent between the end of November and now. The unemployed population increased by 474,000 persons in December, bringing the total number of unemployed workers in the U.S. to 7.7 million (versus 6.8 million a year ago).

There’s no need to dwell on these less-than-impressive numbers, so let’s divert our attention to the industry overviews. No big surprises here. A few notable gains and losses include:

Professional & technical services: +33,000 jobs
Health care: +28,000 jobs
Food services: +27,000 jobs
*Note that the health care sector and the food services industry combined to equal about 2/3 of all the private sector job growth in 2007.

Construction: -49,000 jobs
Manufacturing: -31,000 jobs
Retail trade: -24,000 jobs

As you see, construction and manufacturing had a pretty rough month, and these large losses offset gains in the service industries. The workweek remained unchanged at 33.8 hours, and a seven-cent rise in the average hourly earnings of U.S. workers (which follows an eight-cent rise in November) reveals that worries about inflation are not far off.

Sorry to be a such a downer on a Friday afternoon, but there weren’t too many positives to be found in the BLS report for December. My career advice would be to stick to the service fields when exploring degree options in the new year.