TURNING A CORNER. National Jobs Report Much Better than Expected for November

The November jobs report was released this morning with expectations of another 120,000 to 130,000 jobs lost (the fewest since March 2008). The report is creating a major buzz in the recruitment industry as only 11,000 jobs were lost and the unemployment rate, expected to remain at 10.2% or tick up to 10.3%, actually dropped to 10%.

September and October figures were revised lowered by a combined 159,000 jobs. Temporary jobs, considered a leading indicator of future hiring activity, rose by 59,000. Manufacturing shed another 69,000 jobs while service industries expanded by 58,000, seasonally adjusted.

How this affects our local Pittsburgh market has yet to be seen, with Pittsburgh’s October report showing an uptick to 8.3% from 8.1% in October. While certainly not a “mission accomplished” moment, this portends and much faster healing of the worst jobs market in a generation. It will be interesting to see how this affects consumer attitudes in the coming months and if it is sustainable.

Pittsburgh Metro Unemployment Rate Rises to 8.3% for October 2009

While still almost 2% below the national figure of 10.2%, Pittsburgh’s area unemployment rose to 8.3% from 8.1% in September. While the metro labor force decreased by a seasonally adjusted 21,000 job seekers over October 2008, there are over 57,000 fewer jobs.

Month to month seasonally adjusted comparisons show 900 fewer job seekers from September to October with 3,000 fewer total jobs. Fayette County faired the worst with unemployment at 10.6% while Allegheny County came in at 7.7%.

For more details follow these links:
http://www.paworkstats.state.pa.us/clf/clf.pdf
http://www.paworkstats.state.pa.us/newsrel/county_unemployment_map.pdf