Jobless rate plunges -- but pay stagnates
Employers added 248,000 jobs in September. To put the number in perspective, employers have added an average of 213,000 jobs each month during the past year.
This makes September’s unemployment rate the lowest since July 2008, wrote U.S. Secretary of Labor Tom Perez in his online blog, Work in Progress. It was also the 55th consecutive month of private-sector job creation.
While employers are adding jobs, wages have remained about the same. Average hourly earnings -- at $24.53 -- changed little in September. During the year, average hourly earnings have risen by 2 percent.
Jobs were added in professional and business services, retail trade and health care. But on the downside, not everyone is feeling the love.
Consider that 31.9 percent of those without jobs fall into a category known as “long-term unemployed.” This is the term the government uses to describe people who have been jobless for 27 weeks or more. The number of long-term unemployed was “essentially unchanged” in September at 3 million. During the past year, however, the number of long-term unemployed has decreased by 1.2 million.
Another figure that changed little was the number of workers employed part time for economic reasons – about 7.1 million, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. These are workers who want full-time employment. They work part time because their hours have been cut back or they were unable to find a full-time job.
The sectors adding jobs in September included:
- Professional and business services -- 81,000 jobs.
- Retail trade -- 35,000 jobs.
- Health care -- 23,000 jobs.
Related:
Uncertainty lingers at jobless rate levels out
