Employment: Jobless rate lowest in six years
Employers are adding jobs, but wages remain low.
The unemployment rate hasn't been that low since 2008. It was 5.9 percent in September. Employers added 214,000 jobs in October. But even while the workforce was growing, wages changed little, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Monthly job increases have averaged 224,000 during the past three months, according to Erica L. Groshen, the bureau's commissioner.
The health care industry is one of the areas with job increases, the report says. The industry added 25,000 jobs in October, in line with other increases during the year.
The report spotlighted encouraging signs and problem areas of the economy:
- A variety of sectors added jobs: Retail trade added 27,000 jobs in October. Employment in professional and business services continued to trend upward, with 37,000 new jobs in October. Manufacturing added 15,000 jobs.
- A flat line -- the long-term unemployed: The number of long-term unemployed – those who have been jobless for 27 weeks – changed little. It was 2.9 million in October. During the past year, the number of long-term unemployed has declined by 1.1 million.
- Anemic wage increases: The average hourly earnings for all employees rose by 3 cents to $24.57 in October, the bureau reported. During the year, average hourly earnings have risen by 2 percent. For private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees, average hourly earnings increased 4 cents to $20.70 in October.
- “Involuntary” part time: This is a group of workers employed part time for economic reasons – also known as involuntary part-time workers. Those people include workers who want full-time jobs, but they work part time because their hours have been cut or they are unable to find full-time employment. There are 7 million workers in this situation – a number unchanged in October.
- A slow step forward: While the big picture is good – an unemployment rate of 5.8 percent--some demographic groups are doing much better than others. The unemployment rate for whites declined to 4.8 percent in October, the report said. For African-American workers, the rate is 10.9 percent. It is 6.8 percent for Hispanics. The jobless rate for Asians is 5 percent.
- A marginal attachment: An estimated 2.2 million workers remain “marginally attached” to the labor force, the report says. The “marginally attached” are not working, but want and are available for work. They have searched for a job during the past year. Among the marginally attached, 770,000 are considered discouraged workers -- they aren’t looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them.
Related:
Jobless rate plunges -- but pay stagnates
Uncertainty lingers at jobless rate levels out
The job slog: Some still struggling to find work
