Jan-20-10 Employment Declined by 2,300 in December; Unemployment Rose to 10.1 Percent
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Total nonfarm wage and salary employment in the Garden State fell to 3,910,400 in December. Over the month, employment was lower in both the private (-1,100 jobs) and public (-1,200) sectors of the New Jersey economy. Based on more complete reporting, previously released estimates of November employment (-9,400) were revised higher by 1,100 resulting in an October-to-November loss of 8,300 jobs.
It should be noted that the employment figures released each month are estimates from a sample-based survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and are subject to annual revisions. This required annual process, or benchmarking, incorporates more complete data from all New Jersey employers. The benchmarked data, which will provide a more accurate picture of the New Jersey economy for the entire calendar year, will be released on March 10, 2010.
In December, five of ten private sector industry sectors suffered job losses while four recorded gains, one was unchanged. The largest over-the-month private sector job losses were recorded in manufacturing (-5,400 jobs), construction (-2,400) and financial activities (-1,700). The large drop in manufacturing was felt in both the durable (-2,100) and nondurable goods (-3,300) components. Smaller over-the-month losses were evident in education and health services (-500) and leisure and hospitality (-200).
Sizeable December employment gains occurred in the trade, transportation and utilities (+3,900), professional and business services (+3,500) and information (+1,400) industry sectors. The gain in trade, transportation, and utilities was due to hiring in the wholesale trade (+3,000) and transportation and warehousing (+3,600) segments while the advance in professional and business services was boosted by gains in professional, scientific and technical services (+1,800) and administrative support/waste management/remediation services (+2,100).
Public sector employment was down by 1,200 over the month led by contractions at the federal (-900) and state (-300) government levels. Local government employment was unchanged.
Over the month, the unadjusted workweek for manufacturing workers increased by 0.2 to 41.8 hours, average hourly earnings increased by $0.10 to $18.17 and weekly earnings were up by $7.80 to $759.51. Compared with December of last year, the unadjusted workweek was higher by 0.3 hour, average hourly earnings decreased by -$0.20 and weekly earnings were lower by -$2.85.
Press Release Tables
Note: Estimates of industry employment and unemployment levels are arrived at through the use of two different monthly surveys.
Industry employment data are derived through the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey, a monthly survey of business establishments conducted by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) of the US Department of Labor, which provides estimates of employment, hours, and earnings data broken down by industry for the nation as a whole, all states, and most major metropolitan areas (often referred to as the “establishment” survey). Through a Federal-State cooperative endeavor, the employment security agency in each state analyzes and publishes industry employment data reports detailing the CES data compiled by BLS, using concepts, definitions, and technical procedures prescribed by BLS.
Resident employment and unemployment data are mainly derived from the New Jersey portion of the national Current Population Survey (CPS), a household survey conducted each month by the US Census Bureau under contract with BLS, which provides input to the Local Area Unemployment Statistics (LAUS) program (often referred to as the “household” survey). Through a Federal-State cooperative endeavor, the employment security agency of each state analyzes and publishes reports detailing the LAUS data compiled by BLS using concepts, definitions, and technical procedures prescribed by BLS.
Both industry and household estimates are revised each month based on additional information from updated survey reports compiled by BLS. In addition, these estimates are benchmarked (revised) annually based on actual counts from New Jersey's Unemployment Insurance Compensation Law administrative records and other data.
