Reflecting general weaknesses in the economy in June, the level of job hirings and separations declined somewhat from May, according to new data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While the rates of each to total employment did not change much, there were 78,000 fewer hires and 129,000 less separations in June than in May.

This reduction in employment activity was broad-based in almost every major sector except for leisure and hospitality, which experienced additional hiring and separations in the accommodation and food services sector.

For manufacturing, hiring fell from 263,000 new workers in May to 246,000 in June. At the same time, total separations for manufacturers dropped from 272,000 in May to 250,000 in June. These declines occurred in both durable and nondurable goods sectors, with greater reductions in the latter.

The bottom line is that separations in manufacturing have exceeded hiring for the second month in a row. This time that difference is 5,000 workers, which is a marginal improvement from the 9,000 worker gap in May.

Meanwhile, job openings in manufacturing remained flat, with 211,000 new job postings in both May and June. This represents 1.8 percent of the total workforce in the sector for both months. Breaking this down using seasonally unadjusted data, however, the results are more mixed. There was an increase in job openings within durable goods industries (up from 151,000 in May to 164,000 in June); whereas, there were fewer postings for nondurables (down from 70,000 to 56,000).

These data confirm the weaknesses in the larger macro economy in June, which we already knew from employment and other data released in the past month. From the bigger picture, the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) data continue to show the stagnant pace of growth for new job creation. While the pace of separations have slowed considerably (even with the more recent weaknesses), hires have remained more-or-less in the same range for much of the past couple years. This is a challenge for policymakers, as they seek strategies that promote economic growth moving forward.

Chad Moutray is chief economist, National Association of Manufacturers.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that overall nonfarm payrolls increased by 117,000 in July, which was better than expected, and the unemployment rate dropped to 9.1 percent. Private sector jobs were up 154,000, with manufacturers hiring an additional 24,000 workers.

In addition, data for May and June were revised, and the manufacturing sector added 7,000 and 11,000 jobs, respectively, in those two months.  Since December 2009, manufacturers have created 289,000 new jobs, or over 15 percent of the total change in nonfarm employment over that time frame.

Within manufacturing, durable goods accounted for 23,000 of the net new employment, led by a healthy increase in workers at motor vehicle assembly plants (up 12,000). This is a sign that the automotive sector is beginning to recover from the supply disruptions of the spring. Fabricated metal products (up 4,500), furniture and related products (up 2,800), computer and electronic products (up 2,500), plastics and rubber products (up 2,100) and food manufacturers (up 1,700) also saw gains.

The average workweek for manufacturers was unchanged between June and July at 40.3 weekly hours and 3.1 overtime hours. Meanwhile, average hourly earnings ticked higher for manufacturing workers, up from $23.68 per hour in June to $23.79 in July.  The unemployment rate for manufacturers is currently 9.2 percent, unchanged from the previous month, with 9.6 percent within the durable goods sectors and 8.5 percent for nondurables.

In short, these numbers are an improvement. After a couple weaker months of job growth, manufacturing employment is once again moving in the right direction, led by the durable goods sector. It is important to note the bounce-back in employment within the automotive sector, which has been challenged since the Japanese earthquake and tsunami with supply chain issues. Hopefully, this bodes well for future growth in that sector.

However, manufacturers are still facing significant headwinds in the economy, as we saw yesterday with falling equity prices worldwide. To the extent that global economic problems – particularly in Europe – spread, this could have a major impact on confidence and growth in the coming months, limiting employment growth. Regulatory uncertainty is continuing to impact growth for manufacturers.

In addition, while a U.S. debt deal was enacted this week, much of the focus this fall will be on deficit reduction. As these numbers show, the public sector will continue to be a drag on both economic and job growth moving forward, but to the extent that we can get our fiscal house in order, the positives might outweigh the negatives.

Chad Moutray is chief economist, National Association of Manufactures.

Bureau of Labor Statistics data for March employment showed further growth in manufacturing employment, but at a lesser rate than for the first two months of the year. March manufacturing employment grew by 17,000, to 11.667 million. This compares to a 53,000 in January and 32,000 in February. March thus marked the second month of declining employment gains, though the March increase was significantly better than the November-December 2010 gains (see chart below).

The entire increase in March manufacturing employment was in the durable goods sector. Of the 17,000 jobs added in durable goods, the major gainers were fabricated metal products (up 8200 employees), machinery (up 4,900), and transportation equipment (up 6,100). The largest durable goods category in which employment fell was electrical equipment and appliances (down 1,900). Total durable goods employment in March was 7.227 million.

Non-durable goods employment showed no change, holding steady at 4.44 million employees. Employment in food manufacturing dropped by 2,800 employees, while the paper, printing, and petroleum products sectors each gained 800 workers.

The March employment figures are consistent with the manufacturing shipments data and industrial production data for the year so far, which show a continued gradual recovery from the 2008-09 manufacturing recession. Compared to March 2010, manufacturing jobs are up by 196,000, comprised of a durable goods gain of 217,000 and a nondurable goods employment drop of 21,000.

From the Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Employment Situation for March:

Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 216,000 in March, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 8.8 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in professional and business services, health care, leisure and hospitality, and mining. Employment in manufacturing continued to trend up….

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 216,000 in March. Job gains occurred in several service-providing industries and in mining, and manufacturing employment continued to trend up. Since a recent low in February 2010, total payroll employment has grown by 1.5 million. (See table B-1.)…

Manufacturing employment continued to trend up in March (+17,000). Job gains were concentrated in two durable goods industries–fabricated metal products (+8,000) and machinery (+5,000). Employment in durable goods manufacturing has risen by 243,000 since its most recent low in December 2009.

According to table B-1, the largest gain in manufacturing sectors came in fabricated metals, up 8,200 jobs and motor vehicle and parts, up 6,100 jobs.

Manufacturing employment in electrical equipment and appliances fell 1,900 jobs.

From the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Employment Situation Summary for December, 2010.

The unemployment rate fell by 0.4 percentage point to 9.4 percent in December, and nonfarm payroll employment increased by 103,000, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment rose in leisure and hospitality and in health care but was little changed in other major industries.

Dave Huether, chief economist of the National Association of Manufacturers, observes that the notable drop in the unemployment rate is the most positive news to come from the monthly BLS report.

“The fall in the unemployment rate is a good signal,” Huether said. “The improving jobs picture should boost consumer confidence early this year, and that in turn should give some momentum to the housing recovery. Housing and construction are big contributors to the economy, the manufacturing sector included, so this report overall sends a positive signal to manufacturers in the United States.”

Still, taken as a snapshot, the December figures for manufacturing are uninspiring.

Manufacturing employment changed little over the month (+10,000). Following job growth earlier in 2010, employment has been relatively flat,  on net, since May. Construction employment also was little changed overall in December (-16,000). Within construction, there were job losses in heavy  and civil engineering (-13,000) and in residential building (-6,000).

With just 10,000 additional jobs in manufacturing, a small sample, one should not read too much into the subcategories. Still, most of that gain of 10,000 manufacturing jobs came in durable goods: fabricated metal products, which added 4,100 jobs; transportation equipment, which includes motor vehicles and parts, up 5,500 jobs; and computers and electronic products, which rose 3,600 jobs.

The largest drop came in machinery, down 2,800 jobs.

On a year to year basis, the unemployment rate in manufacturing did improve throughout 2010. The unemployment rate for manufacturing in December 2010 was 10 percent, down from 11.9 percent a year earlier.

As for manufacturing in durable goods industries, the unemployment rate was 10.4 percent last month, compared to 13.3 percent in December 2009.

The NAM’s Huether will have more on the BLS employment report later today here at the blog.

The Burea of Labor Statistics has just released the employment situation report for August, 2010, with the unemployment rate “about unchanged” at 9.6 percent, up from 9.5 percent. Kind of folksy, that “about unchanged.”

Top line:

• Nonfarm payroll employment changed little (-54,000) in August, and the unemployment rate was about unchanged at 9.6 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Government employment fell, as 114,000 temporary workers hired for the decennial census completed their work. Private-sector payroll employment continued to trend up modestly (+67,000).

Manufacturing:

• Manufacturing employment declined by 27,000 over the month. A decline in motor vehicles and parts (-22,000) offset a gain of similar magnitude in July as the industry departed somewhat from its usual layoff and recall pattern for annual
  retooling.

Associated Press summarizes: “WASHINGTON — The unemployment rate rose in August for the first time in four months as weak hiring by private employers wasn’t enough to keep pace with a large increase in the number of people looking for work.”

From a blog post from Gino DiCaro of the California Manuafcturers and Technology Association, “Create California jobs through efficient, effective regulations and renewed commitment to economic development“:

We must understand the impact new rules and regulations will have on job creation. Recent trends, resulting in unacceptable job and wage loss for California workers are alarming and unsustainable. Site Selection magazine has released new research showing, over the last three years, California averaged only 3.7 new or expanded industrial facilities per 1 million people, while the national average was 28.7. These results coupled with the fourth worst unemployment rate in the nation and an eroding manufacturing base requires a new perspective on California’s regulatory and economic development priorities.

It’s not about one regulation, it’s not about one industry or sector, it’s about overall process improvement and a renewed commitment to jobs in California.

The April 13 post released an open letter to the Legislature with more than 300 companies supporting a campaign to expand the Legislature’s oversight of California’s government agencies.

From the Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment rates in February for the bottom 10 metropolitan areas in the United States. Anything jump out?

363 Hanford-Corcoran, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 18.2
364 Stockton, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 18.4
365 Fresno, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 18.5
366 Rockford, IL Metropolitan Statistical Area 18.6
367 Visalia-Porterville, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 18.7
368 Modesto, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 19.1
369 Yuma, AZ Metropolitan Statistical Area 19.9
370 Yuba City, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 21.6
371 Merced, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 22.1
372 El Centro, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area 27.2

The Bureau of Labor Statistics today released its annual report on union membership, in 2009 again showing a decline in private sector unionization, now down to 7.2 percent of the workforce. The recession obviously played a major role in 2009 employment figures, union and non-union.

Other major findings:

• In 2009, the union membership rate–the percent of wage and salary workers who were members of a union–was 12.3 percent, essentially unchanged from 12.4 percent a year earlier.
•  The union membership rate for public sector workers (37.4 percent) was substantially higher than the rate for private industry workers (7.2 percent).
• The number of wage and salary workers belonging to unions declined by 771,000 to 15.3 million, largely reflecting the overall drop in employment due to the recession. In 1983, the first year for which comparable union data are available, the union membership rate was 20.1 percent, and there were 17.7 million union workers.
• More public sector employees (7.9 million) belonged to a union than did private sector employees (7.4 million), despite there being 5 times more wage and salary workers in the private sector.
• Among states, New York had the highest union membership rate (25.2 percent) and North Carolina had the lowest rate (3.1 percent).

And from James Sherk of the Heritage Foundation (via Michael Franc):

• The average worker for a state or local government earns $39.83 an hour in wages and benefits. His counterpart in the private sector earns considerably less — $27.49 an hour. Over 80 percent of state and local workers have pensions; just 50 percent of private sector workers do. These differences remain, Sherk notes, even after controlling for education, skills, and demographics. The bottom line: Taxpayers now underwrite unionized government jobs that pay considerably more — over $430 per week more — than comparable jobs in the private sector.

Franc observes that “[collective] bargaining gives government employees a strong incentive to support the highest possible level of taxation at every level of government.” Which, we add, discourages investment by the private sector.

After a revised gain of 4,000 jobs in November — the first monthly employment increase in two years — payrolls ended the year down, falling by 85,000 in December according to today’s Labor Department report, while the unemployment rate held steady at 10 percent.

The December report was a mixed bag. While the revised jobs gain in November was encouraging, it would be a mistake to assume that private sector full-time employment is finally on the mend. The gain in November was due entirely to increases in government and temporary employment. Outside of these two areas, payrolls were cut by 55,000 in November and by 110,500 last month.

While overall labor market conditions soured in December, some positive developments did take place. First, temporary employment increased for a fifth consecutive month, an early indication that companies are needing to expand worker-hours in response to rising demand. Second, the decline of 27,000 jobs in manufacturing employment was the shallowest drop in two years. Still, just six of the 19 major manufacturing industries actually increased employment last month.

While today’s report shows that overall economic conditions have improved from the beginning of the year, these numbers still indicate that the economy is still in a fragile state, and manufacturers are still struggling and facing many uncertainties ahead.

The Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics today released workplace safety statistics for 2008. (BLS release) The data highlight an important, positive development often overlooked by many policymakers – workplace injury and illness continue to significantly improve in both the private sector and more specifically in manufacturing. Overall in the private sector, we saw the most significant improvement with a 7.1 percent decrease in total recordable case rates; rates in manufacturing workplaces improved by 10.7 percent.

While no one factor completely explains this improvement, Members of Congress and Labor Department officials need to understand what’s working before they attempt to overhaul the current system. The leadership at the Labor Department has pledged a new emphasis on more aggressive enforcement and has questioned the effectiveness of non-punitive programs that assist employers to comply with existing standards.

In order to continue improving safety, policymakers should keep doing what works and that’s the cooperative approach that the OSHA has undertaken with employers. Proposals like the Protecting America’s Workers Act will create a more adversarial relationship while doing nothing to reinforce the successful work that’s already taken place.

UPDATE 3:23pm Labor Secretary Hilda Solis acknowledges the improvements, while continuing to stress the need for “strong enforcement.” Safety should be a top priority in every workplace and good injury data is essential, agreed, but we suspect any effort to validate recordkeeping will find the same improving trends among manufacturers.