Press Release
Stephen James Associates Comments on July Employment Report
Recruitment firm says the labor markets aren’t all
‘doom and gloom’ ; need to look beyond the headlines to see key trends
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
August 2008 – Stephen James Associates, an emerging national professional recruitment firm, says although the U.S. Bureau of Labor & Statistics July Employment Report, with an increase in the unemployment rate to 5.7% and 51,000 jobs lost, indicates a continuing sluggish labor market, it is important to dissect the numbers to see key trends and keep perspective.
Construction, manufacturing, retail and temporary employment continued their downward trend in July with a combined loss of 104,000 jobs. With the total loss for the month of 51,000 jobs, it indicates 53,000 jobs were created in other industries. For the year the four industries have a combined loss of 947,000 jobs. With the total loss for the year of 463,000 jobs, it indicates 484,000 jobs were created in other industries.
The four hard-hit industries also have a disproportionate share of lower-wage workers. Since the end of 2007, the number of non-college graduates 25 years and older employed has decreased 514,000. At the same time, the number of college graduates 25 years and older employed has increased 517,000.
The 5.7% unemployment rate, while having increased from 5.0% at the beginning of the year, is now in just in line with the 30-year average. The unemployment rate for college graduates has increased from 2.2% at the beginning of the year to 2.4% - which is only slightly higher than the 2.3% 15-year average.
| |
(000's) |
| |
Jun-08 |
Jul-08 |
Change |
|
Dec-07 |
Jul-08 |
Change |
| Nonfarm Employment |
137,666 |
137,615 |
(51) |
|
138,078 |
137,615 |
(463) |
| Construction |
7,197 |
7,175 |
(22) |
|
7,465 |
7,175 |
(290) |
| Manufacturing |
13,537 |
13,501 |
(36) |
|
13,772 |
13,501 |
(271) |
| Retail |
15,326 |
15,309 |
(17) |
|
15,488 |
15,309 |
(179) |
| Temporary Employment |
2,418 |
2,389 |
(29) |
|
2,596 |
2,389 |
(207) |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Total |
38,478 |
38,374 |
(104) |
|
39,321 |
38,374 |
(947) |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Other Industries |
99,188 |
99,241 |
53 |
|
98,757 |
99,241 |
484 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Non-College Graduates-25+ |
|
|
|
|
83,316 |
82,802 |
(514) |
| College Graduates-25+ |
|
|
|
|
43,476 |
43,993 |
517 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Carter Smith, CFO of Stephen James Associates, commented:
“While it wasn’t a positive jobs report, it was better than what many economists were expecting. We continue to see job losses heavily concentrated in four industries: construction, manufacturing, retail and temporary employment. Other industries continue to add jobs. The hard-hit industries employ a lot of lower-wage earners. Year-to-date there has been an increase in college graduates 25 years and older employed of 517,000, while non-college graduates 25 years and older employed has decreased 514,000.
We continue to see great demand for professional workers that our firm focuses on. All of our offices are busy with job requirements from our clients. The market is not as tight as it was a year ago, but is important to keep perspective. The overall unemployment rate was 4.7% a year ago which is 1% below the 5.7% 30 year average – which is the rate for July. The unemployment rate of 2.4% for college graduates 25 years and older is 0.1% above the 2.3% 15 year average.
So it’s not all ‘doom and gloom’. The professional labor market is weathering the economic downturn pretty well. For the most part, if a professional wants to look for a new role, they can expect to have multiple job offers.”
About Stephen James Associates
Stephen James Associates is a professional recruitment firm that works relentlessly on behalf of its clients and candidates, cultivating an elite network of professionals in the fields of accounting and finance, banking; human resources; marketing and sales. The organization, a part of Allegis Group, the largest recruitment company in the U.S, has an established a presence in Florida, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington D.C. Stephen James Associates is pursuing an aggressive growth strategy with the goal of opening 50 offices in 50 states within the next 10 years. www.stephenjames.com