The unemployment rate fell in January from 10% to 9.7% in January, and the number of unemployed people fell to 14.8 million in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics (BLS) reported on Friday. However, the report also showed that last year’s job losses were almost 600,000 more than previously reported.
Another 2.5 million were “marginally attached to the labor force,” up from 734,000 a year earlier. The marginally attached group consists of individuals who are not employed, but would like to work, are available to work, and have looked for work sometime in the preceding twelve months. But to be considered unemployed, individuals must have actively searched for work in the four weeks immediately preceding the BLS survey, so this group is not figured into the unemployment numbers.
Of the marginally attached group, 1.1 million were discouraged workers – people who have become frustrated and given up looking for work because they don’t believe there are any jobs out there for them. The remainder of marginally attached group didn’t look for work in the preceding four weeks due to family responsibilities or school attendance.
But the number of people who are long-term unemployed, without a job for 27 weeks or longer, continued to trend up in January to 6.3 million. Since the start of the recession in December 2007, the number of people who are long-term unemployed has increased by 5 million. And also since December 2007, payroll employment has fallen by 8.4 million.
Jobs lost in construction amounts to 75,000 in January, and 1.9 million since the start of the recession in December 2007. Jobs in transportation and warehousing fell by 19,000 due to a large loss of jobs among couriers and messengers.
Temporary help services gained 52,000 jobs in January, steadily increasing by 247,000 since its low point in September 2009. Retail trade also gained among grocers, clothing stores, and general merchandise, adding 42,000 jobs in January after showing little change for two months.
Health care, the one sector which has steadily added jobs throughout the recession, continued to trend up in January; ambulatory health services added 15,000 jobs over the month.
The federal government also 33,000 jobs, including 9,000 temporary positions for Census 2010. However, employment in state and local governments, excluding education, continued to trend down.
Following the BLS January report, U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis said in a statement, “While today’s report shows positive signs that the economy is moving in the right direction, the numbers underscore that we still have work to do to get Americans back to work.
“We are focused on doing everything possible to stem job losses, stimulate the economy and make “good jobs for everyone” a reality. There are clear signs of progress in this effort, but we remain well aware that our nation can’t reach its full potential while a single American is unemployed or underemployed,” Solis said.
Sources:
Department of Labor
Bureau of Labor Statistics