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Payroll Employment
Payroll Employment Momentum
Unemployment Rate
Unemployment Claims
Payroll Employment
According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data, the Sixth District states lost a net 42,600 jobs in October from a month earlier on a seasonally adjusted basis. This drop marks the ninth consecutive month of job losses for the District as a whole. All District states lost jobs except Louisiana. Florida lost 27,300 jobs, the second-largest job loss among the 50 states. Florida job losses were most pronounced in the construction, professional and business services, and leisure and hospitality sectors. In October Louisiana regained some of September's hurricane-related job losses. In Florida and Georgia, September employment numbers were revised up significantly in part as a result of large revisions in the professional and business services sector in both states. The United States lost 240,000 jobs in October.
| M/M absolute change | Y/Y % change | |||||
| Oct 2008 |
Sept 2008 |
Oct 2007 |
Oct 2008 |
Sept 2008 |
Oct 2007 |
|
| LA | 5,000 | –16,100 | 3,100 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 3.0 |
| AL | –2,400 | –2,300 | 1,700 | –0.1 | 0.1 | 1.4 |
| GA | –5,100 | –17,600 | –400 | –1.5 | –1.4 | 1.0 |
| TN | –5,900 | –3,100 | –6,500 | –0.8 | –0.8 | 0.5 |
| MS | –6,900 | –3,600 | 100 | –1.3 | –0.7 | 0.6 |
| FL | –27,300 | –6,800 | 17,500 | –1.9 | –1.4 | –0.1 |
| District | –42,600 | –49,500 | 15,500 | –1.2 | –0.9 | 0.7 |
| US | –240,000 | –284,000 | 140,000 | –0.8 | –0.5 | 1.0 |
Payroll Employment Momentum
Louisiana lost some short-term employment momentum in October relative to the previous month as hurricane effects continued to depress employment. After two months in positive territory, Alabama dropped into Quadrant 3 as its short- and long-term momentum continued to deteriorate. Short-term momentum turned negative for Tennessee in October. Long-term employment trends in Florida and the United States (less the Sixth District states) continued to show weakness. Mississippi also showed significant loss in long-term employment. Employment momentum in Georgia was little changed and remained in Quadrant 3.
Unemployment Rate
The overall unemployment rate for the Sixth District increased to 6.7 percent in October from 6.5 percent in September, above the national rate of 6.5 percent (on a seasonally adjusted basis).
| Sept 2008 |
Aug 2008 |
Sept 2007 |
|
| MS | 7.2 | 7.8 | 6.3 |
| TN | 7.0 | 7.2 | 5.0 |
| FL | 7.0 | 6.6 | 4.3 |
| GA | 7.0 | 6.4 | 4.5 |
| District | 6.7 | 6.5 | 4.4 |
| US | 6.5 | 6.1 | 4.8 |
| AL | 5.6 | 5.3 | 3.5 |
| LA | 5.5 | 5.2 | 3.6 |
Unemployment Claims
Districtwide initial and continuing claims were up more than 50 percent in October compared to the same period a year earlier. Unemployment claims continued to rise in all District states and nationally. The immediate effects of September's hurricanes on Louisiana's initial claims faded in October. However, the spike in Louisiana's continuing claims in October suggests that people who lost their jobs are having difficulty finding new employment. A rise in unemployment claims is a signal that future labor market growth will be weak.
