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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 60,900 jobs in September from a month earlier on a seasonally adjusted basis. This drop marks the eighth consecutive month of job losses for the District as a whole. All District states lost jobs, with Georgia and Louisiana reporting some of the heaviest losses in the nation. Georgia, which lost 22,300 jobs, experienced pronounced losses in the government, professional and business, and construction sectors. After several months of payroll employment growth, Louisiana lost 17,500 jobs in September, the highest monthly drop since 2005. These losses are partly due to recent hurricanes. Florida also continued to experience significant losses, shedding 10,900 jobs in September. At the national level, the United States lost 159,000 jobs in September.
| M/M absolute change | Y/Y % change | |||||
| Sept 2008 |
Aug 2008 |
Sept 2007 |
Sept 2008 |
Aug 2008 |
Sept 2007 |
|
| AL | –2,500 | –800 | 1,500 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 1.2 |
| MS | –2,600 | –2,600 | 1,100 | –0.6 | –0.3 | 0.6 |
| TN | –5,100 | –2,300 | –400 | –0.9 | –0.7 | 0.5 |
| FL | –10,900 | –25,600 | –9,000 | –1.4 | –1.4 | –0.3 |
| LA | –17,500 | 9,900 | 100 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 3.1 |
| GA | –22,300 | –22,600 | 800 | –1.5 | –0.9 | 1.4 |
| District | –60,900 | –44,000 | –5,900 | –1.0 | –0.7 | 0.7 |
| US | –159,000 | –73,000 | 81,000 | –0.4 | –0.2 | 1.0 |
Payroll Employment Momentum
Louisiana lost some short- and long-term employment momentum in September relative to the previous month but remained in positive territory. Alabama's long-term trend decelerated slightly compared to August. Momentum in Tennessee improved with the short-term employment trend going from negative to flat. Employment trends in Florida and the United States (less the Sixth District states) were little changed in September and remained in Quadrant 3 as their labor markets continue to show weakness. Mississippi and Georgia employment momentum deteriorated further; both states' short- and long-term trends declined in September.
Unemployment Rate
The overall unemployment rate for the Sixth District increased to 6.5 percent in September from 6.3 percent in August, above the national rate of 6.1 percent (on a seasonally adjusted basis).
| Sept 2008 |
Aug 2008 |
Sept 2007 |
|
| MS | 7.8 | 7.7 | 6.3 |
| TN | 7.2 | 6.6 | 4.9 |
| FL | 6.6 | 6.6 | 4.2 |
| GA | 6.5 | 6.3 | 4.5 |
| District | 6.5 | 6.3 | 4.4 |
| US | 6.1 | 6.1 | 4.7 |
| AL | 5.3 | 4.9 | 3.5 |
| LA | 5.2 | 4.7 | 3.9 |
Unemployment Claims
Districtwide initial unemployment claims (IUC) for September were approximately double the year-earlier level. IUC continued to rise in all District states. The most notable increase was in Louisiana, largely the result of recent hurricanes. Continuing claims for unemployment insurance in August continued to rise in all District states and nationally compared to a year earlier. Tight credit and a weak economic outlook have caused many businesses to reduce their workforces. Higher continuing claims suggest that people who have lost their jobs are having more difficulty finding new employment.
