BLS Analysis for January 2013

Bob Marshall’s BLS Analysis; 2/1/13

January BLS Preface
 
*Special Note:  ALL of the private sector job creation in January came from small and mid-sized companies—ALL OF THE JOB CREATION!!  (see the ADP/Moody’s Report below)*

TBMG News

To potential students:  If you want to increase your income as a recruiter, all the details of my three coaching plans are available to you on my website:  www.TheMarshallPlan.org or you can reach me at 770-898-5550 or bob@themarshallplan.org.

 

Preface

Many of you continue to correspond with me about these monthly BLS analyses and have asked if it is OK to use them in your presentations.  The answer is, of course, yes!  That is why I spend the time to write down this information.  I would encourage any of you who have that desire to weave any of the information I have printed below into your presentations.  I write these analyses for the benefit of our recruitment industry in general and for the members of my distribution list in particular.  So use this info as you deem appropriate.

I also write these monthly BLS analyses to not only counterbalance the negative/incorrect press reporting of our general economic state but, more than that, to remind all of my recruitment readers that, at the level we work, there is no unemployment and so we must recruit to find the candidates our client companies so desperately need!

So to my recruiter colleagues, get out there and do what your name implies…RECRUIT.  When your client companies have unique and difficult positions to fill, they need you.  When they are being picky, they need you.  When they are longing for more production from fewer employees, they need you.  Go fill those needs.  These should be the halcyon days in the recruitment arena!

Finally, always remember that we are not in an HR business, but in a ‘circumventing the time factor in the hiring sequence’ business—and adding value to our client companies.

To land that job, be among the first interviewed, study shows

*Special Note:  Below are some of my edited snippets from an article by Jacoba Urist, TODAY contributor, January 23, 2013 

 

Want to ace that interview and increase your chances of actually landing the job? A new study says the best thing to do is interview on a different day than your strongest competition. Or, if you think you’re a strong candidate, at least try to schedule your own meeting for the morning.

According to new research published in the journal Psychological Science, interviewers have trouble seeing the forest from the trees. They often make their decisions based on the ratings they’ve given the interviewees directly before the interview, as opposed to someone’s true merits.

Based on nearly a decade of interview data, collected from over 9,000 applicants to an undisclosed American business school (which is neither of the authors’ own institutions), the study showed that interviews earlier in the day had a negative impact on assessments for the strong people that followed with interviews later in the day. If an interviewer had already given out several high scores on a scale of 1 to 5, the next candidate who walked into the room was likely to receive a lower grade, regardless of his or her actual qualifications.

Unfortunately, most of us can’t control the strength of the other applicants on the day we’re being interviewed. But, the Psychological Science study does suggest that a strong applicant will fare better in an early morning interview slot: either that applicant will get a strong evaluation based on his or her merits or at least won’t be the victim of a harsher score based on prior applicants.

Tessa Deutsch, a managing director and head of the legal and compliance practice group at the New York recruiting firm Glocap, says these kinds of findings might be more relevant in the case of high-volume searches of applicants with less technical expertise, where the interviewer is looking at hundreds of people to fill a certain slot, and dozens are qualified.

“But for many of the positions we fill,” Deutsch says, “a candidate meets with a company multiple times, and there are really only a few people who would fit well in a certain job role.”

Regardless, it can’t hurt to be the first one in the door.

Top Echelon: 61% of Recruiters Billed More in 2012

 

Daily News, January 22 2013

61% of recruiters in the Top Echelon Network billed more in 2012 than they did in 2011, according to a poll of its membership. Top Echelon is a network of search firms.

“If recruiters are billing more, it means that companies have hiring needs and they’re acting upon those needs,” said Top Echelon Network President Mark Demaree. “It’s no secret that there are many open positions in the country right now, millions, in fact. However, the skills needed for these specialized positions are quite scarce and in great demand.”

 

Search Executives Have ‘Neutral’ Outlook

 

Daily News, January 15, 2013

Approximately half of global executive search consultants have a neutral outlook for the executive search business in 2013, according to an industry outlook report released last week by the Association of Executive Search Consultants. Another 29 percent have an optimistic view while 22% have a negative view.

The report is based on a survey of 186 executive search executives from around the globe.

“Our 2013 outlook report is understandably reflective of the general economic and political conditions prevailing in different parts of the globe,” said AESC President Peter Felix. “In the United States, the largest market for executive search in the world, in spite of the political uncertainty of the past few months there is no doubt that the economy is on the mend and that organizations are again recognizing the crucial need of finding top talent in a market where there is still a talent shortage.”

Obama’s Jobs Council shutting down Thursday

 

Washington, January 31, 2013

As new weekly jobs numbers emerged Thursday showing a jump in unemployment claims and a report released the previous day showed the economy shrinking in late 2012, President Obama is effectively laying off his jobs council.

The layoff — which comes in the form of the administration not renewing the council, which sunsets Thursday — takes off the table a first-term panel set up to field ideas from the business community for spurring growth. But the administration was accused all along of never taking full advantage of the group at a time when the economy desperately needed those ideas.

The council itself, a group of business and labor leaders, hasn’t met officially in more than a year. The group was tasked with making recommendations to Obama to help create jobs, but the 26 members only met four times in two years.

As the council expires Thursday with no plans to extend it, House Speaker John Boehner’s office panned the president’s alleged disinterest in the group.

“To understand the abysmal nature of our economic recovery, look no further than the president’s disinterest in learning lessons from actual job creators,” spokesman Brendan Buck said. “Whether ignoring the group or rejecting its recommendations, the president treated his Jobs Council as more of a nuisance than a vehicle to spur job creation.”

But White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said Thursday that the council “was always intended” to expire after two years, and said “the work that the jobs council did was very helpful.”

 

GDP falls in fourth quarter

Washington, January 30, 2013 

Real gross domestic product — the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States — decreased at an annual rate of 0.1% in the fourth quarter of 2012 (that is, from the third quarter to the fourth quarter), according to the “advance” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.  In the third quarter, real GDP increased 3.1%.

The Bureau emphasized that the fourth-quarter advance estimate released today is based on source data that are incomplete or subject to further revision by the source agency.  The “second” estimate for the fourth quarter, based on more complete data, will be released on February 28, 2013.

The decrease in real GDP in the fourth quarter primarily reflected negative contributions from private inventory investment, federal government spending, and exports that were partly offset by positive contributions from personal consumption expenditures (PCE), nonresidential fixed investment, and residential fixed investment.  Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, decreased.

The new ADP/Moody’s National Employment Report

Released, January 30, 2013

Private sector employment increased by 192,000 jobs from December to January, according to the January ADP National Employment Report®, which is produced by Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP®), a leading provider of human capital management solutions, in collaboration with Moody’s Analytics. The report, which is derived from ADP’s actual payroll data, measures the change in total nonfarm private employment each month on a seasonally-adjusted basis. The December 2012 report, which reported job gains of 215,000, was revised downward by 30,000 to 185,000 jobs.

By Company Size

Small businesses: 115,000

1-19 employees 58,000

20-49 employees 57,000

Medium businesses: 79,000

50-499 employees 79,000

Large businesses: -2,000

500-999 employees 7,000

1,000+ employees -9,000

 

By Sector

Goods producing 15,000

Service providing 177,000

Industry Snapshot

Construction 15,000

Manufacturing -3,000

Trade/transportation/utilities 33,000

Financial activities 12,000

Professional/business services 40,000

Goods-producing employment rose by 15,000 jobs in January which was primarily driven by an increase in construction jobs of 15,000.  Meanwhile, manufacturers shed 3,000 jobs.

Service-providing jobs increased by 177,000.  Among the service industries reported in the report, professional/business services registered the largest gain with 40,000 jobs added over the month.  Trade/transportation/utilities added 33,000 jobs and financial activities added 12,000 jobs.

“U.S. private sector employment got off to a good start in 2013, as 192,000 jobs were added during the month of January,” noted Carlos A. Rodriguez, president and chief executive officer of ADP.  “According to the ADP National Employment Report, private sector employers created an average of 183,000 new jobs per month during the last three months.  This is an encouraging sign of steady improvement in the job market.”

Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, said, “The job market is slowly, but steadily, improving.  Monthly job gains appear to have accelerated from near 150,000 to closer to 175,000.  Construction is finally kicking into gear and more than offsetting the weakness in manufacturing.  The recent gains may be overstating any improvement, particularly in the context of recent revivals in growth at the start of the past three years, but the gains are encouraging nonetheless.”

 

(The February 2013 ADP National Employment Report will be released at 8:15 a.m. ET on March 6, 2013).

ADP Small Business Report®:

Due to the important contribution that small businesses make to economic growth, employment data that are specific to businesses with 49 or fewer employees is reported in the ADP Small Business Report® each month. The ADP Small Business Report is a subset of the ADP National Employment Report.

January Small Business Highlights*

Total Small Business Employment:             115,000

 

 

 

●By Size

 

►1-19 employees

58,000

►20-49 employees

57,000

●By Sector for 1-49 Employees

 

►Goods Producing

9,000

►Service Producing

106,000

●By Sector for 1-19 Employees

 

►Goods Producing

4,000

►Service Producing

53,000

●By Sector for 20-49 Employees

 

►Goods Producing

5,000

►Service Producing

53,000

 

* Sum of components may not equal total, due to rounding.

Bottom-line:  To my audience of recruiters, always remember this:  Our ‘bread and butter’, especially on the contingency side of the house, has historically been, and continues to be, small and medium-sized client companies.  Along with the large companies, these companies need to be in included in your niche!

Job Openings and Structural Unemployment

On January 10th, the BLS reported that there were 3,700,000 job openings on the last business day of November, unchanged from October.  (The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey results for December 2012 are scheduled to be released on Tuesday, February 12, 2013).  The 3,700,000 reflects published openings comprised of jobs that are advertised either online or in print format.

As we recruiters know, that 3,700,000 number only represents 20% of the jobs currently available in the marketplace.  The other 80% of job openings are unpublished and are filled through networking or word of mouth or by using a RECRUITER.   So, those 3,700,000 published job openings now become a total of 18,500,000 published and hidden job orders.

In January there were 12,332,000 unemployed workers.  What was the main reason why those job openings were open?  Two Words:  Structural Unemployment.  If we can’t figure out how to educate and/or reeducate those 12,332,000 unemployed, then they will keep reappearing each month as a BLS unemployment statistic—as they have.  In the meantime, our recruitment marketplace flourishes!

Online Labor Demand up 106,900 in January

January 30, 2013

  • January gain follows a rise of 217,900 in December
  • National figure includes a mixture of gains and losses across the States
  • NOTE:  This year’s annual revision will be released with the February 2013 data on March 6, 2013.  The revision will include the introduction of the 2010 SOC occupational codes, several methodology improvements along with update to the seasonal adjustment factors.

Online advertised vacancies rose 106,900 in January to 5,044,700 according to The Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine® (HWOL) Data Series released January 30, 2013.  The Supply/Demand rate stands at 2.5 unemployed for every vacancy. In December, there were 7.3 million more unemployed than the number of advertised vacancies, down from 11.8 million at the end of the recession in June 2009.

“January was a mixed bag for labor demand,” said June Shelp, Vice President at The Conference Board, “with gains in some States offsetting losses in others.” About two thirds of the States posted gains while one third of the States were down, and about half of the 22 major occupational groups were up in January. Winning occupations included Food Preparation and Serving along with Transportation and Material Moving while traditional office occupations — Business and Finance, Computer and Math, and Office and Administrative Support — declined.

The January BLS Analysis

The unemployment rate is published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a division of the US Department of Labor.  The rate is found by dividing the number of unemployed by the total civilian labor force.  On February 1st, 2013, the BLS published the most recent unemployment rate for January, 2013 of 7.9% (actually it is 7.923, up .074% from 7.849%, in December, 2012).

The unemployment rate was determined by dividing the unemployed of 12,332,000—up from the month before by126,000—since January, 2012 (one year ago), this number has decreased by 416,000) by the total civilian labor force of 155,654,000 (up by 143,000 from December, 2012).  Since January 2012, our total civilian labor force has increased by 1,298,000 people.

 

(The continuing ‘Strange BLS Math’ saga):  The BLS continues to increase the total Civilian Working Population—this time up to 244,663,000; up from December by 313,000; up from November by 176,000; up from October by 191,000; up from September by 211,000, up from August by 206,000; up from July by 212,000; up from June by 199,000; up from May by 189,000; up from April by 182,000; up from March by 180,000; up from February by 169,000; up from January by 335,000; and up from last December by 2,020,000.  And this month they have slightly increased the Civilian Labor Force to 155,654,000 (up from December by 143,000). 

 

Subtract the second number from the first number and you get 89,009,000 (not 89,008,000, by the way) ‘Not in Labor Force’.  That is an increase of 170,000 “Not in Labor Force” in one month’s time.  Since January 2012, 1,096,000 US workers have vanished!  Where did those 1,096,000 potential workers disappear to?  I am assuming they still have to eat and pay their rent.  They still need money, don’t they?

 

Our Employment Participation Rate—the population 16 years and older working or seeking work—remains at 63.6% (.1% higher than August’s historic low level of 63.5%).  One year ago, our Participation Rate in January was 63.7%.

 

Final take on these numbers:  Fewer people looking for work will always bring down the unemployment rate.

 

Anyway, back to the point I am trying to make.  On the surface, these new unemployment rates are scary, but let’s look a little deeper and consider some other numbers.

The unemployment rate includes all types of workers—construction workers, government workers, etc.  We recruiters, on the other hand, mainly place management, professional and related types of workers.  That unemployment rate in January was 3.9% (this rate is the same as last month’s 3.9%).  Or, you can look at it another way.  We usually place people who have college degrees.  That unemployment rate in January fell to 3.7% (down from last month’s 3.9%).

Now stay with me a little longer.  This gets better.  It’s important to understand (and none of the pundits mention this) that the unemployment rate, for many reasons, will never be 0%, no matter how good the economy is.  Without boring you any more than I have already, let me add here that Milton Friedman (the renowned Nobel Prize-winning economist), is famous for the theory of the “natural rate of unemployment” (or the term he preferred, NAIRU, which is the acronym for Non-Accelerating Inflation Rate of Unemployment).  Basically, this theory states that full employment presupposes an ‘unavoidable and acceptable’ unemployment rate of somewhere between 4-6% with it.  Economists often settle on 5%, although the “New Normal Unemployment Rate” has been suggested to fall at 6.7%.

Nevertheless (if you will allow me to apply a ‘macro’ concept to a ‘micro’ issue), if this rate is applied to our main category of Management, Professional and Related types of potential recruits, and/or our other main category of College-Degreed potential recruits, we find no unemployment!  None!  Zilch!

THE IMPORTANCE OF GDP

 

“The economic goal of any nation, as of any individual, is to get the greatest results with the least effort.  The whole economic progress of mankind has consisted in getting more production with the same labor…Translated into national terms, this first principle means that our real objective is to maximize production.  In doing this, full employment—that is, the absence of involuntary idleness—becomes a necessary by-product.  But production is the end, employment merely the means.  We cannot continuously have the fullest production without full employment.  But we can very easily have full employment without full production.”

Economics in One Lesson, by Henry Hazlitt, Chapter X, “The Fetish of Full Employment”

 

On January 30th, the Bureau of Economic Analysis announced that the “first advance” estimate of our real gross domestic product (GDP) – the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States – decreased at an annual rate of minus 0.1% in the fourth quarter of 2012 (that is from the third quarter to the fourth quarter).  In the third quarter, real GDP increased 3.1%.  In the second quarter, real GDP increased 1.3%.  And in the first quarter, real GDP increased 2.0%.  The economy needs to expand at about 3% just to keep the unemployment rate from rising.  Two consecutive quarters of a falling GDP indicate Recession.

 

IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR UNEMPLOYMENT EVER TO BE ZERO

‘Unemployment’ is an emotional ‘trigger’ word.  It conjures up negative thoughts.  But it is important to realize that, while we want everyone who wants a job to have the opportunity to work, unemployment can never be zero and, in fact, can be disruptive to an economy if it gets too close to zero.  Very low unemployment can actually hurt the economy by creating an upward pressure on wages which invariably leads to higher production costs and prices.  This can lead to inflation.  The lowest the unemployment rate has been in the US was 2.5%.  That was in May and June 1953 when the economy overheated due to the Korean War.  When this bubble burst, it kicked off the Recession of 1953.  A healthy economy will always include some percentage of unemployment.

There are five main sources of unemployment:

1.  Cyclical (or demand-deficient) unemployment – This type of unemployment fluctuates with the business cycle.  It rises during a recession and falls during the subsequent recovery.  Workers who are most affected by this type of unemployment are laid off during a recession when production volumes fall and companies use lay-offs as the easiest way to reduce costs.  These workers are usually rehired, some months later, when the economy improves.

2.  Frictional unemployment – This comes from the normal turnover in the labor force.  This is where new workers are entering the workforce and older workers are retiring and leaving vacancies to be filled by the new workers or those re-entering the workforce.  This category includes workers who are between jobs.

3.  Structural unemployment – This happens when the skills possessed by the unemployed worker don’t match the requirements of the opening—whether those be in characteristics and skills or in location.  This can come from new technology or foreign competition (e.g., foreign outsourcing).  This type of unemployment usually lasts longer than frictional unemployment because retraining, and sometimes relocation, is involved.  Occasionally jobs in this category can just disappear overseas.

4.  Seasonal unemployment – This happens when the workforce is affected by the climate or time of year.  Construction workers and agricultural workers aren’t needed as much during the winter season because of the inclement weather.  On the other hand, retail workers experience an increase in hiring shortly before, and during, the holiday season, but can be laid off shortly thereafter.

5.  Surplus unemployment – This is caused by minimum wage laws and unions.  When wages are set at a higher level, unemployment can often result.  Why?  To keep within the same payroll budget, the company must let go of some workers to pay the remaining workers a higher salary.

Other factors influencing the unemployment rate:

1.  Length of unemployment – Some studies indicate that an important factor influencing a workers decision to accept a new job is directly related to the length of the unemployment benefit they are receiving.  Just recently the government re-extended the eligibility for unemployment benefits from 26 weeks to as much as 73 weeks.  Studies suggest that this reduces the incentive of the unemployed to seek and accept less desirable jobs.

2.  Changes in GDP – Since hiring workers takes time, the improvement in the unemployment rate usually lags behind the improvement in the GDP.

 

WHERE RECRUITERS PLACE

Now back to the issue at hand, namely the recruiting, and placing, of professionals and those with college degrees.

If you take a look at the past few years of unemployment in the January “management, professional and related” types of worker category, you will find the following rates:

January 2012               4.3%

January 2011               4.7%

January 2010               5.0%

January 2009               4.1%

January 2008               2.2%

January 2007               2.0%

January 2006               2.1%

January 2005               2.4%

January 2004               3.0%

January 2003               3.2%

January 2002               3.1%

Here are the rates, during those same time periods, for “college-degreed” workers:

January 2012               4.2%

January 2011               4.2%

January 2010               4.9%

January 2009               3.8%

January 2008               2.1%

January 2007               2.1%

January 2006               2.1%

January 2005               2.4%

January 2004               2.9%

January 2003               3.0%

January 2002               2.9%

So, while January’s 2013 rates for these two categories, at 3.9% and 3.7% respectively, are trending positively, when looking at the big picture, it’s not anything to be very happy about either—especially when we see how well we had it during the 2002-2008 time frame.  But regardless, these unemployment numbers usually include a good number of job hoppers, job shoppers and rejects.  We, on the other hand, are engaged by our client companies to find those candidates who are happy, well-appreciated, making good money and currently working and we entice them to move for even better opportunities—especially where new technologies are expanding.  This will never change.  And that is why, no matter the unemployment rate, we still need to market to find the best job orders and we still need to recruit to find the best candidates.

Below are the numbers for the over 25 year olds:

Less that H.S. diploma – Unemployment Rate

 

1/08

2/08

3/08

4/08

5/08

6/08

7/08

8/08

9/08

10/08

11/08

12/08

7.7%

7.4%

8.2%

7.9%

8.4%

8.9%

8.6%

9.7%

9.8%

10.4%

10.6%

10.9%

1/09

2/09

3/09

4/09

5/09

6/09

7/09

8/09

9/09

10/09

11/09

12/09

12.0%

12.6%

13.3%

14.8%

15.5%

15.5%

15.4%

15.6%

15.0%

15.5%

15.0%

15.3%

1/10

2/10

3/10

4/10

5/10

6/10

7/10

8/10

9/10

10/10

11/10

12/10

15.2%

15.6%

14.5%

14.7%

15.0%

14.1%

13.8%

14.0%

15.4%

15.3%

15.7%

15.3%

1/11

2/11

3/11

4/11

5/11

6/11

7/11

8/11

9/11

10/11

11/11

12/11

14.2%

13.9%

13.7%

14.6%

14.7%

14.3%

15.0%

14.3%

14.0%

13.8%

13.2%

13.8%

 

1/12

2/12

3/12

4/12

5/12

6/12

7/12

8/12

9/12

10/12

11/12

12/12

13.1%

12.9%

12.6%

12.5%

13.0%

12.6%

12.7%

12.0%

11.3%

12.2%

12.2%

11.7%

 

1/13

2/13

3/13

4/13

5/13

6/13

7/13

8/13

9/13

10/13

11/13

12/13

12.0%

 

H.S. Grad; no college – Unemployment Rate

 

1/08

2/08

3/08

4/08

5/08

6/08

7/08

8/08

9/08

10/08

11/08

12/08

4.6%

4.7%

5.1%

5.0%

5.2%

5.2%

5.3%

5.8%

6.3%

6.5%

6.9%

7.7%

1/09

2/09

3/09

4/09

5/09

6/09

7/09

8/09

9/09

10/09

11/09

12/09

8.1%

8.3%

9.0%

9.3%

10.0%

9.8%

9.4%

9.7%

10.8%

11.2%

10.4%

10.5%

1/10

2/10

3/10

4/10

5/10

6/10

7/10

8/10

9/10

10/10

11/10

12/10

10.1%

10.5%

10.8%

10.6%

10.9%

10.8%

10.1%

10.3%

10.0%

10.1%

10.0%

9.8%

1/11

2/11

3/11

4/11

5/11

6/11

7/11

8/11

9/11

10/11

11/11

12/11

9.4%

9.5%

9.5%

9.7%

9.5%

10.0%

9.3%

9.6%

9.7%

9.6%

8.8%

8.7%

1/12

2/12

3/12

4/12

5/12

6/12

7/12

8/12

9/12

10/12

11/12

12/12

8.4%

8.3%

8.0%

7.9%

8.1%

8.4%

8.7%

8.8%

8.7%

8.4%

8.1%

8.0%

1/13

2/13

3/13

4/13

5/13

6/13

7/13

8/13

9/13

10/13

11/13

12/13

8.1%

 

Some College; or AA/AS – Unemployment Rate

 

1/08

2/08

3/08

4/08

5/08

6/08

7/08

8/08

9/08

10/08

11/08

12/08

3.7%

3.8%

3.9%

4.0%

4.3%

4.4%

4.6%

5.0%

5.1%

5.3%

5.5%

5.6%

 

1/09

2/09

3/09

4/09

5/09

6/09

7/09

8/09

9/09

10/09

11/09

12/09

6.2%

7.0%

7.2%

7.4%

7.7%

8.0%

7.9%

8.2%

8.5%

9.0%

9.0%

9.0%

 

1/10

2/10

3/10

4/10

5/10

6/10

7/10

8/10

9/10

10/10

11/10

12/10

8.5%

8.0%

8.2%

8.3%

8.3%

8.2%

8.3%

8.7%

9.1%

8.5%

8.7%

8.1%

1/11

2/11

3/11

4/11

5/11

6/11

7/11

8/11

9/11

10/11

11/11

12/11

8.0%

7.8%

7.4%

7.5%

8.0%

8.4%

8.3%

8.2%

8.4%

8.3%

7.6%

7.7%

 

1/12

2/12

3/12

4/12

5/12

6/12

7/12

8/12

9/12

10/12

11/12

12/12

7.2%

7.3%

7.5%

7.6%

7.9%

7.5%

7.1%

6.6%

6.5%

6.9%

6.6%

6.9%

 

1/13

2/13

3/13

4/13

5/13

6/13

7/13

8/13

9/13

10/13

11/13

12/13

7.0%

 

BS/BS + – Unemployment Rate

1/08

2/08

3/08

4/08

5/08

6/08

7/08

8/08

9/08

10/08

11/08

12/08

2.1%

2.1%

2.1%

2.1%

2.3%

2.4%

2.5%

2.7%

2.6%

3.1%

3.2%

3.7%

1/09

2/09

3/09

4/09

5/09

6/09

7/09

8/09

9/09

10/09

11/09

12/09

3.8%

4.1%

4.3%

4.4%

4.8%

4.7%

4.7%

4.7%

4.9%

4.7%

4.9%

5.0%

 

1/10

2/10

3/10

4/10

5/10

6/10

7/10

8/10

9/10

10/10

11/10

12/10

4.9%

5.0%

4.9%

4.9%

4.7%

4.4%

4.5%

4.6%

4.4%

4.7%

5.1%

4.8%

 

1/11

2/11

3/11

4/11

5/11

6/11

7/11

8/11

9/11

10/11

11/11

12/11

4.2%

4.3%

4.4%

4.5%

4.5%

4.4%

4.3%

4.3%

4.2%

4.4%

4.4%

4.1%

 

1/12

2/12

3/12

4/12

5/12

6/12

7/12

8/12

9/12

10/12

11/12

12/12

4.2%

4.2%

4.2%

4.0%

3.9%

4.1%

4.1%

4.1%

4.1%

3.8%

3.8%

3.9%

 

1/13

2/13

3/13

4/13

5/13

6/13

7/13

8/13

9/13

10/13

11/13

12/13

3.7%

 

Management, Professional & Related – Unemployment Rate

 

1/08

2/08

3/08

4/08

5/08

6/08

7/08

8/08

9/08

10/08

11/08

12/08

2.2%

2.2%

2.1%

2.0%

2.6%

2.7%

2.9%

3.3%

2.8%

3.0%

3.2%

3.3%

1/09

2/09

3/09

4/09

5/09

6/09

7/09

8/09

9/09

10/09

11/09

12/09

4.1%

3.9%

4.2%

4.0%

4.6%

5.0%

5.5%

5.4%

5.2%

4.7%

4.6%

4.6%

1/10

2/10

3/10

4/10

5/10

6/10

7/10

8/10

9/10

10/10

11/10

12/10

5.0%

4.8%

4.7%

4.5%

4.5%

4.9%

5.0%

5.1%

4.4%

4.5%

4.7%

4.6%

1/11

2/11

3/11

4/11

5/11

6/11

7/11

8/11

9/11

10/11

11/11

12/11

4.7%

4.4%

4.3%

4.0%

4.4%

4.7%

5.0%

4.9%

4.4%

4.4%

4.2%

4.2%

 

1/12

2/12

3/12

4/12

5/12

6/12

7/12

8/12

9/12

10/12

11/12

12/12

4.3%

4.2%

4.2%

3.7%

4.0%

4.4%

4.8%

4.5%

3.9%

3.8%

3.6%

3.9%

 

1/13

2/13

3/13

4/13

5/13

6/13

7/13

8/13

9/13

10/13

11/13

12/13

3.9%

 

Or employed…(,000)

 

1/08

2/08

3/08

4/08

5/08

6/08

7/08

8/08

9/08

10/08

11/08

12/08

52,165

52,498

52,681

52,819

52,544

52,735

52,655

52,626

53,104

53,485

53,274

52,548

1/09

2/09

3/09

4/09

5/09

6/09

7/09

8/09

9/09

10/09

11/09

12/09

52,358

52,196

52,345

52,597

52,256

51,776

51,810

51,724

52,186

52,981

52,263

52,131

1/10

2/10

3/10

4/10

5/10

6/10

7/10

8/10

9/10

10/10

11/10

12/10

52,159

52,324

52,163

52,355

51,839

51,414

50,974

50,879

51,757

51,818

52,263

51,704

1/11

2/11

3/11

4/11

5/11

6/11

7/11

8/11

9/11

10/11

11/11

12/11

51,866

52,557

53,243

53,216

52,778

52,120

51,662

51,997

52,665

52,864

52,787

52,808

 

1/12

2/12

3/12

4/12

5/12

6/12

7/12

8/12

9/12

10/12

11/12

12/12

53,152

53,208

53,771

54,055

54,156

53,846

53,165

53,696

54,655

55,223

54,951

54,635

 

1/13

2/13

3/13

4/13

5/13

6/13

7/13

8/13

9/13

10/13

11/13

12/13

54,214

 

And unemployed…(,000)

 

1/08

2/08

3/08

4/08

5/08

6/08

7/08

8/08

9/08

10/08

11/08

12/08

1,164

1,159

1,121

1,088

1,407

1,478

1,585

1,779

1,539

1,647

1,786

1,802

1/09

2/09

3/09

4/09

5/09

6/09

7/09

8/09

9/09

10/09

11/09

12/09

2,238

2,137

2,292

2,164

2,373

2,720

3,034

2,925

2,859

2,593

2,530

2,509

1/10

2/10

3/10

4/10

5/10

6/10

7/10

8/10

9/10

10/10

11/10

12/10

2,762

2,637

2,600

2,464

2,450

2,644

2,687

2,762

2,381

2,417

2,525

2,468

1/11

2/11

3/11

4/11

5/11

6/11

7/11

8/11

9/11

10/11

11/11

12/11

2,557

2,435

2,381

2,196

2,419

2,598

2,742

2,671

2,450

2,410

2,336

2,303

1/12

2/12

3/12

4/12

5/12

6/12

7/12

8/12

9/12

10/12

11/12

12/12

2,410

2,336

2,330

2,062

2,275

2,472

2,666

2,556

2,245

2,170

2,077

2,221

 

1/13

2/13

3/13

4/13

5/13

6/13

7/13

8/13

9/13

10/13

11/13

12/13

2,211

For a total Management, Professional & Related workforce of…(,000)

 

1/08

2/08

3/08

4/08

5/08

6/08

7/08

8/08

9/08

10/08

11/08

12/08

53,329

53,657

53,802

53,907

53,951

54,213

54,240

54,405

54,643

55,132

55,060

54,350

1/09

2/09

3/09

4/09

5/09

6/09

7/09

8/09

9/09

10/09

11/09

12/09

54,596

54,333

54,637

54,761

54,629

54,496

54,844

54,649

55,045

55,574

54,793

54,640

1/10

2/10

3/10

4/10

5/10

6/10

7/10

8/10

9/10

10/10

11/10

12/10

54,921

54,961

54,763

54,819

54,289

54,058

53,661

53,641

54,138

54,235

54,788

54,172

1/11

2/11

3/11

4/11

5/11

6/11

7/11

8/11

9/11

10/11

11/11

12/11

54,423

54,992

55,624

55,412

55,197

54,718

54,404

54,668

55,115

55,274

55,123

55,111

 

1/12

2/12

3/12

4/12

5/12

6/12

7/12

8/12

9/12

10/12

11/12

12/12

55,562

55,544

56,101

56,117

56,431

56,318

55,831

56,252

56,900

57,393

57,028

56,856

 

1/13

2/13

3/13

4/13

5/13

6/13

7/13

8/13

9/13

10/13

11/13

12/13

56,425

 

Management, Business and Financial Operations – Unemployment Rate

 

1/08

2/08

3/08

4/08

5/08

6/08

7/08

8/08

9/08

10/08

11/08

12/08

2.3%

2.3%

2.2%

2.1%

2.7%

2.5%

2.6%

2.8%

2.8%

3.0%

3.6%

3.9%

 

1/09

2/09

3/09

4/09

5/09

6/09

7/09

8/09

9/09

10/09

11/09

12/09

4.6%

4.5%

4.5%

4.4%

4.6%

4.8%

4.9%

5.0%

5.2%

5.4%

5.4%

5.2%

1/10

2/10

3/10

4/10

5/10

6/10

7/10

8/10

9/10

10/10

11/10

12/10

5.2%

5.1%

5.4%

5.1%

4.9%

4.8%

4.7%

4.9%

4.3%

5.0%

5.5%

5.7%

1/11

2/11

3/11

4/11

5/11

6/11

7/11

8/11

9/11

10/11

11/11

12/11

5.3%

4.9%

4.8%

4.6%

4.9%

4.6%

4.6%

4.6%

4.6%

4.7%

4.6%

4.4%

1/12

2/12

3/12

4/12

5/12

6/12

7/12

8/12

9/12

10/12

11/12

12/12

4.5%

4.4%

4.4%

4.0%

4.1%

3.8%

3.8%

3.7%

3.5%

3.6%

3.8%

4.1%

 

1/13

2/13

3/13

4/13

5/13

6/13

7/13

8/13

9/13

10/13

11/13

12/13

4.0%

 

Professional & Related – Unemployment Rate

1/08

2/08

3/08

4/08

5/08

6/08

7/08

8/08

9/08

10/08

11/08

12/08

2.1%

2.1%

2.0%

2.0%

2.5%

2.9%

3.2%

3.6%

2.8%

3.0%

3.0%

2.9%

1/09

2/09

3/09

4/09

5/09

6/09

7/09

8/09

9/09

10/09

11/09

12/09

3.7%

3.5%

3.9%

3.6%

4.2%

5.1%

6.0%

5.6%

5.2%

4.2%

4.1%

4.2%

1/10

2/10

3/10

4/10

5/10

6/10

7/10

8/10

9/10

10/10

11/10

12/10

4.9%

4.6%

4.3%

4.1%

4.3%

5.0%

5.2%

5.3%

4.4%

4.1%

4.1%

3.8%

1/11

2/11

3/11

4/11

5/11

6/11

7/11

8/11

9/11

10/11

11/11

12/11

4.3%

4.1%

3.9%

3.5%

4.0%

4.9%

5.3%

5.1%

4.4%

4.1%

4.0%

4.0%

 

1/12

2/12

3/12

4/12

5/12

6/12

7/12

8/12

9/12

10/12

11/12

12/12

4.2%

4.1%

4.0%

3.5%

4.0%

4.8%

5.5%

5.2%

4.3%

3.9%

3.5%

3.8%

 

1/13

2/13

3/13

4/13

5/13

6/13

7/13

8/13

9/13

10/13

11/13

12/13

3.8%

Sales & Related – Unemployment Rate

 

1/08

2/08

3/08

4/08

5/08

6/08

7/08

8/08

9/08

10/08

11/08

12/08

5.2%

5.2%

4.8%

4.3%

5.1%

5.6%

6.2%

6.3%

5.7%

6.1%

6.5%

7.0%

 

1/09

2/09

3/09

4/09

5/09

6/09

7/09

8/09

9/09

10/09

11/09

12/09

7.7%

8.4%

8.9%

8.6%

8.9%

9.1%

8.3%

8.7%

8.9%

9.5%

9.1%

8.9%

1/10

2/10

3/10

4/10

5/10

6/10

7/10

8/10

9/10

10/10

11/10

12/10

10.1%

10.2%

9.7%

9.2%

9.6%

9.4%

10.1%

9.0%

9.4%

9.1%

8.8%

8.3%

1/11

2/11

3/11

4/11

5/11

6/11

7/11

8/11

9/11

10/11

11/11

12/11

9.3%

9.0%

8.5%

8.5%

9.4%

9.7%

9.4%

8.6%

9.4%

8.2%

7.8%

7.7%

1/12

2/12

3/12

4/12

5/12

6/12

7/12

8/12

9/12

10/12

11/12

12/12

8.2%

7.9%

8.1%

7.6%

7.9%

8.4%

8.3%

8.6%

7.9%

7.0%

7.3%

7.0%

1/13

2/13

3/13

4/13

5/13

6/13

7/13

8/13

9/13

10/13

11/13

12/13

8.5%