Unemployment office image from Flickr.

During the month of April, nonfarm payroll employment rose by 290,000. Despite this increase in employment, the unemployment rate in the United States increased up to 9.9 percent. Sizable employment gains occurred in manufacturing, professional and business services, health care and in leisure and hospitality. Federal government employment increased due to hiring of temporary workers for Census 2010. Since December, nonfarm payroll employment has expanded by 573,000 with 483,000 jobs added in the private sector. The vast majority of job growth occurred during the last 2 months.

Unemployment categories

Percentages of unemployed workers:

• Less than 5 weeks, 18.3 percent
• 5 to 14 weeks, 20.4 percent
• 15 weeks or more, 61.3 percent
• 15 to 26 weeks, 15.4 percent
• 27 weeks or more, 45.9 percent

In April, the civilian labor force participation rate increased by 0.3 percent to 65.2 percent, as the size of the labor force rose by 805,000. Since December, the participation rate has increased by 0.6 percent. The percentage of the U.S. population that is emploued rose to 58.8 percent during April.

Manufacturing, construction, business and temporary

Manufacturing added 44,000 jobs in April. Since December, factory employment has gone up by 101,000. Over the month, gains occurred in several durable goods industries, including fabricated metals (9,000) and machinery (7,000). Employment also grew in nondurable goods manufacturing (14,000). In April, construction employment edged up 14,000, following an increase of 26,000 in March. Over the month, nonresidential building and heavy construction added 9,000 jobs each.

Employment in professional and business services rose by 80,000 in April. Temporary help services continued to add jobs (26,000). Employment in this industry has increased by 330,000 since September 2009. Employment also rose over the month in services to buildings and dwellings 23,000 and in computer systems design 7,000.

Health care, hospitality and government

In April, health care employment grew by 20,000, including a gain of 6,000 in hospitals. Over the past year, health care employment has increased by 244,000.

Employment rose by 45,000 in leisure and hospitality over the month. Much of this increase occurred in accommodation and food services, which added 29,000 jobs. Food services employment has risen by 84,000 over the past four months, while accommodations has added 18,000 jobs over the past three months.

Federal government employment was up in April, reflecting the hiring of 66,000 temporary workers for the decennial census.

Consumer credit for first quarter declines

However, it is the health of the banking system — which can be determined by the outstanding credit and loans taken out by U.S. consumers — that provides a clearer picture of the true state of the economy and its health or distress.

From its January 2010 high of $2.746 billion in outstanding U.S. consumer credit, which most likely is due to paying down 2009 purchases during the holiday season, outstanding consumer credit has declined every month since January. Consumer credit has fallen to $2.446 billion in February and $2.433 billion in March 2010.

Those statistics show that most Americans are either saving more or cutting back spending to pay outstanding bills, thus not using credit to make as many new purchases. Thus, because of less consumer spending for the month of April, there are fewer Americans employed.

Sources:

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

U.S. Federal Reserve Survey of “Consumer Credit Outstanding”

The remaining manufacturing projects involve more of a reliance on computers and sophisticated machinery, rather than manpower.

More and more Americans mistakenly believe that nothing is officially “Made in the USA” anymore. Though they are right that a lot of things did move to offshore manufacturing, there are still some items the U.S. is keeping for itself. The recession was hard on the manufacturing industry, and about 2 million workers lost their jobs. That alone created a huge portion of the unemployed public that had to struggle to get by. Part of the problem with manufacturing jobs is that most likely many of those positions will never return, and that leaves an entire group of workers who may never find equitable work to financially sustain themselves. It may take a considerable amount of effort and searching for them to regroup and reenter the market with a completely different set of skills.

Are things made in the U.S.?

The answer to whether things are still made in the United States is yes. Although toys, clothes and many electronic items are brought in from overseas due to the lower costs, there are still things that start and end in this country. American factories are making things—Ford trucks, airplanes, appliances, computer chip components and fertilizers are all examples of things U.S. companies are creating. Experts note that there has been a notable decline in manufacturing jobs, but not a decline in manufacturing. In fact, many companies are churning out just as much in product as they did pre-recession, but in different ways.

Some of the manufacturing projects that have remained in the system involve more of a reliance on computers and sophisticated machinery, rather than manpower. Many low-cost items like toothpaste and cleansers are manufactured with intricate machinery systems and require only a few humans to monitor consistent flow. Despite the huge loss of jobs in 2008 and 2009, overall the manufacturing sector’s output rose from 1987 to 2007, as reported by the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

How things are changing in the job force

With the decline in manufacturing jobs, the market is making a shift. The service sector is the fastest growing market in the U.S. Jobs like financial planners, pay day lenders, real estate agents, lawyers and health care providers are all booming. The job markets for these positions are stable and in demand. That demand is projected to continue to rise in coming years. With baby boomers aging, they are going to need service-oriented workers to help them with decisions, care, and planning.

Where does manufacturing fit in now?

Though service jobs are on the rise and taking over in terms of immediate openings, it doesn’t mean that manufacturing jobs are out of the picture. The market is merely shifting. Manufacturing is still a huge part of the US economy. It is the best industries for people without a college degree to enter. Not only are wages good, but benefits can serve a breadwinner well. In addition, jobs in the manufacturing sector cater to people who like the old school method of working their way up in a company. No one is going to start as a nurse and work their way up to Chief of Staff. However, a worker on an assembly line can aspire realistically to work their way up to manager.

Where manufacturing is going in the future

Manufacturing is not dead in the U.S. Experts are cautioning that the country may be too reliant on overseas industrialization when it comes to high-end products. The repercussion is that the U.S. may be forgoing its research and development by outsourcing technical manufacturing to other countries. In particular with the world “going green,” the U.S. has to remain competitive and on its feet when it comes to bringing new advancements into the market. Time will tell what happens with the manufacturing world, but it is far from gone. The US will shift and change but most likely will start to bring high-end companies into the mix. That’s great news for the millions of workers who lost their jobs during the recession.

Ravenswood, West Virginia suffers a blow

Ravenswood, West Virginia was a city whose main industry was manufacturing. The state mass produced various commodities for the world and employed thousands in its one big factory. When the recession began, so did layoffs. They continued until the plant officially shut down in the beginning of 2009 and now residents are wondering if recovery will every happen. Unfortunately, Ravenswood residents are not unlike millions across the country who sat by helplessly watching their city fall to the harrowing economic times of the past 18 months. The question they have though is: Will their city be able to recover, or is it now relegated to remain a ghost town?

The many lagging cities

Throughout the US there are a wide range of cities that are taking a wait-and-see attitude towards recovery. Here are some of the hardest hit cities: (http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-03-01-townhangingon_N.htm)

• Madawaska, Maine. Last month the city’s workers agreed to an 8.5% cut in their wages in an effort to keep the paper mill alive. The mill employs over 1,000 people of the city’s population of 4,000. The cut, though necessary, is not good news for the city and many people believe that the worst is yet to come.
• Glenwood, Washington. This is a small city with a population of just over 500. The city’s forest products industry is taking a staggering hit due to flat lumber prices and increasing land costs. Recovery is almost impossible according to analysts because of the city’s over-reliance on just one industry.
• Georgetown, South Carolina. This is a larger city than the other two. But, with a population of just over 9,000, it still is not impervious to the problems of a lagging economy. The city’s steel mill closed last year and caused the unemployment rate to skyrocket. With few alternative options, the population is at a loss when it comes to finding jobs without relocating.

The crux of the issue

Though a lag in pay can thwart anyone’s motivation, the real problem for workers in areas hit hardest by the recession is an uncertainty. When a city’s main industry is stifled so ubiquitously, it’s hard for the population to regroup or find any hope in a future turnaround. For example, Ravenswood’s residents knew the closing of its main factory was coming for months. Some jumped ship early-on, while others remained hopeful. Once the plant closed, that hope was all but gone. Now people are seriously considering relocating because most likely the jobs the plant provided will never return.

Analysts check in on the problem

Many analysts are studying the new post-recessionary condition carefully and reporting back with little optimism. Mostly the issue is that the country has never had the same pressures as it does now. In past years, if a farmer lost his or her land to fire or drought, he could pick up and move relatively easily to another location. A steel mill worker who was laid off due to a plant closing could move to a new city for a job. In today’s market, that is no longer a possibility for hundreds of thousands of workers. States that rely heavily on manufacturing are all having problems with recovery and workers are hard-pressed to find employment. Experts expect workers to have to do a complete 180-degree turnaround, career-wise, and only those who manage to do so will survive. Those that don’t may remain in financial turmoil for many years to come.