Labor Day Not Holiday For Many

Labor Day Not Holiday For Many

While some embark on the holiday season with glad tidings and merriment dashed with the usual chow and family gatherings, 9.5% of the US will be looking for work That's roughly 500,000 people this holiday season.

Employers need to add a net total of around 125,000 jobs a month just to keep the unemployment rate stable. That's not including growth percentages.

Right now, we are losing a total of 225,000 jobs a month. Obviously our government is giving us wrong math or illusive statistics. While some months may increase in the right direction towards job growth, it is not the total of the whole picture. The whole picture is this: we are screwed as a nation!

According to the US economists in Washington,DC, the average hourly wages increased to $18.65 from $18.59, the department reported. Average weekly earnings increased to $617.32. How is that possible? Is it because so many are losing their jobs that the companies all over the nation are able to pay a little more to the remaining workforce to retain their interest in staying with their companies?

Let's look at the numbers. The recession has eliminated a net total of 6.9 million jobs since it began in December 2007. Job cuts last month remained widespread across many sectors.

The construction industry lost 65,000 jobs, which caused some economists to note that the Obama administration’s $787 billion stimulus package hasn’t yet stemmed layoffs in that industry.

Factories cut 63,000 jobs, while retailers pared 9,600 positions. The financial sector eliminated 28,000 jobs, while professional and business services dropped 22,000. Even the government lost 18,000 jobs, as the U.S. Postal Service cut 8,500 positions, and state and local governments laid off teachers and other school workers.

The only light at the end of the tunnel,so to speak, are the health care workers. They saw an increase of 52,000 workers across the nation.

Other economic data released this week has been positive. The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group, said Tuesday that the manufacturing sector grew in August for the first time in 19 months. On Thursday, the ISM said its service sector index rose to 48.4 last month, the highest level in nearly a year. Home sales, meanwhile, have increased for several months and prices are stabilizing.

The economy is so badly in the financial toilet that no stimulus package or short term increase in jobs could help.

And if you're African American? The overall unemployment rate for African-Americans increased 0.6 percent from July to 15.1 percent. The rate for adult Black males increased 1.2 percent to 17 percent and the rate for adult Black females increased only 0.2 percent to 11.9 percent.

More job cuts were announced this week. Washington-based manufacturer Danaher Corp. said it will lay off about 3,300 of its roughly 50,000 employees, an increase from the 1,700 cuts it announced in the spring. American Airlines said it is cutting 921 flight attendant jobs as it deals with an ongoing downturn in traffic and lower revenue.

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