Jobs
Original Air Date: 3/18/2010
With Washington State’s unemployment rate hovering just below the national average at around 9.3 percent we have seen and experienced dramatic economic shifts.
Since this recession began Washington has lost 13 percent of its manufacturing jobs and 27 percent of all construction jobs - they were simply eliminated. On average, 5.5 job seekers compete for each new opening, before the recession it was 1.6 competitors.
58 percent of people receiving unemployment benefits are first time claimants, and job gains seem to be off-set by additional job losses. However, some recent reports are painting a brighter picture. What signs are economists looking at? And what help is available to struggling families?
Guests
Paul Turek, Washington State Employment Security Department Regional Labor Economist for Peirce County
As the labor economist for Pierce County, Paul has an exact knowledge of the state of jobs in our area. He knows which sectors are hiring, which sectors remain low on jobs, where in the Puget Sound region people are hiring, and how national statistics play themselves out in our area.
Jeff Rounce, Publisher / CEO
An escapee from the broadcasting world, owner and publisher Jeff Rounce entered print journalism with the creation of the Business Examiner in 1985.
Bill Rogers – President of Evergreen Staffing
William L. “Bill” Rogers is president and owner of Evergreen Staffing in downtown Tacoma. He has been in the employment business in Tacoma for 35 years as an executive recruiter and as owner and manager of a full-time and temporary staffing service.
Employment rate increases in Tacoma
· Roughly 12,400 jobs added between December and January according to the State Employment Security Department
· This is the first monthly gain since November 2008
· State unemployment rate increased to 9.3 percent in January, expected to increase to 9.8 percent this spring according to Washington’s chief economist, Arun Raha
· According to the state Employment Security Department, 360,000 people were unemployed in January; more than 305,000 people received unemployment benefits
· Pierce county’s unemployment rate increased from 9.5 percent in December to 10.7 percent in January
· The highest rate in the state since the mid-1970s was in November 1982, when unemployment hit 12.2 percent
· Within the last year, 107,800 jobs were lost in Washington state. The only sectors that showed any increases were education, health services, retail and construction
· The highest unemployment rate in the state in January was 16.2 percent in Ferry County in the northeast. Whitman County in the east had the lowest mark at 6.2 percent. The largest county, King, was at 8.8 percent.
· Approximately 410,000 job seekers received employment counseling and assistance through local WorkSource centers in 2009, compared to about 275,000 in 2008
· In 2009, about 475,000 unemployed workers in Washington received unemployment benefits this year – an increase of 64 percent over 2008
National
· Employment declined by 3.5 percent over the past year. The national unemployment rate for January was 9.7 percent
· The number of openings in January rose about 7.6 percent, to 2.7 million, that’s the highest total since February 2009
· There were nearly 4.4 million available positions in December 2007, the government said, compared with the 2.7 million openings in January
· Economists expect employers to add up to a net 300,000 jobs in March, though as many as a third of them could be temporary hiring for the 2010 Census.
· There are now about 5.5 unemployed people, on average, competing for each opening
· The economy has lost 8.4 million jobs since the recession began, the largest drop since the 1930s. The jobless rate was unchanged last month at 9.7 percent. Most economists expect the rate to remain elevated for several years.
· California reported the largest job gains, of 32,500, though its unemployment rate also rose. Illinois, New York, Washington state and Minnesota reported the next highest totals of new jobs
· Michigan has the highest unemployment rate (14.3 percent); Iowa has the lowest (6.6 percent)
