October 21, 2011 in Business, Nation/World

Unemployment rates fall in half of states

Associated Press

Idaho unemployment dips to 9 percent

Hiring across the Idaho economy in September fell just short of levels during the mid-2000 expansion, but it was enough to drive the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate down two-tenths of a point to 9 percent, the state said today. It was the first time Idaho’s rate has slipped below the national rate since last November.

Nationally, the unemployment rate was 9.1 percent in September. But even though Idaho’s jobless rate has fallen three-quarters of a point over the last 10 months, it has been at or above 9 percent since the beginning of 2010. The rate was 9.5 percent in September 2010.

Prior to November 2010, Idaho’s unemployment rate had been below the national rate for more than nine years.

The number of Idahoans working last month was up 1,500 from August, ending a three-month slide in total employment. The gain in non-farm jobs was just a few hundred below the average during the expansion years between 2003 and 2007 and above the month-to-month increase in 2010.

Washington drops 18,000 jobs

Washington state recorded its first monthly employment decline in more than a year Wednesday, losing some 18,000 jobs in September largely due to deep cuts in government.

The reductions, which also included a decline in private-sector positions, wiped out much of the past year’s gains. The number of positions had been steadily increasing by a few thousand each month, and growth over the past year now stands at about 27,000.

The figures moved counter to the jobless rate, which fell from 9.3 percent to 9.1 percent in September. The numbers are produced from two different surveys, and they have frequently served as contradictory indicators in recent months.

WASHINGTON — Unemployment rates fell in half of U.S. states last month, a sign that September’s pickup in hiring was felt around the country.

The Labor Department says unemployment rates dropped in 25 states, rose in 14 and stayed the same in 11. That’s a modest improvement from August, when unemployment rose in 26 states.

Nationwide, employers added 103,000 net jobs in September, nearly double the number created in August. Still, that’s not enough to lower the unemployment rate, which stayed at 9.1 percent for the third straight month.

Nevada reported the highest unemployment rate for the 16th straight month. It stayed at 13.4 percent for the second consecutive month. California was next. The rate there fell from 12.1 in August to 11.9 percent. Michigan had the third-highest rate, at 11.1 percent.

Layoffs have slowed at a national level in recent months. The number of people applying for unemployment benefits has fallen to a six-month low, according to a four-week average calculated by the government. That has helped calm fears that the economy was sliding into another recession, as have other recent data.

Manufacturers in the Philadelphia region grew in October after contracting for two straight months, according to a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. In September, consumers boosted their spending on retail goods by the most in seven months.

Still, the national unemployment rate has been stuck near 9 percent for more than two years. Employers have added an average of only 72,000 jobs per month in the past five months. That’s far below the 100,000 per month needed to keep up with population growth. And it’s down from an average of 180,000 in the first four months of this year.

Americans are pessimistic about the economy. And more than half say President Barack Obama does not inspire confidence about a recovery.

A sizable majority — more than 7 in 10 — believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll. And 43 percent describe the nation’s economy as “very poor,” a new high. Among those surveyed, less than 40 percent say Obama’s proposed remedies for high unemployment would increase jobs significantly.

Employers pulled back on hiring this spring after seeing less demand from consumers. Higher food and gas prices forced consumers to rein in spending. Consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of economic activity.

Job growth is critical to a recovery in the housing market, which many economists say is years away.

The number of Americans who bought previously occupied homes fell in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.91 million homes, the National Association of Realtors said Thursday. The pace matches last year’s sales figures, which were the worst since 1997.

11 comments on this story so far. Add yours!

The_Seer on October 21 at 8:49 a.m.
Obama 2012!
tobiasg on October 21 at 11:02 a.m.
It’s all Obama’s fault!
Dazzeetrader11 on October 21 at 1:33 p.m.
From the article..”Americans are pessimistic about the economy. And more than half say President Barack Obama does not inspire confidence about a recovery.
A sizable majority — more than 7 in 10 — believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll. And 43 percent describe the nation’s economy as “very poor,” a new high. Among those surveyed, less than 40 percent say Obama’s proposed remedies for high unemployment would increase jobs significantly. ”
Happy now? READ the article!
he’s a loser. never will be re-elected excet in your lil minds.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/150230/Obama-Job-Approval-Average-Slides-New-Low-11th-Quarter.aspx
Libs cheer. The rest of the country knows better.
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/car-company-us-loan-builds-cars-finland/story?id=14770875
Nice to send our money overseas to foreign workers. Like him now?
Cheer all you want! He’s a loser and the libs are too blind to see it.
DeadHandsofChe on October 21 at 2:50 p.m.
US ‘Misery Index’ Rises to Highest Since 1983
http://www.cnbc.com/id/44970105
The_Seer on October 21 at 3:53 p.m.
The only reason people think the country is “headed in the wrong direction” is because they’ve had their heads up their collective arses for forty years and not watching the decline across every sector of American life.
I was in Finland this summer, Dazed. Believe me, they don’t need our money. It’s amazing what people are
Ed Byrnes on October 21 at 3:56 p.m.
This is all Obama’s fault!
misjustice on October 21 at 6:59 p.m.
Oh, oh! Well, this simply won’t do.
Even a smidgen of good news must be denied; the Republican’ts are betting on the economy being horrible, and working hard to ensure that it stays in the crapper.
It’s their only hope in the upcoming election. I mean, it’s not like they can run on their accomplishments!
Dazzeetrader11 on October 21 at 10:57 p.m.
Soory J. There IS no good news in the US. Fake president community organizers stirring up the good people usually don’t do well.
BUT I was in Norway this past Summer. Amzing how well those capitalists are doing. The whole country seems to be doing well. Of course they don’t do the stupid things we don in the US. They don’t have unions…they don’t need them. Rich and the not so rich seem to be doing fine.
I do hope Obama runs on his accomplishments. His record on debt and unemployment should give him a big boost!…toward the door.
greenlibertarian on October 21 at 11:26 p.m.
BUT I was in Norway this past Summer. Amzing how well those capitalists are doing. The whole country seems to be doing well. Of course they don’t do the stupid things we don in the US. They don’t have unions…they don’t need them.
-Utterly ignorant lying troll.
More than half Norway’s employees are in unions and although union density has declined slightly in recent years, union membership has increased.
…
The most recent figures from the Labour Force Survey, analysed by the research body Fafo, show that in 2008 there were 1,236,000 employees who were trade union members. With some 2,329,000 employees in total in Norway in 2008, this means that 53.1% of all employees are organised in a union.
http://www.worker-participation.eu/National-Industrial-Relations/Countries/Norway/Trade-Union
Forgive me, S/R monitors, but it’s beyond time to ban repeat LIARS.
Dazzeetrader11 on October 22 at 3:32 a.m.
Sorry greenie…but your hate is evident. Apoligize to me..NOT them.
And those are NOT unions like unions are in the US. Those unions are loose associations without collective bargain. RIght to strike? Nope…They have to clear it with the government.
You REALLY need to slow down. You’re getting filthy.
But you’re also wrong..it’s a capitalistic free wheeling sytem. it works there and very well. Something you socialists should be understanding through your hate speech. You watch it bud.
misjustice on October 22 at 7:26 a.m.
The Dazzed one holding up Norway, the land of high taxes and generous welfare programs, as a shining example of how to get r done?
ROFLMAO!
; )