U.S. November Payrolls Fall 40,000; Jobless Rate Rises to 6%
By Monee Fields-White
Washington, Dec. 6 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. economy unexpectedly lost jobs in November and the unemployment rate rose more than expected to 6 percent, government figures showed.
Payrolls fell by 40,000, the biggest decline since February, after rising a revised 6,000 in October, the Labor Department said. The jobless rate, up from 5.7 percent in October, was the highest since April. Manufacturers, retailers and construction companies eliminated jobs last month.
More than 1.6 million jobs have been lost since March 2001, when the U.S. economy slipped into recession. AMR Corp.'s American Airlines, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings Inc., and WorldCom Inc. are among companies cutting jobs. Without an increase in hiring, the economy will be hard-pressed to gain strength, economists said.
``Without job growth, you are not going to have a vital economic recovery,'' Richard Berner, chief U.S. economist at Morgan Stanley, one of the 22 firms that trade directly with the Federal Reserve, said before the report.
Economists had expected payrolls to rise by 36,000 after a previously reported decline of 5,000 jobs in October, based on the median of 60 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey. Economists had also projected an unemployment rate of 5.8 percent.
The unemployment rate and the payroll figures sometimes differ because the government's monthly job growth figures are based on a survey of 300,000 businesses, and the unemployment rate is based on a survey of 60,000 U.S. households.
The private workweek held at an average 34.2 hours in November for a third straight month. Average hourly earnings increased 0.3 percent, the same as the prior month. Earnings are up 2.9 percent over the past year. Average weekly earnings rose to $510.61 from $509.24 in October.
Manufacturing Employment
Factories shed jobs for a 28th straight month and total manufacturing employment is now lower than at any time since November 1961. Manufacturing lost 45,000 jobs in November. Factory hours held at 40.7 hours in November, while overtime stayed at 4.1 hours in November.
R.J. Reynolds, the second-largest U.S. cigarette maker, this week said it will eliminate 635 jobs as demand declines for its premium-priced brands. About 115 of the jobs will be eliminated through attrition, the company said. The workforce reduction will be largely completed by the first half of next year, R.J. Reynolds said.
Employment at temporary-help companies, which generate orders from factories, fell 23,000 in November. During an economic recovery, demand for temporary workers typically picks up before companies bring on more full-time workers.
Retail Jobs
Service-producing companies, which include retailers, finance and transportation companies as well as government agencies, added 11,000 jobs, the weakest since a decline in February. Retail employment declined 39,000 in November.
Employment at construction firms fell 4,000 after falling 22,000. Retailers lost 39,000 positions, the third decrease in the last four months. Transportation companies shed 10,000 jobs. Wholesale companies lost 5,000 jobs, the fifth straight month of declining employment.
The pool of available workers -- which combines the number of unemployed job seekers, plus those not looking for work in the last 12 months who said they would take a job -- rose to 13.2 million in November from 12.7 million in October.
The percentage of the U.S. population holding jobs fell to 62.5 percent in November from 62.9 percent in October.
Airlines, Telecommunications
American Airlines will eliminate 1,100 flight-attendant jobs by February as it lowers first-quarter capacity to cope with sliding demand for travel. The cuts come in addition to the 7,000 layoffs announced by the world's largest airline in August. The unit of AMR said those layoffs will be completed by the end of the first quarter.
WorldCom, trying to emerge from the largest bankruptcy filing, is expected to notify 3,000 employees today their jobs are being eliminated as part of the telephone company's cost-cutting plan. The job reductions, mainly from technical support and sales operations, are part of the 17,000 positions WorldCom said in June it would slash.
Among blacks, the unemployment rate rose to 11 percent from 9.8 percent in October. The jobless rate for Hispanics held at 7.8 percent. Unemployment for whites rose at 5.2 percent.
For teenagers, unemployment rose to 16.8 percent from 14.6 percent in October. The jobless rate for women fell to 5 percent last month from 5.2 percent
By Monee Fields-White
Washington, Dec. 6 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. economy unexpectedly lost jobs in November and the unemployment rate rose more than expected to 6 percent, government figures showed.
Payrolls fell by 40,000, the biggest decline since February, after rising a revised 6,000 in October, the Labor Department said. The jobless rate, up from 5.7 percent in October, was the highest since April. Manufacturers, retailers and construction companies eliminated jobs last month.
More than 1.6 million jobs have been lost since March 2001, when the U.S. economy slipped into recession. AMR Corp.'s American Airlines, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings Inc., and WorldCom Inc. are among companies cutting jobs. Without an increase in hiring, the economy will be hard-pressed to gain strength, economists said.
``Without job growth, you are not going to have a vital economic recovery,'' Richard Berner, chief U.S. economist at Morgan Stanley, one of the 22 firms that trade directly with the Federal Reserve, said before the report.
Economists had expected payrolls to rise by 36,000 after a previously reported decline of 5,000 jobs in October, based on the median of 60 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey. Economists had also projected an unemployment rate of 5.8 percent.
The unemployment rate and the payroll figures sometimes differ because the government's monthly job growth figures are based on a survey of 300,000 businesses, and the unemployment rate is based on a survey of 60,000 U.S. households.
The private workweek held at an average 34.2 hours in November for a third straight month. Average hourly earnings increased 0.3 percent, the same as the prior month. Earnings are up 2.9 percent over the past year. Average weekly earnings rose to $510.61 from $509.24 in October.
Manufacturing Employment
Factories shed jobs for a 28th straight month and total manufacturing employment is now lower than at any time since November 1961. Manufacturing lost 45,000 jobs in November. Factory hours held at 40.7 hours in November, while overtime stayed at 4.1 hours in November.
R.J. Reynolds, the second-largest U.S. cigarette maker, this week said it will eliminate 635 jobs as demand declines for its premium-priced brands. About 115 of the jobs will be eliminated through attrition, the company said. The workforce reduction will be largely completed by the first half of next year, R.J. Reynolds said.
Employment at temporary-help companies, which generate orders from factories, fell 23,000 in November. During an economic recovery, demand for temporary workers typically picks up before companies bring on more full-time workers.
Retail Jobs
Service-producing companies, which include retailers, finance and transportation companies as well as government agencies, added 11,000 jobs, the weakest since a decline in February. Retail employment declined 39,000 in November.
Employment at construction firms fell 4,000 after falling 22,000. Retailers lost 39,000 positions, the third decrease in the last four months. Transportation companies shed 10,000 jobs. Wholesale companies lost 5,000 jobs, the fifth straight month of declining employment.
The pool of available workers -- which combines the number of unemployed job seekers, plus those not looking for work in the last 12 months who said they would take a job -- rose to 13.2 million in November from 12.7 million in October.
The percentage of the U.S. population holding jobs fell to 62.5 percent in November from 62.9 percent in October.
Airlines, Telecommunications
American Airlines will eliminate 1,100 flight-attendant jobs by February as it lowers first-quarter capacity to cope with sliding demand for travel. The cuts come in addition to the 7,000 layoffs announced by the world's largest airline in August. The unit of AMR said those layoffs will be completed by the end of the first quarter.
WorldCom, trying to emerge from the largest bankruptcy filing, is expected to notify 3,000 employees today their jobs are being eliminated as part of the telephone company's cost-cutting plan. The job reductions, mainly from technical support and sales operations, are part of the 17,000 positions WorldCom said in June it would slash.
Among blacks, the unemployment rate rose to 11 percent from 9.8 percent in October. The jobless rate for Hispanics held at 7.8 percent. Unemployment for whites rose at 5.2 percent.
For teenagers, unemployment rose to 16.8 percent from 14.6 percent in October. The jobless rate for women fell to 5 percent last month from 5.2 percent
