Job stats show which industries have taken the worst hits
March 17, 2009 by Jim GiulianoPosted in: Health care, Hiring, In this week's e-newsletter, Latest News & Views, Retention and turnover, Terminations
February was a killer month for job losses in the U.S. economy, and it was an especially tough time for some key industries, as the unemployment rate shot up from 7.6% to 8.1% in just 30 days.
A look at the U.S. Department of Labor statistics reveals who’s taking the worst hits — and if you’re hiring in one of these industries, you’ll have a lot of choices from among people who are job hunting:
Auto and auto-related. No surprise here. In February, manufacturing jobs got slashed by 168,000, bringing losses over the last year to 1.2 million. In Michigan, the heart of the auto industry, the unemployment rate has hit 10.6 percent, the highest of any state in the nation.
Financial services. This sector lost 44,000 jobs in February. Companies found themselves with a glut of traders, analysts and marketers who made a living during the housing boom. And we all know what happened with that. Many labor analysts say this industry will be reshaped — and downsized — for years to come.
Retail. Just pick up the newspaper and you’ll see the ongoing list of retailers who are closing shop, mainly because consumers no longer have access to easy credit — and money. Retailers dropped 39,500 jobs in February, and a total of more than 500,000 in the last 12 months.
Other. Some of the other worst-hit industries in February: transportation and warehousing, 49,000 jobs; employment services, 88,000 jobs; and hotels and restaurants, 32,000 jobs.
The bright spot: Health care added 30,000 jobs in February.
Tags: department of labor, Michigan, unemployment
March 23rd, 2009 at 11:15 am
The economy will continue to have severe and prolonged problems unless and until the Feds stop trying to manage it. Free markets work far better than anything attempted by state control. Under a capitalist system you have failures but those failures are short lived rather than the drawn out time frame due to failed statist policies. Government has NEVER run any economy well-efficient markets operate from the ground up, not from the top downward.
March 23rd, 2009 at 11:29 am
We’ve been back and forth on the issue of goverment regulations, and it’s time to move on. We all seem to be entrenched in our philosophies. I’d like to discuss what industries HR colleagues believe will recover first when the economy turns around (and it will, as we all know), and how our companies will be affected by small or great surges in certain sectors.
March 23rd, 2009 at 12:59 pm
There is NO SUCH thing as a free market. Every government/county in the world implements tariffs/taxes to favor or disfavor certain industries or countries. It’s time to get off this “free hand” nonsense and work towards a government model that protects its citizens and business environment to the best of its ability. Too much government and you get socialism or fascism; too few governmental regulations and you get the US economy from Reagan to Bush…………….
March 23rd, 2009 at 1:49 pm
Hear, hear, Wendy and John. I think one of the first industries to show signs of recovery will be manufacturing — which will reflect a rebound in demand once existing inventories are liquidated.