Grim Employment Report, But Signs of Hope

November 6, 2009 01:20 PM EST by Alexis Glick

Grim Employment Report, But Signs of Hope

This morning’s job data was very bleak. The unemployment rate is now at 10.2%, the highest level since April of 1983. Not only are we now in double digits sooner than many people expected, but the workforce shrunk month-over-month. The increased unemployment rate reflects the fact that more people are looking for work. The problem is that we have created very little new substantial jobs. Just to make up for the 7.3 million jobs that we have lost since the recession began, we’d have to create 10 million new jobs to account for lost jobs and population growth. A pretty grim picture that will take years to turn around!

The good news is that the pace of job losses is declining. Remember, we did lose over 700,000 jobs last January. This month we lost 190,000 jobs. The average work week remained the same and the wages did increase by .3% or 5 cents. The issue with the stagnant work week and increased wages is the enormous productivity gains that we saw the other day. The more productive we become the less workers we need. We’re paying them more but we’re also finding no real reason to increase payrolls. Increased productivity is an excellent thing for the economy but we now need to figure out how to retrain those that are out of work to take advantage of the new technologies and innovations to get smarter, faster and more efficient.

This morning, two women joined me to break down and access the numbers. First, Joanie Ruge, the senior VP of Adecco North America, the largest part-time employer in the world and the world’s largest staffing and human resources firm. Joanie had some good things to say about part-time hiring. In October 34,000 part-time jobs were created. This is a very important sign for a job turnaround. Companies usually hire temporary workers first before they hire full-time workers. It is often viewed as a leading indicator. Joanie noted that they are see increased seasonal demand due to the upcoming holiday for part-time workers than they did a year ago. She also noted some interesting ways companies are learning from this recession. Noting more companies are trying to learn how they can expand and contract their workforce based on demand. She said companies who have roughly 10% of their workforce available on a contingency basis are now contemplating how they can have as much as 20% of their workforce on a contingency basis. Take a look.

My second guest was U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis. She joined me for a First on FOX Business interview. She said, “We’re determined to bring down the unemployment rate. It is high. It is unacceptable.” She also noted the one-stop training centers are paying dividends, citing a statistic that 300,000 people have gone through training and two to three months later 75% of them have been able to find a job. Let’s hope that is the case. Take a look at her response to my call for a new job tax credit and what keeps her up at night.

9 Comments

Carolyn Johansen

I spent 9 hours on the internet yesterday--searching for jobs. I am not picky--I have worked retail before. I have a Masters degree and a teaching license too. I live in a metropolitan area with good public transportation. I filled out 3 applications--all retail--all paying less than $8 an hour. I cannot pay my rent, my car insurance and eat on $8 an hour. There are no REAL JOBS--the kind that pay you enough to survive on. The real jobs went overseas with NAFTA.

November 10, 2009 at 12:09 pm

Alvin Hailey

This is what a recovery looks like! It's always darkest at the inflection point...the "feel good" times come 3 or 4 quarters later. (Just as the impacts of the recent recession weren't discernible until months later.) The BEST (though not infallible) leading economic indicator is the stock market. Most (if not all) talking heads on Fox choose to disparage the market nowadays rather than be forced to acknowledge that the Bush/Obama interventions are actually beginning to pay off.

November 10, 2009 at 11:53 am

Djibo Issoufou

Actually this is not a discussion; I just wached Alexis intervention on Fox5 and i want to send her my respects and appreciations because shes too good on that report.By the way I dont know if there is a link to ask her a question in person about this unemployement issue..I just need a help please.

November 10, 2009 at 9:14 am

MJBJD

After the Crash of 1929, unemployment didn't climb to 25-30% until after 1931. I think it didn't come down below 10% until around the 1950s. All the government programs of Hoover & FDR failed to bring down unemployment. In fact, the more the Government spent, the worse the unemployment. Therefore, Government must cut spending and stop competing with businesses for money in the bond market. Keynesian spending never worked to reduce unemployment.

November 9, 2009 at 8:21 pm

Pat Farren

I could not disgree more. There are millions out of work and she thinks that 34K part time jobs is sign that we are going in the right direction? Most of those are probably in retail and will not last beyond the life of your Christmas tree. Furthermore, I do not trust/believe anything that comes from the Obama tea. Can Ms. Solis prove that 225K (75%) got new good paying jobs having completed training. I bet she cannot produce that. This is going take years to turn around.

November 9, 2009 at 4:09 pm

Cindy Pauls

With so many people looking for jobs, and so few jobs available, the job search dynamic has changed. For the first time there are four distinct generations applying for the same jobs, and people are more willing than ever before to relocate. Job seekers need new tools to help with the search process. The best tool available today is "Quick Takes: How to win a job in today's market." This easy to use workbook is available at www.LighthouseSolutionsLTD.com

November 9, 2009 at 9:44 am

ed L

Everyone is guessing.. fact is taxes, unions, and over regulations have driven companies out of the states. fact is all want high pay for pushing a broom. but what i see is people dont want to push themselves to become better.. grandpa did it dad did it I do'd it. there are people i know handled money at casinos made 15 hr and what skills do the have most nothing.and talk to them about college... i am owed and i dont want to go to college.. this is sad to say but true not all are this but enough

November 8, 2009 at 4:18 am

Bill Hovland

You had a guest Friday saying that we need to bring manufacturing back to the US. One thing I think he overlooks is the bias the alphabet agencies in our government have against manufacturing. Try to work with the EPA, OSHA, any of these, they look at business as the enemy. Our policies make going elsewhere too easy. Try to drill for oil, gas, etc groups from the Sierra Club to who knows send a project to court for years, why bother. Fix government bias and jobs will return.

November 7, 2009 at 11:32 am

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about this blog

Alexis Glick is an anchor for FOX Business Network. Prior to joining FOX, Glick served as a correspondent for the Today Show and co-anchored the third hour of that program. Before her stint at NBC News, she was the senior trading correspondent for CNBC and reported from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
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