U.S. jobless rate drops to 9.7 percent
By G. Scott Thomas for South Florida Business Journal - February 05, 2010America’s unemployment rate has dropped out of the double digits.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday morning that 9.7 percent of the nation’s workforce was unemployed in January. That was down from 10 percent the month before.
Nonfarm employment was virtually unchanged in January, dropping by 20,000 jobs nationwide on a seasonally adjusted basis. Employment has shown little net change the past three months, raising hopes that the recessionary job spiral may have reached bottom.
The number of unemployed people fell to 14.8 million in January from 15.3 million in December. But, the ranks of the long-term unemployed – those who have been out of work for at least 27 weeks – expanded, reaching 6.3 million in January.
Job losses continued in the construction, transportation and warehousing sectors last month, but employment increased in retail trade and temporary help services.
Employment in the manufacturing sector, which had been the big loser during the early phases of the recession, actually increased by 11,000 jobs in January, helped by gains in the automotive and plastics industries.
On Monday, The Conference Board reported that Florida is among a handful of states that posted the largest monthly gains in the number of online job postings, which were up by 25,500 in January.
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