St. Louis unemployment hits 6.3% in January
St. Louis area's unemployment rate jumped to 6.3 percent in January, up from 5.5 percent in January 2007 and 0.9 percent higher than the national unemployment rate of 5.4 percent, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday.
The St. Louis area's unemployed numbered 90,700 in January, up from 78,800 in January 2007 and 78,900 in December 2007. St. Louis once again had the highest rate of unemployment of any metropolitan area studied in the state. Columbia, Jefferson City, Joplin, Kansas City, St. Joseph and Springfield are the other Missouri cities the Bureau of Labor Statistics studies.
As a whole, Missouri's unemployment rate reached 6.0 percent in January, an increase from the January 2007 rate of 5.2 percent. Illinois' unemployment rate reach 6.2 percent in January, up 1.0 percent from the January 2007 rate of 5.2 percent.
Jobless rate rises slightly in Guilford
GREENSBORO — Guilford County experienced a slight bump in unemployment in January over December, according to a state Employment Security Commission report. The rate rose from 4.5 percent to 5.1 percent, but January's number is not seasonally adjusted.
It doesn't feel like a slight bump to those looking for work at the ESC office on South Elm-Eugene Street.
When Leon Reels graduated from High Point University in 2000, the last thing he thought he would be doing now is looking for work. Reels saw his hours cut back at two jobs over a 7-year span, first at NBC in Charlotte where he did freelance writing and then at a boat manufacturer in his hometown of Morehead City.
Reels moved to Greensboro last month to live with his cousin, hoping the city might provide better opportunities.
"I thought things would be better," he said. "It's nothing like what I expected."
Guilford County's unadjusted 5.1 percent is a three-year high for data collected for January.
Six weeks into his job search, Reels has only recently found a couple of prospects with housing developers. "I'm trying to be positive about it. We can only hope that one day this will all turn around."
N.J. Unemployment Rate Jumps in February
TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey's unemployment rate jumps for the second straight month.
The rate hit 4.8 percent in February, up from 4.5 percent in January.
The state Labor and Workforce Development Department says that puts New Jersey's jobless rate as high as the national average for the first time since October 2006.
The numbers show New Jersey lost 10,400 jobs in the private sector in the first two months of 2008.
Georgia unemployment rises to 5.3 % in Feb.
Georgia's unemployment rate continued to climb in February, surpassing the national rate by 0.1 percent, according to the Georgia Department of Labor.
The state's unemployment rate hit 5.3 percent in February -- up 0.2 percent over January and 1 percent over February 2007. The current state rate is also 0.1 percent higher than the U.S. unadjusted rate of 5.2 percent.
Georgia's unemployment rate rose from January to February because the number of people unemployed increased by 7,086, while 5,152 others left the job market, the Georgia Department of Labor said.
Michigan regional jobless rates increased in January
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Seasonally unadjusted unemployment rates increased in all of Michigan's 17 regional labor markets in January.
State officials said Wednesday the largest increases in the unemployment rates came in the Monroe and Flint regions and the northeast portion of the Lower Peninsula.
The largest job losses came in retail trade and government employment.
Pierce County unemployment data reflect economy
Unemployment in Pierce County rises only a bit, but experts say the small jump might be a sign of a worsening economy.
Posted on the Biz Buzz blog at 4:11 p.m. Tuesday Pierce County’s unemployment rate edged up in February to 5.6 percent from 5.3 percent the previous month.
"It’s not a big move up. I think it’s significant nonetheless," Paul Turek, Tacoma’s regional economist with the state Employment Security Department, said Tuesday.
Turek noted that the unemployment rate might be one more indication of a slowing economy. The rate is four-tenths of a percentage point higher this February than it was in the same month last year.
Pierce County’s unemployment is higher than the neighboring counties of Kitsap, King and Thurston, but lower than most counties in Central and Eastern Washington.
Pierce County is still generating jobs – adding 2,100 over the month, in sectors such as education and health services, and 5,800 over the year. But fewer jobs were added over the month this year than in the same time period last year.
Loss of manufacturing jobs drives up unemployment rate
Cowlitz County's jobless rate crept up to 8.1 percent in February and the Southwest Washington labor market continued deteriorating, a state economist said Tuesday.
The February jobless rate is two-tenths of a percentage point higher than January's 7.9 percent rate, according to Scott Bailey, regional economist with the Washington Employment Security Department. The rate is more than a full percentage point above the February 2007 rate, which was 7 percent.
Statewide, the unemployment held steady at 4.5 percent. Lewis County unemployment surged to nearly 10 percent, however.
The biggest drop in Cowlitz County employment came in the manufacturing sector, which lost 100 jobs in the last month, all in the paper industry.
Overall, manufacturing jobs are down 400 from a year ago - 300 in the paper industry.
With the Fibre layoffs and the impending closure of Weyerhaeuser's Green Mountain sawmill in Toutle on May 1, which will leave 100 employees out of work, the retail sector will likely suffer, too, Bailey said.
Of course, it's not all bad...if you live in Wichita or Dayton. It's just gas is so expensive I can't afford to move that far.