Labor month in review
The June
Review
Going on to college
Fewer IT layoffs in first quarter 2004
Productivity growth in first quarter 2004
Employment dynamics in third quarter 2003
The overall effects of terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, acted to intensify the national economic recession that had been going on for about 6 months at the time. The direct effects of the attack were felt most specifically and severely in a relatively limited set of industries and city blocks in lower Manhattan and, to a lesser, but still measurable degree, as distance increased. Michael L. Dolfman, BLS Regional Commissioner in New York, and Solidelle F. Wasser, senior economist in the region, estimated those impacts on a borough-by-borough and industry-by-industry basis. Dolfman and Wasser have been careful to use conservative assumptions and to spell out their methods and their possible limitations. Even under these premises, the estimated impact of September 11 on New York City’s employment and wage base was substantial.
Jessica R. Sincavage examines longer term demographic influences on the labor market. In the post-World War II era, three generational groups have entered the labor force: the baby boom born from 1946 to 1964, the much smaller Generation X born from 1965 to 1975, and the echo boom composed of the original baby- boomers’ children born from 1976 to 2001. For the 40 years that have passed since the oldest of the original baby boom entered the labor force, that generation has had profound impacts on the unemployment rate. The two smaller generations that followed have not yet had such an influence.
Katherine Loh and Scott Richardson investigate the reasons that while the share of the work force that is foreign born increased by 22 percent between 1996 and 2001, their share of fatal occupational injuries increased by 43 percent. A significant part of the answer lies in their disproportionate representation in higher risk occupations and industries.
Ryan Helwig summarizes the results of the January 2002 displaced worker supplement. At that time, toward the end of an extended period of economic growth that drove unemployment rates to historic lows, the incidence of displacement was relatively low.
A visual essay on employment and unemployment among the diverse races and ethnicities that make up the American labor force rounds out the issue.
Of the 2.7 million youth who graduated from high school in 2003, about 1.7 million (63.9 percent) were attending college in October. Young women continued to be more likely than young men to enter colleges or universities after high school—66.5 percent versus 61.2 percent.
The enrollment rate for Asian high school graduates (84.1 percent) was much higher than for white graduates (65.0 percent). Black and Hispanic graduates were about equally likely to be college students in the fall—58.3 and 58.6 percent, respectively. Additional information is available from "College Enrollment and Work Activity of 2003 High School Graduates," news release USDL 04–749.
Fewer IT layoffs in first quarter 2004
Information technology-producing industries accounted for 6 percent of extended mass layoff events and 10,556 worker separations in the first quarter, down from 11 percent of layoff events and 28,582 separations a year earlier.
This was the lowest number of separations in this industry grouping comprising communication equipment, communications services, computer hardware, and software and computer services since the first quarter of 2000. First quarter 2004 layoffs were most numerous in communications services and computer hardware. For more information, see "Extended Mass Layoffs in the First Quarter of 2004," news release USDL 04–895.
Productivity growth in first quarter 2004
Nonfarm business sector productivity—as measured by output per hour—rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.5 percent in the first quarter of 2004. Output increased 4.9 percent and hours of all persons increased 1.3 percent in the first quarter. In the fourth quarter of 2003, productivity had risen 2.5 percent, reflecting increases in output and hours of 4.2 and 1.6 percent, respectively. Data are subject to revision. Additional information is available in "Productivity and Costs, First Quarter 2004," news release USDL 04–817.
Employment dynamics in third quarter 2003
From June to September 2003, the number of job gains from opening and expanding establishments was 7.4 million, and the number of job losses from closing and contracting establishments was 7.3 million. Gross job losses exceeded gross job gains in goods-producing sectors, while gross job gains surpassed gross job losses in service-providing sectors. In the goods-producing sector, manufacturing job losses exceeded job gains during the third quarter for a net loss of 152,000 jobs. However, gross job losses in manufacturing declined to 701,000 in the third quarter of 2003, the lowest level since the third quarter of 1992.
In the service-providing sectors, gross job gains in education and health services have exceeded gross job losses continuously since the beginning of the series on Business Employment Dynamics in September 1992. In the third quarter of 2003, this sector gained 731,000 jobs and lost 670,000 for a net gain of 61,000 jobs. Find more in "Business Employment Dynamics: Third Quarter 2003," news release USDL 04–896.
Communications regarding the Monthly Labor Review may be sent to the Editor-in-Chief by e-mail to mlr@bls.gov, by mail at 2 Massachusetts Avenue NE, Room 2850, Washington, DC, 20212, or by fax to (202) 691–7890.
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