California Leads State Job Losses
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Forty-four states lost jobs in April, led by California, where employers slashed 63,700 positions, as the recession took a further toll on U.S. workers.
Trailing California in month-to-month job losses were: Texas, which saw 39,500 jobs vanish; Michigan, which lost 38,400 jobs; and Ohio, where payrolls fell 25,200, according to a U.S. Labor Department report issued Friday.
Compare the Data
California's unemployment rate fell to 11%, fifth-highest in the country, from 11.2% last month. Michigan's jobless rate was the highest at 12.9%, followed by Oregon at 12%, South Carolina at 11.5% and Rhode Island at 11.1%.
Despite the slight drop in California's jobless rate, economists warned that the state's job market is still ailing. The bleak job market is another worry for state lawmakers, who must close a $21 billion budget deficit through June 2010. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is proposing cutting a variety of social services that many unemployed people rely on.
Meanwhile, the number of U.S. workers involved in mass layoffs fell during April, according to a separate report released Friday by the Labor Department. It was the first drop since November.
The number of workers involved in the mass layoff actions during April totaled 271,226, down from March's 299,388. These people are identified as initial filers for unemployment insurance. Mass layoffs events totaled 2,712 on a seasonally adjusted basis, down by 221 from 2,933 in March. Mass layoff events involve 50 or more people losing jobs at a single employer.
As the recession eats into sales and profits, companies have laid off workers and turned to other cost-cutting measures, such as holding down hours and freezing or trimming pay.
Since the recession began in December 2007, the U.S. has lost a net total of 5.7 million jobs. The nationwide unemployment rate now stands at 8.9%, a quarter-century high.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and some economists hope the pace of layoffs will moderate as the recession eases its grip and likely ends later this year.
But even if employers reduce firings, the nationwide unemployment rate is expected to hit double digits by year's end. Employers won't be in any mood to ramp up hiring until they feel confident that any recovery has staying power, economists say.
In Friday's state report, Arkansas and Montana tied for the biggest over-the-month payroll gains at 1,500 a piece. They were followed by Florida, which saw an increase of 1,300 jobs. It marked a dose of good news for a state that has been especially hard hit by fallout from the housing collapse.
On the hiring front, North Dakota again registered the nation's lowest unemployment rate -- 4%. It was followed by Nebraska with a 4.4% jobless rate, Wyoming at 4.5% and South Dakota with 4.8%.
Layoffs in manufacturing, construction and retail are common threads running through the states with the highest unemployment rates. Another thread: difficulties faced by South Carolina, Michigan, Rhode Island and other states, to lure new types of companies to help cushion the loss of manufacturing jobs and retrain laid-off factory workers for other kinds of employment.
Nearly 6.7 million people nationwide are drawing state unemployment insurance, the highest on records dating to 1967, the federal government reported Thursday. The crush has exhausted unemployment funds in California, New York and elsewhere, forcing them to tap the federal government for money to keep paying benefits. |
