Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Pittsburgh’s Real Job Picture
The new July 2007 job numbers for the Pittsburgh metro were just released. The unemployment rate of 4.3% equals the state’s rate and is slightly lower than the U.S. rate of 4.6%. But don’t pop the champagne cork just yet.
Since last July, total private employment rose by 3,900 or 0.3%. Much of that growth is owed to the education and health sector, which saw a boost of 4,100 jobs. Construction and manufacturing posted losses of 300 and 1,200 respectively. The problem is that much of the growth in the health sector is driven by government funding. But without its growth, the region would have posted no increase at all. That’s pitiful.
The seasonally-adjusted labor force total—the number of people working or looking for work—is down 5,500 from July of 2006 and stood at 1,198,500 last month. Looking at Allegheny County alone, the labor force has decreased 2,800 from last July. Even more stunning is the 1,400 drop from June 2007 to July 2007. All this indicates that the unemployment rate should not have a lot of fanfare attached to it as it is not indicating a robust local economy. Rather, the decrease in the labor force shows that there is a decrease in the number of people working or looking for work.
Since last July, total private employment rose by 3,900 or 0.3%. Much of that growth is owed to the education and health sector, which saw a boost of 4,100 jobs. Construction and manufacturing posted losses of 300 and 1,200 respectively. The problem is that much of the growth in the health sector is driven by government funding. But without its growth, the region would have posted no increase at all. That’s pitiful.
The seasonally-adjusted labor force total—the number of people working or looking for work—is down 5,500 from July of 2006 and stood at 1,198,500 last month. Looking at Allegheny County alone, the labor force has decreased 2,800 from last July. Even more stunning is the 1,400 drop from June 2007 to July 2007. All this indicates that the unemployment rate should not have a lot of fanfare attached to it as it is not indicating a robust local economy. Rather, the decrease in the labor force shows that there is a decrease in the number of people working or looking for work.
