From zero to 103,000 in 30 days…

What sounds like the tag line of a lame Nicolas Cage action movie (redundant?) actually describes the change in the number of jobs created since last month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which released September’s Employment Situation Report this morning.

Here’s a summary:

• Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 103,000 in September; however, that number includes the return to payrolls of about 45,000 [Verizon] telecommunications workers who had been on strike in August.
• The private sector added 137,000 jobs in September, with health care and education leading the growth, while local government shed 35,000 jobs, including 24,400 in public education.
• The number of unemployed persons was relatively unchanged at 14 million and the unemployment rate held at 9.1 percent.
• The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) was 6.2 million in September.
• Since April, payroll employment has increased by an average of 72,000 per month, compared with an average of 161,000 for the prior seven months.

While it’s nice to see that jobs were actually added this month (and even surpassed economists’ predictions of around 55,000), 103,000 still falls far short of the around 200,000 jobs needed each month just to fuel growth.

But before I become too much of a Debbie Downer, I’ll just reiterate White House blogger Katherine Abraham’s advice to “not to read too much into any one monthly report.” Done and done, Katherine.

Related links:

• Get a read on employers’ hiring expectations for the remainder of 2011.
• See how unemployment rates vary by age, education and gender on NPR’s Planet Money.

From zero to 103,000 in 30 days…

What sounds like the tag line of a lame Nicolas Cage action movie (redundant?) actually describes the change in the number of jobs created since last month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which released September’s Employment Situation Report this morning.

Here’s a summary:

• Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 103,000 in September; however, that number includes the return to payrolls of about 45,000 [Verizon] telecommunications workers who had been on strike in August.
• The private sector added 137,000 jobs in September, with health care and education leading the growth, while local government shed 35,000 jobs, including 24,400 in public education.
• The number of unemployed persons was relatively unchanged at 14 million and the unemployment rate held at 9.1 percent.
• The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) was 6.2 million in September.
• Since April, payroll employment has increased by an average of 72,000 per month, compared with an average of 161,000 for the prior seven months.

While it’s nice to see that jobs were actually added this month (and even surpassed economists’ predictions of around 55,000), 103,000 still falls far short of the around 200,000 jobs needed each month just to fuel growth.

But before I become too much of a Debbie Downer, I’ll just reiterate White House blogger Katherine Abraham’s advice to “not to read too much into any one monthly report.” Done and done, Katherine.

Related links:

• Get a read on employers’ hiring expectations for the remainder of 2011.
• See how unemployment rates vary by age, education and gender on NPR’s Planet Money.

Could this be a good sign? CareerBuilder’s latest nationwide survey, released today, shows that small businesses will be hiring in the second half of 2010. Considering small business is one of the major drivers for economic recovery and job growth, I think the answer’s a definite …hopefully? 

Findings from the survey of more than 1,300 employers in businesses with 500 or fewer employees indicate that in the second half of the year, 32 percent of companies with 500 or fewer employees plan to add new employees.  Twenty-four percent of companies with 50 or fewer employees said the same.

Seeing these plans for growth mean not only good things for small businesses, but should come as good news about the state of the economy overall. In a statement for the press release, Brent Rasmussen, President of CareerBuilder North America, said, “Historically, it has been the small business sector that has created the most jobs at the end of an economic downturn, allowing the overall job market to bounce back faster.”

And according to the U.S. Small Business Administration, small businesses employ just over half of all private sector employees, account for more than half of nonfarm private gross domestic product, and have generated 64 percent of net new jobs over the past 15 years.

For more on these findings, see the full press release.