Automatic Data Processing, Inc., a human resources company, reported the smallest increase in the nonfarm, private business sector in seven months. The increase of 119,000 hires in the private sector was 51,000 fewer than analysts anticipated. The increase is also 80,000 less than March’s numbers.
Of the private sector businesses, service providers saw the only increase (123,000), while the goods producing sector decreased by 4,000. Small and medium payroll businesses increased their payrolls by 115,000, with large payroll business only accounting for the other 4,000.
In Other Employment Related News
30% of Jobless Americans Have Been Jobless for a Year
The Los Angeles Times reported that nearly 30% of jobless Americans have been unemployed for at least a year. Almost 4 million of the 13.3 million jobless Americans were out of a job for all or most of 2011.
The report said that older Americans, ages 55 and older, account for 44% of the jobless market. Unemployed workers from the ages 20 to 24 account for 21.4%.
Fiscal spending for unemployment benefits could reach $99 billion for 2012.
Demand for American Made Goods Down
The Department of Commerce reported a decrease of 1.5% in new orders for American made products for March. The percentage points accumulated to $7.1 billion in losses, dropping the total to $460.5 billion. The decrease was the most in three years and came on the heels of a 1.1% increase in February.
The airline industry dipped 47.6% and the demand for mining and oil and gas field machinery fell by 47.3%. Transportation products fells by 12.6% and durable goods were down by 0.8%.
The Los Angeles Times reported the Institute for Supply Management’s index of manufacturing activity had reached a 10-month high in April. The Times also reported that manufacturing employment as a percentage of total nonfarm employment stopped falling for the first time in 20 years.
Eurozone Unemployment Rate Hits 10.9%
The Eurostat reported the Euro area unemployment reached 10.9% for March, which is up 0.1% from February. The rate is up an entire percentage point from a year ago (9.9%). The report estimated there were more than 24.7 million people unemployed, which is an increase of 193,000 from the previous month. The total is up more than two million from March 2011.
-Dustin Bass, dbass_cmn
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