With the current state of the economy, it’s important to keep track of important economic indicators such as the employment situation across the country. The national unemployment rate for July, released earlier this month, was unchanged at 9.5%. At first glace, this seems to be a very good sign as it looks in recent months that the unemployment rate is beginning to fall.
However, when you break down the numbers the situation is much trickier than first perceived. While the national average remains unchanged, employers cut 131,000 jobs in July with 14 states reporting an increase from June’s unemployment numbers. Additionally, 11 states posted rates of 10% unemployment or higher, though this is a decrease from 18 states in June. Currently, Nevada boasts the highest unemployment rate at 14.3% with North Dakota at the lower end at 3.6%. In general, the Midwest seems to be doing better than the country as a whole with unemployment rates well below the national average.
Another important employment indicator is weekly initial jobless claims. Jobless claims is the number of people filing new unemployment insurance claims, released every Thursday. Last week, jobless claims rose to 500,000. This continues a recently upward trend in jobless claims, indicating weakness in the labor market. However, it is important to note that this is still well below the highs of the recent recession.
The employment numbers are sending mixed signals to the public. While national unemployment is steady, the economy lost jobs last month. Yet fewer states are reporting rates over 10%. Jobless claims increased again for the 4th straight week, but is still well below last year’s numbers. Overall, the employment situations looks to be improving, but there is still severe weakness in the economy.
Marina Gurland
Recruiting Coordinator – Legal Division
