Unemployment remains stable

Article published Oct 7, 2006
by Joe Estrella @ Idaho Statesman

Jobless rate stays below 4 percent for 17 months; nationwide, new jobs fall short

Idaho's jobless rate remained unchanged at 3.3 percent in September, while unemployment in the Treasure Valley fell one-tenth of a percentage point to 2.8 percent.

State officials touted numbers indicating that all but 100 of the 2,800 people entering the labor force last month found jobs.

"When you have the labor force grow that much, and the job market grows to match it, that's pretty good," said Commerce and Labor spokesman Bob Fick.
Nationwide, however, the employment picture was not as bright. The Labor Department reported that U.S. employers added just 51,000 jobs in September — the fewest in almost a year — as the unemployment rate dropped one tenth of a percentage point to 4.6 percent.

Idaho's jobless numbers last month marked the 17th straight month that the unemployment rate has been below the 4 percent mark that economists consider full unemployment.
Fick said the strength of the local job market continues to make it hard for Idaho businesses to attract workers.

Earlier this week, he said, Micron Technology was advertising for workers on a billboard located on the south side of The Connector near downtown, while Qwest Communications was advertising on the side of city buses for workers at its local call center.

"And our Commerce and Labor Offices are reporting new job fairs almost every week," Fick said.
Meanwhile, the amount of payroll added nationwide in September fell short of the 120,000 new jobs analysts expected. Helping to take the sting out of September's tepid payroll figure, however, was news that July and August employment numbers had been revised upward by the Labor Department.

The lower-than-expected employment numbers for September was enough to halt three straight days of record-setting gains on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 16.48, or 0.14 percent, at 11,850.21 Friday, down from the record close of 11,866.69 a day earlier.
Broader stock indicators also fell Friday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down 3.64, or 0.26 percent, at 1,349.58, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 6.35, or 0.28 percent, to 2,299.99.

The jobs report gave investors further confirmation that the economy is slowing. But Friday's Wall Street decline indicated they're concerned that the economy might be moderating too much.

Investors were hoping that a slightly weak report would further the notion that the economy had slowed enough to allow the Federal Reserve to consider a cut in interest rates.
"We've had a market that wants to see bad news as good news with respect to the Fed," said Bryan Piskorowski, a market analyst at Wachovia Securities LLC.

"(Now the) economy is slowing, the housing market is slowing, consumer spending is starting to slow. You run that tightwire where good news eventually becomes bad news."