Monthly Jobs Briefs
Public Assets Institute’s Monthly Jobs Briefs will be released on the same day that the Vermont Department of Labor issues its monthly employment and unemployment statistics. Our reports will provide additional information and context for the official state statistics and are meant to complement the Department of Labor information.
The Public Assets reports will draw from data available from the U.S. Census, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, Economic Policy Institute, Center on Budget and Policies Priorities, National Employment Law Project and the Vermont Department of Labor.
2010 Publication schedule:
Jan 22, 2010
Mar 10, 2010
Mar 26, 2010
Apr 16, 2010
May 21, 2010
Jun 18, 2010
Jul 20, 2010
Aug 20, 2010
Sep 21, 2010
Oct 22, 2010
Nov 23, 2010
Dec 17, 2010
As Job-Seekers Lose Steam, So Does the Recovery
For the fourth straight month, Vermonters have dropped out of the labor force. According to figures released today, the number of people working or looking…
Continue reading As Job-Seekers Lose Steam, So Does the Recovery
New Hope for Unemployed Vermonters
Congress is poised to give a temporary reprieve to thousands of Vermonters who have exhausted their state unemployment benefits and depend on emergency benefits from the federal government.
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A Bit of A Breather in the Labor Market and at Home
Unemployed Vermonters may be finding less competition for available jobs this spring.
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On the Trail to Recovery—With More Hills to Climb
There were mixed signals again in Vermont’s employment and jobs figures released today. The unemployment rate ticked down slightly, and more people reported they were employed. But according to the survey of Vermont employers, almost 2,000 jobs were eliminated last month.
Continue reading On the Trail to Recovery—With More Hills to Climb
Vermont’s Workers May Not Be Sharing the Nation’s Recent Good Fortune
Vermont may not have been part of the big surge in new jobs that President Obama touted earlier this month. He announced that employers added more than 160,000 jobs in March. Meanwhile, preliminary figures show Vermont lost 1,900 non-farm jobs last month. That was one of the biggest percentage declines in the country and Vermont’s fourth-biggest monthly loss since the start of the recession. But the decline also may be a statistical anomaly.
Continue reading Vermont’s Workers May Not Be Sharing the Nation’s Recent Good Fortune
Unemployment is Static—But Things Get Worse for Workers
Unemployment was essentially unchanged in Vermont and most other states in February. According to figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, only seven states and Washington, D.C., had monthly changes in their unemployment rates that were statistically significant. Vermont’s wasn’t one of them. Its February was 6.6 percent; January’s was 6.7 percent—among the lowest in the country.
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New Numbers, Same Story: Jobs and Unemployment Remain Steady
State and federal officials released revised labor statistics today showing that Vermont’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate and the number of seasonally adjusted non-farm jobs were largely unchanged in January.
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Hard Times Get Harder; Government Gives Relief
After six months of gradual decline, the number of unemployed Vermont workers shot up by 1,600 in December. That was a statistically significant jump from November and the largest monthly increase since last January.
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Signs Are Good…if They Hold
Vermont’s preliminary November employment statistics, released Friday, were all moving in the right direction: increased labor force, increased employment, and a drop in unemployment.A good month—but it’ll be several months before we know whether we’re on the road to economic recovery.
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No Bad News Is Good
That there was no bad news was good news on the Vermont unemployment front in October. The official unemployment rate dropped slightly—to 6.5 percent from 6.7 percent—but the change is not statistically significant. Still, the fact that the unemployment rate did not go up meant Vermont fared better than much of the rest of the country.
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Vermont’s Labor Force Is Shrinking
The Vermont labor force continued to shrink in September as 1,900 more unemployed Vermonters stopped looking for work. In May, the labor force reached a peak of 361,000, but has been falling since then. Last month it stood at 356,900.
Continue reading Vermont’s Labor Force Is Shrinking
Vermont’s Unemployment Rate Still High, But Lowest in Northeast
Vermont’s unemployment rate remained at 6.8 percent in August, the seventh month at this level or higher and the longest stretch since the early 1980’s. As bad as it is for Vermonters, workers elsewhere in the Northeast have it worse.
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Stimulus Helps Public Job Growth; Private Sector Still Lags
The public sector added 1,700* jobs in July, many of them youth services jobs paid for with federal stimulus funds. Meanwhile, the private sector reported more job losses last month.
Continue reading Stimulus Helps Public Job Growth; Private Sector Still Lags
Vermont Unemployment: Five Months Over 7 Percent
June marked the fifth straight month that Vermont’s unemployment rate has been above 7 percent, the longest stretch in more than a quarter century.
Continue reading Vermont Unemployment: Five Months Over 7 Percent