Pittsburgh Metro Unemployment Rate Levels off In December. Is the Worst Now Behind Us?

Unemployment figures released today by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry show December came in at 7.9%, the same as November. The source of strength for the report was manufacturing which lost no jobs from the month earlier.

This is consistent with ISM indexes released recently that show manufacturing nationwide is picking up as businesses strive to begin restocking shelves depleted by a year of inventory reductions.

Pittsburgh unemployment appears to have peaked in October when it hit 8.2%. For more details visit a summary from the Tribune Review and the Center for Workforce Information and Analysis Department of Labor and Industry of Pennsylvania.

Pittsburgh YWCA Hosting Microenterprise Symposium 2010 at Carnegie Mellon University

The YWCA of Greater Pittsburgh's 2nd Annual Microenterprise Symposium is the premier gathering for small businesses in the Pittsburgh tri-state area. For a second year, entrepreneurs and business professionals from this area will come together at conference to participate in in-depth workshops, educational sessions, panel discussions and networking activities. The symposium provides a way for small business owners and budding entrepreneurs to meet and explore strategies for providing support and mentoring opportunities. Connections are made by sharing experiences and real life stories about their common challenges; techniques and creative tips will be shared to help participants continue to grow their businesses.



A Micro-enterprise by definition is a business with five or fewer employees, small enough to require initial capital of $35,000 or less. According to the Association for Enterprise Opportunity, one out of six U.S. private sector employees’ works for a microenterprise.


This year’s symposium will take place on February 20, 2010, at the Tepper School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University. The symposium will have more than 15 concurrent sessions in which experienced professionals will make presentations and lead discussions about technology, marketing, finance, and other related topics for small business development. Join them on February 20, 2010 and look ahead to the future of growing micro enterprises to million dollar businesses.

Pittsburgh Unemployment Rate Drops in November

The Pittsburgh metro unemployment rate dropped to 7.9% in November from 8.3% in October, more than 2% below the national November rate of 10.2%. However In November 2008 the Pittsburgh rate was only 5.8%. This was the first month to month decline in two years and the largest month to month decline since 1998.

The 7.9% November 2009 rate represents 95,100 unemployed workers out of a labor force of 1,205,200. One year ago the labor force was listed at 1,221,800 with 70,300 unemployed workers.


The lowest county rate was Butler at 7.1% while Fayette County was highest at 10.2%. For more details go to: http://www.paworkstats.state.pa.us or http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09364/1024498-455.stm


Manufacturing jobs, though still down from October, are stabilizing at fewer than 90,000 for the region. Service related jobs, powered mostly by healthcare and education, showed growth.

These numbers are consistent with what we saw in November with help wanted job counts showing slight gains (followed in December by further gains).

TURNING A CORNER. National Jobs Report Much Better than Expected for November

The November jobs report was released this morning with expectations of another 120,000 to 130,000 jobs lost (the fewest since March 2008). The report is creating a major buzz in the recruitment industry as only 11,000 jobs were lost and the unemployment rate, expected to remain at 10.2% or tick up to 10.3%, actually dropped to 10%.

September and October figures were revised lower by a combined 159,000 jobs. Temporary jobs, considered a leading indicator of future hiring activity, rose by 59,000. Manufacturing shed another 69,000 jobs while service industries expanded by 58,000, seasonally adjusted.

How this affects our local Pittsburgh market has yet to be seen, with Pittsburgh’s October report showing an uptick to 8.3% from 8.1% in September. While certainly not a “mission accomplished” moment, this portends and much faster healing of the worst jobs market in a generation. It will be interesting to see how this affects consumer attitudes in the coming months and if it is sustainable.

More details: http://bit.ly/8K2KmO

EmploymentGuide.com

Pittsburgh Metro Unemployment Rate Rises to 8.3% for October 2009

At almost 2% below the national figure of 10.2%, Pittsburgh’s area unemployment rate rose to 8.3% from 8.1% in September. While the metro labor force decreased by a seasonally adjusted 21,000 job seekers over October 2008, there are over 57,000 fewer jobs.

Month to month seasonally adjusted comparisons show 900 fewer job seekers from September to October with 3,000 fewer total jobs. Fayette County faired the worst with unemployment at 10.6% while Allegheny County came in at 7.7%.

For more details follow these links:

http://www.paworkstats.state.pa.us/clf/clf.pdf

http://www.paworkstats.state.pa.us/newsrel/county_unemployment_map.pdf

Pennsylvania Adds Over 10,000 Jobs In October

While the October unemployment rate in Pennsylvania remained flat at 8.8% from September, the state managed to add over 10,000 jobs month to month. This is only the second time since 2007 that Pennsylvania has seen job counts rise.

The big gainers were Healthcare/Education and Hospitality, while manufacturing and construction continue to shed the most jobs, though at a reduced level from prior months.

This puts Pennsylvania 1.4% better than the national unemployment rate of 10.2%.

More: http://bit.ly/4ukKIH

Former Pittsburgh Steeler Rocky Bleier to Speak at Veteran's Job Fair November 12th

If you or someone you know is a veteran of the U.S. Military Service and are in search of employment make plans on attending this special job fair hosted by the Allegheny County Department of Veteran's Affairs.

About 70 employers will be represented at the event to be held at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall in Oakland from 9:00AM to 3:30PM November 12th (the day after Veteran's Day).

Employer booth space is already sold out so bring plenty of resumes and dress for success. Click on the image to the right and save it to your computer for more information.