Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

U.S. Jobs Losses Slow without Much Help from Phony Stats

The U.S. lost 247,000 jobs in July, the fewest in a year, as the unemployment rate dipped slightly to 9.4%, according to the Labor Department. Analysts had been expecting a loss of 320,000 jobs and a rise in the unemployment rate to 9.6% There were some very slight gains in important measurements: the average work week inched up from June's all time low of 33 hours to 33.1 hours. Hourly earnings rose slightly from $18.53 to $18.56. "It's genuinely better news," says E. James Welsh of Carlsbad, whose newsletter has generally had one of the best records in the U.S. "Say, you are really sick, with a temperature of 103. It goes down to 102.2. But you are still sick. It takes a gain of 125,000 jobs each month just to absorb new workers."

This year, the monthly number of jobs lost has gotten help from a dubious statistic: what's called the birth/death adjustment model. It is a computer adjustment -- not real time data -- estimating how many jobs have been gained by small and new corporations. In May, some eyebrows went up when this model reported an addition of 220,000 jobs, thus lowering job losses sharply. In June it recorded a gain of 185,000 jobs. In July, the gain went down to 32,000. "It had a much lower effect than in other months this year," says Welsh. However, there is still much reason for skepticism. On Wednesday, the ADP National Employment Report indicated that small businesses, those with fewer than 50 workers, lost 138,000 jobs in July. That number doesn't seem to correlate with the Labor Department's gain of 32,000 jobs from new businesses.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

San Diego's Uptown Planners challenged by renters from Vibrant Uptown

Two La Jolla planning groups fight for predominance
Next Article

SDSU pres gets highest pay raise in state over last 15 years

Union-Tribune still stiffing downtown San Diego landlord?

The U.S. lost 247,000 jobs in July, the fewest in a year, as the unemployment rate dipped slightly to 9.4%, according to the Labor Department. Analysts had been expecting a loss of 320,000 jobs and a rise in the unemployment rate to 9.6% There were some very slight gains in important measurements: the average work week inched up from June's all time low of 33 hours to 33.1 hours. Hourly earnings rose slightly from $18.53 to $18.56. "It's genuinely better news," says E. James Welsh of Carlsbad, whose newsletter has generally had one of the best records in the U.S. "Say, you are really sick, with a temperature of 103. It goes down to 102.2. But you are still sick. It takes a gain of 125,000 jobs each month just to absorb new workers."

This year, the monthly number of jobs lost has gotten help from a dubious statistic: what's called the birth/death adjustment model. It is a computer adjustment -- not real time data -- estimating how many jobs have been gained by small and new corporations. In May, some eyebrows went up when this model reported an addition of 220,000 jobs, thus lowering job losses sharply. In June it recorded a gain of 185,000 jobs. In July, the gain went down to 32,000. "It had a much lower effect than in other months this year," says Welsh. However, there is still much reason for skepticism. On Wednesday, the ADP National Employment Report indicated that small businesses, those with fewer than 50 workers, lost 138,000 jobs in July. That number doesn't seem to correlate with the Labor Department's gain of 32,000 jobs from new businesses.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.