This month’s employment estimates show a deterioration in the retail sector but a slight improvement in the construction sector. Other than that the region’s job growth, or lack thereof, has been on a path similar to recent months. So I will simply note that overall employment fell by 5,700 jobs or .4 percent from last year and then move on to the graphs.
The first graph is the usual one displaying the number of jobs gained or lost by the housing beneficiary sectors (construction, finance/real estate, and retail), the rest of the economy, and all sectors combined on a year-over-year basis. Each month’s data point represents the year-over-year change for that month (I use this technique to smooth out seasonal effects).
Rich, could you post total
Rich, could you post total jobs plots in addition to YOY change? It’s hard to quite grasp the longer-term pcture from the percentage change numbers.
The total jobs plot wasn’t as
The total jobs plot wasn’t as useful because of seasonal effects — for instance there was always a big rise in jobs in Nov-Dec and a big drop in Jan-Feb due to holiday hiring. Comparing the year over year changes for each month gives a much better idea of which way the trend is going.
Rich
Is there a payroll figure
Is there a payroll figure available?