Contact:
Andy Condon, 802-828-4153
Email: Andrew.Condon@state.vt.us
“Job and
employment levels remained stable in May,” said
Job Growth
In May,
we typically see seasonal job counts begin to rise after their 1st
Quarter lows. Before seasonal adjustment,
Total
Non-Farm (TNF) jobs grew by 3,700 over the month, but remain down by 12,800 or -4.1% on an
annual basis. This rate of annual loss is unchanged from April. Construction, (+1,700 jobs or +13.8%) led the over
the month growth. Retail Trade (+750 or +2.0%), Administrative Support &
Waste, (+800 or 10.7%) also grew unadjusted jobs over the month. However, only
Healthcare (+900 or 2.0%), Government, (+150 or +0.3%) and Education, (+150 or
1.1%) showed any annual improvement.
When seasonally adjusted, May job
levels were essentially flat, (+100 jobs) from April, but still remain down
by 13,300 or -4.3% from May of 2008 (see graph). The
Construction sector grew by 300 seasonally adjusted jobs or 2.3% over the month.
Administrative Support and Waste grew by 400 jobs or 5.2% driven by landscaping
and temporary services. The Retail Trade sector grew by 200 seasonally adjusted
jobs or 0.5% over April. Leisure and
Hospitality and Manufacturing were the largest job losers, shedding 400 and 300
jobs respectively.
Employment Growth
Vermont’s
seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was unchanged in May at 7.3 percent as a
result of almost no change in either the
number of employed, (334,500) or unemployed, (26,500) Vermonters.
Unemployment
rates for Vermont’s 17 labor market areas
ranged from 4.0 percent in
The preliminary estimates of nonfarm jobs
for May, and the revisions to the estimates for November 2008 through April
2009, incorporate substantive changes made in the Current Employment Survey
estimation procedures. These new procedures are designed to bring the aggregate
monthly change in jobs for individual states into closer alignment with the
change in national job counts reflected in the estimates produced and published
by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As a result of these changes, the November
2008 and forward estimates may not be totally comparable to previous months'
data. The impact of these changes in methodology will be better understood when
we are able to make comparisons to Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. We
expect to make these comparisons beginning in May of 2009. For details of these changes, please contact
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Changes From |
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May |
April |
May |
April 2009 |
May 2008 |
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Total
Labor Force |
361,000 |
361,000 |
355,000 |
0 |
6,000 |
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Employment |
334,500 |
334,700 |
339,000 |
-200 |
-4,500 |
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Unemployment |
26,500 |
26,300 |
16,000 |
200 |
10,500 |
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Rate (%) |
7.3 |
7.3 |
4.5 |
0.0 |
2.8 |
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30