The nation’s jobless rate held steady at 9.1 percent in August, according to figures released Friday from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The report notes that while jobs in the health care field rose by 30,000 last month, information employment saw a declined (largely due to striking Verizon workers), and manufacturing was largely unchanged.
A countinued decline in government employment also dampened the August numbers. The Labor Department reports that since employment peaked in September 2008, local governments have lost 550,000 jobs.
This weekend on News & Views, the president of the North Carolina AFL-CIO discusses the jobs picture ahead of Labor Day.
With North Carolina’s unemployment rate above 10%, James Andrews says he is especially troubled Republicans passed a state budget this summer that eliminates more jobs in the public sector. Andrews believes such cuts will have a long and lasting effect on local communities, and underscores the need for a bold, new federal jobs initiative.
For a preview of James Andrew’s radio interview with Chris Fitzsimon, click below:
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our web site. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics.
