U.S. payrolls grew modestly in Sept.
Employers added 96,000 jobs, less than expected
The Associated Press
Updated: 10:44 a.m. ET Oct. 8, 2004
WASHINGTON - Companies added 96,000 jobs to their payrolls in September, fewer than economists forecast for the last employment report before Election Day, highlighting a modest pace of hiring that has become an issue in President Bush’s bid for another term.
The four hurricanes striking Florida and other coastal states the past two months “appears to have held down employment growth, but not enough to change (the overall jobs picture) materially,” the Labor Department said Friday in assessing September’s national employment situation.
The nation’s civilian unemployment rate remained at 5.4 percent.
Job growth was held down by losses in manufacturing, retail and information services. September’s net increase of 96,000 payroll jobs was less than August’s rise, which was revised down in Friday’s report from 144,000 to 128,000.
Though 1.8 million jobs have been added to the payrolls of U.S. businesses since August 2003, there are about 800,000 fewer jobs — overall — than when Bush took office in January 2001.
That’s a big political issue, especially in Rust Belt battleground states that have lost thousands of manufacturing jobs during Bush’s presidency.
Bush’s Democratic challenger, John Kerry, widened his lead on the question of who would create jobs. In a new AP-Ipsos Public Affairs poll, 54 percent of respondents favored Kerry on job creation, and 40 percent liked Bush. Less than half of likely voters, 47 percent, approved of Bush’s performance on the economy.
Friday’s report was sure to be closely scrutinized on both the Republican and Democratic sides, which offer starkly different views of the U.S. economy. Bush says the economy is growing steadily and jobs are being created. Kerry says jobs are being created, but there aren’t enough new jobs to keep pace with population growth.
Economists were predicting payrolls to rise by 150,000, but were uncertain of the impact of the hurricanes on the figures.
While employment was affected at companies unable to operate in the aftermath of the storms, other employers added jobs, the department said.
“Overall, we do not believe that the net result of these factories materially changes the national employment situation for September, but we cannot precisely quantify the weather effects,” said Kathleen Utgoff, commissioner of the department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The jobs report showed much of the growth last month occurred in government hiring, which resulted in 37,000 net new jobs. Hiring in the service sector continued to rise in such industries as professional and business services, which added 34,000 jobs overall; financial services, which added 26,000 jobs; and the leisure and hospitality category, which expanded hiring by 13,000.
The troubled manufacturing sector shed 18,000 jobs, the first decline in two months. However, the nation’s factories have boosted hiring by 88,000 jobs in the previous seven months. Construction employment grew by 4,000. The sector has showed little growth since May.
Employers added 96,000 jobs, less than expected
The Associated Press
Updated: 10:44 a.m. ET Oct. 8, 2004
WASHINGTON - Companies added 96,000 jobs to their payrolls in September, fewer than economists forecast for the last employment report before Election Day, highlighting a modest pace of hiring that has become an issue in President Bush’s bid for another term.
The four hurricanes striking Florida and other coastal states the past two months “appears to have held down employment growth, but not enough to change (the overall jobs picture) materially,” the Labor Department said Friday in assessing September’s national employment situation.
The nation’s civilian unemployment rate remained at 5.4 percent.
Job growth was held down by losses in manufacturing, retail and information services. September’s net increase of 96,000 payroll jobs was less than August’s rise, which was revised down in Friday’s report from 144,000 to 128,000.
Though 1.8 million jobs have been added to the payrolls of U.S. businesses since August 2003, there are about 800,000 fewer jobs — overall — than when Bush took office in January 2001.
That’s a big political issue, especially in Rust Belt battleground states that have lost thousands of manufacturing jobs during Bush’s presidency.
Bush’s Democratic challenger, John Kerry, widened his lead on the question of who would create jobs. In a new AP-Ipsos Public Affairs poll, 54 percent of respondents favored Kerry on job creation, and 40 percent liked Bush. Less than half of likely voters, 47 percent, approved of Bush’s performance on the economy.
Friday’s report was sure to be closely scrutinized on both the Republican and Democratic sides, which offer starkly different views of the U.S. economy. Bush says the economy is growing steadily and jobs are being created. Kerry says jobs are being created, but there aren’t enough new jobs to keep pace with population growth.
Economists were predicting payrolls to rise by 150,000, but were uncertain of the impact of the hurricanes on the figures.
While employment was affected at companies unable to operate in the aftermath of the storms, other employers added jobs, the department said.
“Overall, we do not believe that the net result of these factories materially changes the national employment situation for September, but we cannot precisely quantify the weather effects,” said Kathleen Utgoff, commissioner of the department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The jobs report showed much of the growth last month occurred in government hiring, which resulted in 37,000 net new jobs. Hiring in the service sector continued to rise in such industries as professional and business services, which added 34,000 jobs overall; financial services, which added 26,000 jobs; and the leisure and hospitality category, which expanded hiring by 13,000.
The troubled manufacturing sector shed 18,000 jobs, the first decline in two months. However, the nation’s factories have boosted hiring by 88,000 jobs in the previous seven months. Construction employment grew by 4,000. The sector has showed little growth since May.
