Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, October 9, 1993 TAG: 9310090070
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: A4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Short
The Labor Department reported Friday that the seventh straight monthly decline in manufacturing employment was offset by a big gain in service jobs, but analysts complained that many of those jobs were low-pay or part time.
"The recovery is on a treadmill stuck at very low speed," said John Albertine, head of a Washington forecasting firm. "Workers who are losing their good-paying manufacturing jobs are being forced into low-paying, low-skilled jobs in the service sector."
The 6.7 percent rate, identical to the August figure, was the lowest rate since July 1991. Businesses created 156,000 jobs in September, a far better performance than August, when 41,000 jobs were lost.
However, the biggest gain, 71,000 jobs in the government sector, was seen as a statistical fluke attributed to the summer jobs program.
Analysts said the weak report triggered a bond market rally by investors who believe the sluggish economy and weak labor markets will at least keep inflation low.
Economists said it was also troubling that manufacturing continued to decline, in part because of cutbacks in defense industries.
In September, jobs in the manufacturing sector fell by 18,000, with 11,000 of the lost jobs held by middle managers. The decline pushed total manufacturing employment down to 17.69 million, the lowest since January 1965. Since February, manufacturing has lost 260,000 workers.
by CNB