Workers Compensation Costs for December 2010
January 28,2011
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the data on compensation costs today.
Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 2.0 percent for the 12-month period ending December 2010. The majority of the increase came from an increase in benefits costs, i.e. primarily retirement costs. Benefits costs were up 2.9% compared to a 1.6% increase in wages and salaries.
During the previous year (2009) the increase in compensation costs was 1.4 percent.
September 2010 Unemployment Rate
October 8, 2010
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released their report for September today. The number of unemployed persons, at 14.8 million, was essentially unchanged in September, and the unemployment rate held at 9.6%.
Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for adult men was 9.8%, adult women was 8.0%, teenagers was 26.0%, whites was 8.7%, blacks was 16.1%, and Hispanics was 12.4% showing little or no change in September.
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over), at 6.1 million, was little changed over the month but was down by 640,000 since a series high of 6.8 million in May. In September, 41.7 % of unemployed persons had been jobless for 27 weeks or more.
Seasonally Adjusted Unemployment Rate September 2008 - September 2010 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics www.BLS.Gov
Non-Farm Payrolls Decrease 3rd Month in a Row
Job losses much worse than the average recession in third consecutive monthly decline.
Today, the Labor Department reported that nonfarm payrolls (jobs) decreased by 54,000 in August — the third consecutive decline. Today’s chart puts the latest data into perspective by comparing job losses following the beginning of the current economic recession (solid red line) to that of the last recession (dashed gold line) and the average recession from 1950-1999 (dashed blue line). As today’s chart illustrates, the current job market has suffered losses that are more than triple as much as what occurs at the lows of the average recession/job loss cycle. Also, today’s decline in jobs provides further evidence that the current ‘economic recovery’ remains sluggish at best.
Chart courtesy of Chart of the Day
