RSS Feed by Calculated Risk on 6/05/2011 01:58:00 PM
Sunday, June 05, 2011
Comparing Payroll Job Growth in 2011 to 2010
Although payroll job growth slowed sharply in May, with only 54,000 net jobs added, job growth this year is well ahead of 2010. Note: I'll have an update to my economic outlook later.
The first table below shows payroll job growth in 2010 and 2011 through May (excluding Census hires in 2010). The third column is total payroll growth for 2010.
Although job growth is sluggish relative to the slack in the labor market (with the unemployment rate at 9.1%), 2011 is clearly better than 2010 through May.
| Payroll Jobs Added (000s) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 through May1 | 2011 through May | Total for 2010 | |
| Total Payroll | 304 | 783 | 955 |
| Private Sector | 358 | 908 | 1,173 |
One of the reasons for the improvement this year is construction. Yes - construction!
For the first time since 2005, residential construction employment will probably be positive in 2011. Just eliminating the drag will help. Also residential investment will probably make a positive contribution to GDP growth for the first time since 2005 - mostly because of an increase in multi-family construction and home improvement. So this is a little bit of good news ... even though most of the recent economic news has been disappointing.
| Annual Change in Construction Payroll jobs (000s) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Total Construction Jobs | Residential | Non-Residential |
| 2002 | -85 | 88 | -173 |
| 2003 | 127 | 161 | -34 |
| 2004 | 290 | 230 | 60 |
| 2005 | 416 | 268 | 148 |
| 2006 | 152 | -62 | 214 |
| 2007 | -198 | -273 | 75 |
| 2008 | -787 | -510 | -277 |
| 2009 | -1,053 | -431 | -622 |
| 2010 | -149 | -113 | -36 |
| May-11 | 31 | 22 | 9 |
Earlier ...
• Summary for Week Ending June 3rd
• Schedule for Week of June 5th
