Woop, Woop! More Good News!*

sar⋅casm* [from Dictionary.com] 

 /ˈsɑrkæzəm/  Show Spelled
Pronunciation [sahr-kaz-uhm]

-noun

1.	harsh or bitter derision or irony.

2.	a sharply ironical taunt; sneering or cutting remark: a review full of sarcasms.

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(*Included just in case any of those people who keep
buying stocks or babbling on about green shoots read the headline of this post
and think they’ve found another [silly] reason to be optimistic about the road
ahead.)

“Job
Outlook Hits Worst-Ever Level”: (MarketWatch):

Employers’ hiring plans at lowest point in Manpower survey’s
history

(Source: Manpower Employment Outlook
Suvey)

Employers’ hiring plans for the upcoming fourth quarter dropped to their
lowest level in the history of Manpower’s Employment Outlook Survey, which
started in 1962.

A net -3% of employers said they’ll hire in the fourth quarter,
down from -2% in the third quarter, on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to
the Milwaukee-based firm’s survey of more than 28,000 employers. Before this
year, the survey’s previous low point was a net 1% hiring outlook for the third
quarter of 1982.

A year ago, a seasonally adjusted net 9% of firms said they
would hire in the fourth quarter. The Manpower survey measures the percentage of
firms planning to hire minus those intending layoffs. Manpower doesn’t measure
the number of jobs. The survey’s margin of error is +/- 0.49%.

There was one positive sign in the survey: 69% of employers
said they planned no change in their hiring plans, up from 67% in the third
quarter and 59% in the fourth quarter a year ago (those figures are not
seasonally adjusted).

That’s “a very high number for our outlook survey,” said Jonas
Prising, president of the Americas for Manpower. That figure generally hovers at
55% or 56% in a strong economy, he said, noting that the higher figure currently
signifies a high degree of stability, and “that is a precursor to growth, he
said.

“Employers really want to hold onto the work forces that they
have if at all possible,” Prising said. Still, “there will clearly be challenges
for job seekers and employers into the fourth quarter.”

Separately, the U.S. Labor Department said the economy lost
216,000 jobs in August, the 20th consecutive monthly decline. The unemployment
rate jumped to a 26-year high of 9.7%. Since the recession began in December
2007, unemployment has increased by 7.4 million to a total of 14.9 million. See
full story.

Industry outlook

Looked at by industry, eight sectors showed a negative hiring
outlook for the fourth quarter. In January, Manpower changed its industry
classifications; because of that change, it currently can’t provide seasonally
adjusted figures by industry.

Only one of the 13 industry categories surveyed showed an
improvement from the third quarter: A net 2% of employers in the education and
health-services category planned to hire, up from -4% in the previous quarter.
Firms in the wholesale and retail trade category were the most optimistic, with
a net 7% planning to hire. Still, that was a decline from a 9% outlook for that
sector in the third quarter. See
where there are jobs in this economy.

And hiring plans for all of the industries are at much lower
levels than are normal in a strong economy. “For any of these sectors in a good
economy a net employment outlook would be around the low 20s,” Prising said.

For each industry, here are the figures for the net employment
outlook for the fourth quarter, not seasonally adjusted, in order of most
negative outlook first.

• Construction, -10%, down from 2% for the third quarter

• Mining, -9%, flat from -9%

• Transportation and utilities, -9%, down from -3%

• Government, -8%, down from -4%

• Manufacturing, durable goods, -8%, down from -6%

• Information, -5%, down from -4%

• Manufacturing, nondurable goods, -3%, down from 0%

• Other services, -1%, down from 0%

• Financial activities, 1%, down from 2%

• Education and health services, 2%, up from -4%

• Leisure and hospitality, 2%, down from 18%

• Professional and business services, 3%, down from 8%

• Wholesale and retail trade, 7%, down from 9%

By region

For its regional analysis, Manpower divides the U.S. into four
areas. For each region, here is the seasonally adjusted net employment outlook
for the fourth quarter:

Northeast, -5%, down from 0% in the third quarter. Manpower
counts the following states in this region: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts,
New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont.

Midwest, -3%, down from -2% in the third quarter. Manpower
counts the following states in this region: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas,
Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota,
Wisconsin.

West, -3%, flat from -3% in the third quarter. Manpower counts
the following states in this region: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado,
Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming.

South, 0%, up from -2% in the third quarter. Manpower counts
the following as part of this region: Puerto Rico and Alabama, Arkansas,
Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland,
Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas,
Virginia, West Virginia.

Industry breakdown

Here’s a breakdown of what types of jobs fall into which
industry category (industries are in alphabetical order):

• Construction. Residential and commercial builders; heavy
  construction (i.e. highways, pipelines); general and specialty trade contractors
  (plumbing/painting/electrical, etc.).

• Education and health services. Elementary and secondary
  schools; colleges and universities; vocational-technical schools; libraries;
  hospitals, clinics, home health care.

• Financial activities. Savings, lending institutions (banks,
  savings & loans, credit unions); insurance companies; investment firms;
  financial planners; credit agencies; real estate.

• Government. City and county government; court systems;
  correctional institutions; police and fire departments.

• Information. Internet service providers; television/radio
  broadcasters; newspaper publishers; book publishers; software publishers; motion
  picture production; sound recording; cable television.

• Leisure and hospitality. Hotels, motels; casinos;
  entertainment facilities; amusement and recreational facilities.

• Manufacturing - durable goods. Stone, clay and concrete
  products; motor vehicles and machinery; electrical products and appliances;
  iron, steel and metal products; furniture and wood products.

• Manufacturing - nondurable goods. Food and beverage
  producers; textile mill products; clothing; leather products; paper and paper
  products; commercial printers; plastics, rubber, drug and chemical products;
  petroleum refining.

• Mining. Metals mining; coal mining; petroleum and natural
  gas extraction; stone, sand and gravel quarries.

• Other services. Equipment/machinery repair; dry cleaning,
  laundry; personal care (hair, massage, nails); pet care; photofinishing; funeral
  homes/mortuaries; social services; membership organizations.

• Professional and business services. Business services
  (accountants, lawyers, engineers, computer and data processing); permanent
  employment agencies; car and truck rental agencies.

• Transportation and utilities. Passenger transport (air, bus,
  rail); freight transport (air, truck, rail); warehousing; telephone; electric,
  gas, water, sewer utilities; postal service.

• Wholesale and retail trade. Wholesale dealers and
  distributors; department stores, warehouse clubs; catalog and mail-order houses;
  auto and truck dealers; building materials retailers; fuel oil dealers and
  gasoline stations; grocery stores; restaurants

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