Many Job Sectors Record Gains In Turbulent Economy.

While media and public attention are focused on the 2.9 million net jobs that have been lost in nine job sectors since September 2000, the U.S. economy has added a net 2.1 million jobs in 13 other sectors, according to a new analysis by the Employment Policy Foundation (EPF) of recently released Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) employment data. In addition, education and skills training continue to be important assets for workers, even in times of economic contraction. Over the past 13 months, 570,000 jobs for workers with vocational degrees and 621,000 jobs for workers with college graduate degrees were added to the labor force.

“Job losses and economic contractions do not affect every sector of the economy equally,” said EPF President Ed Potter. “Net job losses over the past year actually mask massive shifts in employment. More sectors of the economy gained jobs than lost them.”

At 134.6 million, total employment in October was 1.4 million less than the all-time high reached 10 months earlier in January, Potter said. By far the biggest job losses were 1.3 million in manufacturing. However, most manufacturing job loss occurred in the 12 months prior to September 2001. The second largest category of job loss was in wholesale trade, with 638,000 jobs lost from September 2000 through October 2001.

Those losses contrast with significant job gains over the past 13 months in retail (349,752), educational services (511,513), medical services (290,252), construction (227,219) and financial (79,939) sectors.

EPF’s research also shows that fundamental changes are evident in patterns of job gains and losses in terms of occupations, earnings and education. “The demand for skills is reflected in occupational earnings differences,” Potter said. “Although more jobs were lost than were gained, the jobs gained paid higher wages on average than the jobs lost.”

In October 2001, jobs paying $1,100 per week or more – the top 14 percent of all jobs – totaled 16.1 million, a 7.5 percent increase since September 2000. Job growth has been consistently concentrated at the high end of the pay scale, reflecting the strong demand for relatively more skilled employees.

The continuing demand for skills and training is shown in changes in employment relative to education. From September 2000 through October 2001, more than 1.2 million new jobs went to applicants with post-secondary training. Job loss – more than 1.9 million – was concentrated among workers with no post-secondary education.

“The employment impacts of the Sept. 11 attacks have magnified the importance of skills and education,” Potter said. “Job growth for vocational and post-baccalaureate graduates continued strong in the aftermath. Job losses were concentrated among those with the least education.”

To read EPF’s Employment Trends on occupations and the impact of education and skills CLICK below (Adobe Acrobat required):

http://www.epf.org/research/newsletters/2001/et20011127.pdf