Page 7 - ATD19September2015
P. 7
U.S. NEWS A7
Saturday 19 September
US Financial Front:
Jobless rates fall in 29 states in August amid job gains
C. S. RUGABER added 173,000 jobs in Au- A now hiring sign hangs nearby as a builder works on a commercial property under construction
AP Economics Writer gust, while the national un- in Peabody, Mass. The Labor Department reported on state unemployment rates for August 2015
WASHINGTON (AP) — Un- employment rate fell to 5.1 on Friday, Sept. 18, 2015.
employment rates fell in 29 percent from 5.3 percent.
states in August and held The state unemployment (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)
steady in 11 as hiring re- report comes a day after
mained solid nationwide. the Federal Reserve de- fornia, the largest state the state with the nation’s in oil and gas drilling, is one
Falling oil and coal prices cided against raising short- by population, remains lowest jobless rate, though of three states to lose jobs
continued to take a toll on term interest rates, citing elevated at 6.1 percent, it rose to 2.8 percent from in the past year. The other
energy-producing states. threats to the U.S. economy though that is down sharp- 2.7 percent the previous two are West Virginia and
The Labor Department said from weak growth in China ly from 7.4 percent a year month. North Dakota has Alaska.
Friday that rates rose in the and the persistence of very ago. Alaska’s unemploy- the second-lowest, at 2.9 The states with the biggest
remaining 10 states. Em- low inflation. ment rate is 6.6 percent, percent, down from 3 per- job gains in August were
ployers added jobs in 32 Tara Sinclair, chief econo- down only modestly from cent the previous month. California, with 36,200; Flor-
states and shed them in 18. mist for the jobs website 6.9 percent a year ago. Still, North Dakota, which ida, with 19,600; and Ohio,
Oil prices that are sharply Indeed, said the state data Nebraska continued as has benefited from a boom with 14,600. q
lower than a year ago supports the Fed’s decision
contributed to job losses to delay. Ongoing lower
and higher unemployment rates could help spur fur-
in several states, includ- ther hiring.
ing Alaska, North Dakota, Sinclair says that 36 states
and Texas. And falling de- still have higher unemploy-
mand for coal has devas- ment rates than they did
tated West Virginia, which before the Great Reces-
has the nation’s highest sion began in December
unemployment rate at 7.6 2007. And 14 have rates
percent. That is up from 7.5 much higher than the 5
percent in July. percent that the Fed says
South Dakota reported is consistent with a healthy
the largest percentage economy, including Ala-
loss of jobs last month. bama, Arizona, California
Texas, meanwhile, shed and North Carolina.
13,700 positions, the most “These results are in line
of any state except New with the Fed’s holding off
York, which lost the same on an interest rate hike yes-
amount. terday,” Sinclair said.
Nationwide, employers Unemployment in Cali-
Index of US economy sees only
small 0.1 percent gain in August
M. CRUTSINGER Economists at BMO Capi-
AP Economics Writer tal Markets said the perfor-
WASHINGTON (AP) — An in- mance of the index in Au-
dex of future U.S. econom- gust mirrored the mixed sig-
ic health edged up slightly nals facing the Federal Re-
in August after a flat read- serve, which wrapped up a
ing in July. highly anticipated two-day
meeting on Thursday with
The outcome in both a decision to leave interest
months signaled economic rates unchanged given all
growth could be moderat- the uncertainty facing the
ing. global economy.
The Conference Board said Five of the 10 forward-point-
Friday that its index of lead- ing indicators that make up
ing indicators rose 0.1 per- the index increased with
cent in August following no the largest contributions
change in July and a 0.6 coming from favorable in-
percent jump in June. The terest rates and a rise in
July reading had initially building permits.
been reported as a decline The biggest negative fac-
of 0.2 percent. tor weighing on the index
Conference Board econo- was the sharp fall in stock
mist Ataman Ozyildirim said prices during the month,
the index was signaling a turbulent period when
that growth will be moder- investors grew concerned
ate through the rest of the about developments in
year “with little reason to China, the world’s second
expect growth to pick up largest economy.q
substantially.”
