Unemployment Figures Hit Near 50-Year Lows in New USDOL Report

The number of Americans filing initial unemployment claims fell to a 49-year low for the week ending in Sept. 15, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s latest unemployment insurance weekly claims report.

The advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 201,000, a decrease of 3,000 from the previous week, signaling that the nation’s job market continues to grow, analysts said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims rising by 6,000 to 210,000 for the week.

The weekly figure hasn’t been this low since it dipped to 197,000 on Nov. 15, 1969.
Meanwhile, the four-week moving average for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 205,750, a decrease of 2,250 from the previous week’s average and the lowest since the 204,500 reported on Dec. 6, 1969.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate remained steady at 1.2 percent for the week ending Sept. 8, but the advance number of unemployed was 1,645,000, a decrease of 55,000 from the previous week’s revised total. Seasonally adjusted insured unemployment hasn’t been this low since Aug. 4, 1973, when it was 1,633,000.

Among U.S. states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, Pennsylvania was tied for the third-highest insured unemployment rate for the week ending Sept. 1 at 1.7 percent, trailing only New Jersey (2.4) and Connecticut (1.9). Yet, Pennsylvania had the third-largest decrease in seasonally adjusted initial claims for the week ending Sept. 8 with 948 fewer than the previous week.

Steelworkers Authorize Second Strike Amid Fruitless ArcelorMittal Talks

About 15,000 United Steelworkers employed by ArcelorMittal have voted unanimously to authorize a strike of the world’s largest steel producer, joining 16,000 USW members who approved a possible strike of U.S. Steel earlier this month.

In a Sept. 18 statement posted on the USW website, International President Leo W. Gerard said that as Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal has begun to generate “enormous” and “historic” levels of revenue, the company has made “unrealistic concessionary demands” as the sides negotiate a new labor contract. USW’s lead negotiator, District 1 Director David McCall, added that AreclorMittal has insisted on benefits concessions that “would more than wipe out” any pay increases offered.
In response to the vote, ArcelorMittel stated in part: “We continue to work diligently to reach a mutually agreeable conclusion,” and that company plants continue operating “in a safe and orderly fashion,” the Post-Gazette reported.

Negotiations with ArcelorMittel continued this week in Pittsburgh, where USW has its headquarters. Negotiations with U.S. Steel are also ongoing. Contracts at both companies expired on Sept. 1. Union officials would notify rank-and-file members at least 48 hours before initiating a strike of either company.

Days after the latest vote, Gerard took to the airwaves to discuss the contract situations. A six-minute recording of the National Public Radio interview is posted here.

During the interview, Gerard said: “Our members are frustrated and angry at most of those two major companies at all facilities, and our union has played a very, very, very key role for the last 20 years of struggling every day to help the steel industry survive. We went through a period in 2003 roughly where there were 40 bankruptcies.”

“In the last collective agreement at both Arcelor and U.S. Steel, our members took three years with no wage increase or benefit improvements, because the company was again teetering. Now they’re going to make $2 billion roughly at U.S. Steel, and substantially the same kind of amount that ArcelorMittal, and they come asking for concessions.”

Amazon Considers Opening Thousands of Cashier-less Stores

One the largest U.S.-based employers and the world’s largest Internet retailer may be planning to open 3,000 brick-and-mortar stores across the nation over the next several years without hiring any cashiers.

Citing unidentified “internal” sources, Bloomberg reported that Amazon.com Inc. is considering expanding its AmazonGo concept to 10 new locations by the end of 2018, 50 more locations in 2019 and as many as 3,000 by 2021.

Amazon launched its first cashier-less store in Seattle in 2016 and has announced two more in that city as well as one in Chicago. The concept is like a traditional convenience store in offering prepared foods and sandwiches, along with limited selections of groceries, for people on the go. Shoppers use a smartphone to enter the store through a turnstile. Sensors detect what each shopper takes from the store and bill customers accordingly.

“Amazon has become the world’s largest online retailer by offering a vast selection and quick, convenient delivery. In physical stores, Amazon is emphasizing convenience over selection to win business,” Bloomberg reported. “Amazon’s other brick-and-mortar initiatives include about 20 bookstores around the U.S. and the natural grocery chain Whole Foods Market, acquired last year. AmazonGo is the most distinctive of all of its physical stores.”

Amazon employed over 566,000 people worldwide at the end of 2017, founder Jeff Bezos said as the company released a quarterly earnings report in February.

Labor Board Orders Stricter Enforcement of Union ‘Fair Representation’ Requirements

The office of the National Labor Relations Board’s general counsel has ordered the agency’s regional offices to adopt a stricter enforcement policy in cases where unions are accused of failing to respond properly when a member files a grievance.

In an internal directive obtained by Bloomberg, the NLRB told its field offices to pursue formal charges against unions for “ ‘negligent’ behavior such as losing an employee’s complaint or not returning phone calls when the worker has questions,” the news organization reported.

The new directive amounts to a reinterpretation of the “duty of fair representation” obligation of unions, legal experts told Bloomberg. In the past, NLRB offices often treated such instances as “mere negligence,” but the directive instructs regional officials to treat it as “gross negligence” on the part of unions.

“Equating the failure to return phone calls in and of itself with more than ‘mere negligence’ is a stretch, particularly where the representative isn’t a full-time union official,” former NLRB Chairman William Gould said.

August 2018 PA Jobs Update

Pennsylvania’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 4.1% in August 2018, down 0.1% from the prior month, marking the lowest it has been since July 2000. Over the month, unemployment rolls decreased by nearly 5,000 individuals, with total unemployment falling to roughly 262,000. State unemployment statistics for the month are as follows:

• Total Unemployment – 262,388
• Change Over Month –  DOWN    4,934
• Change Over Year –   DOWN   44,806
• Change Over Gov. Wolf Term –  DOWN    83,253
• Rate Change Over Month –  DOWN    0.1%
• Rate Change Over Year –  DOWN    0.7%
• Rate Change Over Gov. Wolf Term –   DOWN   1.3%

As indicated above, total unemployment’s rounded percentage of the labor force, or unemployment rate, fell over the prior month (rate = unemployment / labor force). The labor force is the number of employed individuals combined with the number of unemployed individuals actively searching for work. Labor force growth is a sign of a strengthening economy from more people working and/or more individuals searching for jobs. Marking a second consecutive monthly increase, PA’s labor force grew by 9,575 individuals from July to August 2018, a combination of total employment* rising by 14,509 and unemployment down by 4,934 as noted above. Despite consecutive monthly increases, total labor force growth under Gov. Wolf remains down from a peak of +52,798 in March 2016 (unemployment -312 & total employment +53,110) to -26,069 as of August 2018 (unemployment -83,253 & total employment +57,184). State labor force statistics for the month are as follows: 

• Total Labor Force – 6,380,493
• Change Over Month –  UP     9,575
• Change Over Year –  DOWN    37,693
• Change Over Gov. Wolf Term –  DOWN    26,069

Non-farm* job rolls fell by 4,900 from July to August 2018, the first decline after 16 consecutive monthly increases. Despite the monthly decrease, new non-farm job growth was still up by 65,400 year-over-year in August 2018. Since Gov. Wolf took office, 202,600 new non-farm jobs have been added, 51,000 more than were added over Gov. Corbett’s four-year term. The addition of 202,600 non-farm jobs ranks the commonwealth 34th out of 50 states for new percentage job growth, an improvement from it’s ranking of 48th in the same survey over Gov. Corbett’s term. State non-farm employment statistics for the month are as follows:

• Total Employment – 6,018,500
• Change Over Month –   DOWN   4,900
• Change Over Year –  UP    65,400
• Change Over Gov. Wolf Term –   UP   202,600

*Total employment for labor force provided by U.S. Census Household survey. The separate BLS Establishment survey measures non-farm jobs only.

Gov. Wolf Term State Job Growth Ranking

Ranked by Non-Farm % Job Growth (Seasonally Adj.)

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

(In Thousands)