Unemployment Rate up to 5.1%

The is the first look at Katrina’s impact on the economy. Nonfarm payrolls dropped by 35,000 last month. However, payrolls were revised higher by 211,000 for August. This means, the economy was very strong before the hurricanes.

Economists predicted payrolls would drop by 150,000 last month from the previously reported 169,000 gain for August, based on the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey. Estimates ranged from declines of 25,000 to 350,000. The jobless rate, which the department determines through a separate sampling of households instead of employers, matched the median forecast.
Difficulties in surveying the hurricane-stricken areas may have distorted payrolls figures, economists said. “We’ll know more about the hurricanes’ impact when local employment estimates become available later this month,” said Philip Rones, deputy commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Posted by on October 7th, 2005 at 8:33 am


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