Following on September 4's "Big Jobs Beat: Analysts React".
From Wolf Street September 4:
The job creation machine is running backwards in some industries and forward in others.
Structural changes spread across the US economy over time. AI is the big disruptor now, after the internet and the computerization-of-everything shook up the economy for decades. Automation-of-everything has been a force, now more so than ever. And some of those changes show up in shifts of employment.
The jobs in each industry are defined by work location. The primary activity at that facility determines the industry category. A worker at an Amazon fulfillment center would be under “transportation and warehousing,” not “retail” and not “information.” It’s not the company that matters, but the work being done at that specific location. The data through August was released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday, based on its survey of employers. Our discussion of the overall employment data is here.
Employment in construction spans all types, from single-family housing and highways to power plants and AI data centers, now spouting like mushrooms. Construction of housing has run into a sharp decline of demand for single-family homes and overbuilding of multi-family units (apartments and condos) during the pandemic that are now flooding the market. The office sector has been in a depression. But construction in other sectors has been strong, and construction of data centers, factories, and power plants has been booming amid complaints of shortages of skilled labor.
- Total employment: 8.36 million
- Month-to-month: +22,000
- 3-month growth: +43,000
- 12-month growth: +120,000
Manufacturing in the US is powered by automation. All manufacturers have been investing huge amounts of money in automation to reduce the costs and issues associated with human labor in the US. The manufacturing jobs that are left today tend to require high skills, often degrees, and include tech jobs.
Manufacturing production has been in expansion mode, and automation has been driving it – not employment of humans. Nevertheless, this year, more human labor has been getting put to work.
- Total employment: 12.6 million
- Month-to-month: +16,000
- 3-month growth: +43,000
- 12-month growth: +23,000
Professional and business services is a broad category that includes facilities whose employees work primarily in Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services; Management of Companies and Enterprises; Administrative and Support, and Waste Management and Remediation Services....
....MUCH MORE
