Shrunk staff equals fewer jobs

Data released by the U.S. Census Bureau confirmed what many Americans, employed and unemployed, know. Companies that have reduced workforce size during the past few years are not contributing to job recovery because they themselves have declined in numbers.

New census figures reveal that during 2009, businesses with full-time salaried employees numbered 7.4 million and reflected a decline of 168,000 prospective employers. This was a 5.3 percent drop from the previous year’s level of filled or available positions.

“During the early years of the decade, the nation saw steady, if moderate growth in the number of establishments year to year,” U.S. Census Bureau Associate Director of Economic Programs William Bostic said. “In contrast, the years 2008 and 2009 coincided with the recession and showed declines. In 2009, we also saw a drop in the number of employees.”

Bostic said the data is significant in that it shows is that while the recession prompted a loss in number of available jobs, it also saw a decline in the number of employers that would be able to return jobs to the workforce once the economy began to rebound.

“The sad thing about it is that the majority of employers that are big businesses in the United States haven’t had much in retained earnings,” Terrebonne Economic Development Authority CEO Steve Vassallo said. “What they are showing on their balance sheets is trillions of dollars, but they are not hiring people. That is one of the scary things.”

The overall economic base has shifted from one of manufacturing to services and is projected to continue along that line during the remainder of the next decade, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Industries with the largest projected employment and wage growth between 2008 and 2018 include professional and business services by a level of 82.8 percent. Health care and social services are on track to see a 34.1 percent growth during that 10-year period. Retail trade is on target to see a 40.7 percent jump. Nursing care facilities are expected to boost in employment numbers by 73.8 percent.

Information provided by Bostic shows that retail business currently has the largest number of establishments, making them the most likely to have available jobs. Next are scientific and technical services, followed by health care, construction, accommodation and food services.

The BLS reported that the national unemployment level remained at 9.1 percent in May with lower paying retail jobs offering the greatest number of employment opportunities.

Initial unemployment claims for the week ending on June 25 were 4,166 fewer than filings for the same week one year earlier, according to the Louisiana Workforce Commission. At the same time, continued unemployment insurance claims in the state increased by more than 600 from the previous week.

The LWC report did not specify what promoted the year-to-year decline in filings.

“I would think if the federal government would put more emphasis on tax credits to hire people we would get out of this recession a lot faster,” Vassallo said. Jobs created in the United States [have most recently been] companies younger than 5 years old. That is why I am such a strong advocate for business incubators and entrepreneurial startups and having incentives in kind.”

Census Bureau data excluded those who are self-employed, employees of private households, agriculture production workers and government employees.