US chemical, plastics sectors see job losses

02 May 2008 17:30  [Source: ICIS news]

WASHINGTON (ICIS news)--Jobs in the US plastics, rubber and chemicals industries edged slightly downward in April while overall employment was essentially level compared with March, the Labor Department said on Friday.

 

US employment fell overall by 20,000 jobs in April - on a seasonally adjusted annual basis - to a workforce strength of 137.83m, according to the department’s data.

 

Unemployment remained at 5% with an estimated 7.6m people unable to find work compared with 6.8m or 4.5% of the workforce in April 2007, the department said.

 

While the decline in jobs marked the fourth straight month of workforce contraction, the fall-off was considerably less than the 75,000 job cuts that many analysts had anticipated.

 

In the chemicals industry, the number of workers on the job fell from 860,400 in March to 859,900 in April, the department said, a decline of 500 positions - also on a seasonally adjusted and annual basis.

 

Among workers in plastics and rubber, some 1,900 positions were eliminated, with the sector’s workforce falling to 731,900 in April.

 

The department said that job losses were highest in the construction industry, reflecting the continuing decline in the country’s home construction sector. 

 

Those losses, however, were almost entirely offset by workforce gains in health care and technical services industries.

 

By: Joe Kamalick
+1 713 525 2653

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