American Employment News

Press Release

Here are some fast facts on the state of jobs and employment in America.

* Wisconsin is open for business, as Republican Governor Scott Walker has been touting. According to the most recent jobs report, the Badger State -- which has been ground zero for the national debate on public sector union reforms -- shed 3,400 public sector jobs in June, but added 12,900 positions in the private sector. In fact, Wisconsin job creation last month accounted for half of all U.S. job gains.
* Between June 2006 and June 2011, Texas added 537,500 nonfarm jobs, nearly 10 times larger than the second-biggest increase by any other state over the five year reporting period. The states losing the most jobs, by raw numbers, were California (1,009,400 jobs lost), Florida (761,500 jobs lost), Michigan (417,400 jobs lost), Ohio (333,600 jobs lost), and Georgia (270,400 jobs lost). When figured on a percentage basis, the states which saw the greatest hit to their workforce were Nevada (-13.16 percent), Michigan (-9.62 percent), Arizona (-9.57 percent), Florida (-9.51 percent), and California (-6.7 percent).
* The U.S. economy has experienced the worst period of growth since the "recovery" began, according to analysis done by Dan Indiviglio. Consumer spending continues to be sluggish, the trade gap continues to expand, business investments have tanked, and government spending has increased.
* When it comes to jobs, the U.S. is starting to look like Europe, and Europe is looking more like the United States. The gap between European and U.S. job growth has narrowed, due in part to Western Europe's trend toward deregulation and pension benefit reductions - -which have allowed more people to find jobs, particularly in Germany and Italy.
* Companies are laying off employees at a level not seen in nearly a year, hobbling the job market and intensifying fears about the pace of the economic recovery. Among those major U.S. employers who are experiencing record layoff are Cisco (6,500 employees, or 9 percent of its staff), Goldman Sachs (1,000 employees), and Lockheed Martin (approximately 6,500 U.S.-based employees).
* In May 2011, U.S. public and private employers shed 1.78 million workers, the highest level since August 2010. 1.66 million layoffs were from the private sector.
* New claims for unemployment benefits rose more than expected in the second week of July. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 418,000, according to the Labor Department. This report's release marked the 15th week unemployment claims were in excess of 400,000. A total of 7.33 million people were claiming unemployment benefits under all programs in the past month.
* Economists anticipate that the U.S. unemployment rate is headed to double digits again soon. The financial sector, in particular, is teeing up record layoffs.

Take part in the work Congressman Issa is doing to promote the creation of private sector jobs by sharing your small business story at www.AmericanJobCreators.com.

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