U.S. Job Gains in Last 10 Years By The Associated Press Sunday, September 5, 1999; 1:28 p.m. EDT The change in number of Americans on company payrolls, full or part time, from July 1989 to July 1999, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Figures exclude proprietors, the self-employed, farm and domestic workers, and volunteers. Numbers from each sector do not equal total due to rounding. Total: 21,058,000 net jobs gained. Services: 12,347,000 jobs gained. Wholesale and retail trade: 4,272,000 jobs gained. Government (federal, state, and local): 2,215,000 jobs gained. Construction: 1,153,000 jobs gained. Transportation: 1,049,000 jobs gained. Finance, Insurance and Real Estate: 994,000 jobs gained. Communication and public utilities: 119,000 jobs gained. Mining: 147,000 jobs lost. Manufacturing: 946,000 jobs lost. © Copyright 1999 The Associated Press =================================== Not All Is Rosy on Labor Day By Alice Ann Love Associated Press Writer Sunday, September 5, 1999; 1:28 p.m. EDT WASHINGTON (AP) -- With unemployment at a 29-year low, work is relatively easy to find this Labor Day, but the U.S. job market is hardly a placid place. For workers, times are tumultuous, with the significant transition under way in the mix of jobs available, skills required and benefits offered. For some, it has meant opportunity; for others frustration. Charles Goldman, for one, is sick and tired of being told, every time he turns on the television or picks up a newspaper, about how there's a good job for everyone in the miraculous 1990s economy. The 30-year-old Phoenix resident has been looking for full-time work as a mechanical engineer since he got his degree in 1995. It's not that he can't find work. Goldman toils on and off as a telemarketer or selling computer equipment. But those jobs are part time, lack benefits, and don't make use of his hard-earned education. ``I'm very frustrated,'' said Goldman. The manufacturing industry, where Goldman's education would be most relevant, is a dark spot in today's bright economy, losing 946,000 jobs in the past decade. No one seems to want to help the inexperienced young engineer make a start. ``They could maybe train and help us along a little bit,'' wishes Goldman. In contrast, the booming construction industry, which has added more than a million jobs since 1989, is rolling out the red carpet for inexperienced job seekers. Gary Edgington, president of Edgewel Electric Inc. in Des Moines, Iowa, is investing in a new onsite training program, using computer CD-ROM's, in order to widen the pool of potential workers he can recruit from and get them trained more quickly. ``I can look at a lesser qualified, but capable person,'' said Edgington. ``We need people to get into this field and get trained.'' Overall, the U.S. economy generated more than 21 million non-farm jobs between July 1989 and July 1999, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The biggest job gains have been in the service sector, with more than 12 million employees added. There are also more than 4 million more Americans working in retail and wholesale jobs. Jobs in finance, insurance and real estate have grown by nearly 1 million. Job losses during the 10-year period have been confined mainly to manufacturing and mining. The Labor Department estimates that about three-quarters of the jobs created since President Clinton took office in 1993 pay more than $11 an hour. ``These are not low-wage, low-skill jobs,'' said Labor Secretary Alexis Herman. ``You've got good jobs being created at the high end of the wage scale, but the critical factor here is skills.'' In the future, the Labor Department predicts that many of the fastest-growing jobs will require, if not a college degree, at least some special training. These include computer engineers, database administrators, desktop publishers, medical assistants, and securities and financial sales people. Labor leaders, however, worry that those without education and training will be worse off as traditionally unionized manufacturing jobs, with high pay and good benefits, dry up. The jobs on the low-skill end that are expected to be among the most plentiful in coming years? Cashiers and retail sales positions that pay an average of less than $300 a week -- below the poverty level. Those in the market now for jobs, especially young people, are encountering other disquieting trends, says AFL-CIO president John Sweeney, who believes a growing malaise will boost union membership in coming years. ``Young workers see fundamental inequities that education alone won't solve,'' Sweeney said. Among these is erosion in benefits offered by employers. Recent studies show: --The percentage of workers with a high school diploma who are covered by employer-sponsored health insurance fell from 72 percent in 1989 to 69.5 percent in 1997. --Overall, the annual growth in what employers spend on employee benefits has slowed during the 1990s to 4.2 percent from 8 percent in the 1980s. --Meanwhile, pay for top executives, including stock options, has more than quadrupled since 1990. Another concern is that nontraditional work arrangements, such as temping and independent contractor status, are beginning to raise serious questions about who is legally responsible for the fair treatment of a growing number of workers. Leaders of the business community, however, bristle at any suggestion that American workers are worse off. They note that wages have grown at about the same rate as productivity during the 1990s and in the past few years wages have been rising faster than inflation, $612 billion is spent annually on employee benefits and jobs are plentiful. Says Bruce Josten, executive vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce: ``The most frequent sign seen these days is 'Help Wanted.''' © Copyright 1999 The Associated Press
