The Dow Jones Industrial Average crossed the 11,000-point mark for the first time since May on Friday as investors gained confidence the Federal Reserve would continue to support the economy amid bleak employment numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Two segments that help make up the wireless industry – telecommunications and computer and electronic products – saw mixed employment news in September, according to the bureau. The computer industry had a month-to-month job gain of 1,800 jobs, while the telecommunications segment lost 5,200 jobs from August to September. However, year to year, both sectors lost jobs, with the computer sector reporting 3,900 fewer jobs from a year ago. More than 1.1 million jobs were reported in the category in September. Drilling down, the semiconductor space is performing well, with 370,000 jobs reported in September, up nearly 7,000 from the year-ago period.
In the telecommunications space, 5,200 fewer jobs were reported in September than in August, and 52,500 fewer jobs were reported from September 2009 to September 2010. The Labor Bureau counted more than 914,000 telecom jobs in September. Drilling down into the wireless subcategory, employment inched up month to month and year to year. The Labor Bureau counted 192,600 jobs in the wireless sector in August (subsector numbers lag by a month), up 200 compared to August 2009, and up 500 compared to July 2010.
Overall, nonfarm payroll dropped 95,000 jobs in September, and the unemployment rate was flat at 9.6%. The unemployment rate for the telecom sector stood slightly higher, at 10.8%, but was down from August’s 11.5% unemployment rate. Telecom equipment installers and repairers and customer service representatives make up the bulk of employment by occupation, with each of the sectors having more than 100,000 jobs. Average hourly earnings in the space is $29.36.
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