Unemployment rate in telecommunications sector is a low 3.1%
The telecommunications subsector lost some 400 employees from December to January, according to the most recent tracking figures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Feb. 6.
The telecommunications subsector covers people working in telephony, voice over Internet Protocol, cable and satellite television distribution, Internet access, and telecom resell.
There were 861,800 telecommunications employees in January 2015, down from 862,200 in December 2014 and 862,300 in November 2014. The decade-long high came in January 2005 when there were some 1,088,000 employed in telecommunications.
The current unemployment rate for telecommunications professionals is 3.1%. Compare that to a 6.1% unemployment rate in December and a 4.6% unemployment rate in November.
The BLS monitors workforce fluctuations across economic sectors and each month releases a “Current Employment Statistics” report. The next round of data is due out on March 6, according to the BLS.
Unemployment in the telecommunications subsector is lower than the national average of 5.7%; that figure has not demonstrated a net change since October. And although the specialized field of telecommunications lost full-time employees, the retail, construction, health care, financial and manufacturing sectors reflected increases.
