The good news: Employment is up overall. The bad: Unemployment ticked up a notch in an important area, those with less education than most. Here’s the info.
The Good News
Job growth looks good, particularly for middle-wage earners. Job search site Indeed.com, drawing on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, came up with the numbers:
The Bad News
Less educated workers lost out: The national increase in payroll employment for September was 156,000, an 1.3% (annualized) month-over-month increase from August and a 1.7% year-over-year increase from September 2015. However, job growth was weaker in higher-wage industries, at just 1.1% (annualized) month-over-month in September.” Why should you care that unemployment for the lesser educated jumped a half percentage point since last month’s data? For adults with some college, an associate’s degree, or a bachelor’s degree, unemployment fell and the employment/population rose in September, despite the slow job growth in higher-wage industries.” Because these lesser educated earners are an important backbone to the economy. And given the rise of the self-driving car, traditional job opportunities like the ever-popular truck driver option will soon evaporate. That’s bad news for the entire economy.
