Market Data

Regional Job Creation - Q4 2014
Written by Peter Wright
January 30, 2015
The states compile their employment numbers independently of the Feds then both are reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The results are reasonably close with the Feds reporting total job creation in 2014 of 2,968,000 and the states reporting 2,664,000. Figure 1 and Figure 2 show the history of Federal and State totals since 1992. SMU has graphs in the same format for 10 geographic regions and can produce for individual states if a reader so requests.
All regions had solid job creation in the 4th Q led by the Pacific, (CA, OR and WA) with an additional 165,400 positions. The South Central, (TX, OK, AR and LA followed with 139,600 positions, Table 1 shows the history of quarterly job creation by region for the last four years. Of the total jobs created in the South Central, Texas contributed 110,000. The South East, (FL and GA) had a particularly strong 4th Q with job gains almost double what they enjoyed in the previous two quarters.
The regions have fared very differently since the pre-recession high of 1st Q 2008 and since the low point of Q4 2009. There are now 2,342,000 more people employed than there were immediately before the recession but of that number 1,341,000 jobs were created in the South Central, (TX, LA, AR and OK). The East North Central, (IL, IN, MI, OH and WI) and the East South Central, (AL, KEN, MIS, and TEN) have still not recovered all the jobs lost during the recession, (Table 2). In our Q3 analysis the South East, (FL and GA) were still in negative territory but their very strong Q4 put them over the top.
Employment is now 10,772,000 positions higher than it was at the low point of the recession. The Pacific has had the largest number of jobs created during the recovery with an increase of 1,963,000 new positions which amounts to 10.6 percent of total employment. On a percentage basis the South Central leads with an employment increase of 12.9 percent and the North East, (NY, NJ and PA) lags with 5.1 percent. The East North Central currently has the highest number of employed people with 21,307,400, followed by the Pacific with 20,486,600, (Table 3).
 
			    			
			    		Peter Wright
Read more from Peter WrightLatest in Market Data
 
		                                SMU Mill Order Index fell in September
SMU’s Mill Order Index declined in September after repeated gains from June through August. The shift came as service center shipping rates and inventories fell.
 
		                                North American auto assemblies slipped in September
North American auto assemblies declined in September, down 5.1% vs. August. And assemblies were also down 1% year on year.
 
		                                HARDI: Galv demand improves in October, higher prices expected in new year
Participants on this month’s Heating Air-Conditioning & Refrigeration Distributors International (HARDI) Sheet Metal/Air Handling Council call expect galvanized steel base prices to firm up in the first quarter of 2026.
 
		                                AISI: Raw steel mill output stabilizes
Domestic mill production inched higher last week, according to the latest figures released by the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). Prior to the start of this month, raw output had remained historically strong since June.
 
		                                Steel market chatter this week
What's on steel buyers' minds this week? We asked about market prices, demand, inventories, tariffs, imports, and other evolving market trends. Read on for buyers' comments in their own words...





