Jobs are still abundant, but the manufacturing sector continues to feel pain.
Overall, employment declined by 8,000 jobs, which was the first monthly decrease since January 1996. The Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics attributed part of the drop to the effects of last month's hurricane. In particular, they are sensitive to data showing that workers' wages are rising too rapidly. The latest numbers show more bad news for workers in the heavily unionized manufacturing sector, which saw another 21,000 jobs eliminated in September. Since March of 1998, manufacturing has lost a staggering 532,000 jobs, primarily as a result of weak demand for U.S. exports and the ongoing effects of international free trade, which has brought a tidal wave of lower-priced imports into the U.S. market.