A recent drop in unemployment applications makes the issue of a dwindling job market appear a bit more hopeful. However, there are several industries that consistently continue to see losses in jobs. Surprisingly, many of the job sectors that experience large amounts of unemployment also have seen recent net growth in payroll jobs. This shows that although some employees are being fired, others are being hired at the same time.
Here are five industries that have the most unemployment claims:
Construction: This line of work accounts for 13.6 percent of unemployment benefits applicants. Construction is oftentimes not as consistent as workers would like it to be, as builders and contractors hire workers based on available jobs at hand. Sometimes jobs are for a longer period and oftentimes they are very short term. At the start of June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that employment in the construction sector dropped by 28,000 in May from April on a seasonally-adjusted basis.
Administration and support: The days of executive assistants working for just one person are over. People in these positions tend to now work for multiple executives or even full departments. This job has continuously been victim to layoffs because companies have been able to get less people to do administrative work and get it done semi-efficiently. Administration and support accounts for 12.2 percent of unemployment benefits recipients.
Manufacturing: Manufacturing accounted for 19 percent of layoffs this past April. The biggest job cuts occurred in the food and transportation equipment sectors of the industry. Experts say that the reason these two sectors suffer so greatly is because food is influenced by high turnover while transportation equipment manufacturing jobs tend to be based on whether there is a need for that job at the particular time. Manufacturing accounts for 9.7 percent of unemployment claims.
Retail Trade: Big name stores such as Best Buy and Abercrombie & Fitch have recently announced plans to close some of their stores. With stores closing, jobs are being cut. The National Retail Federation says the industry's rise in unemployment claims are due to the economy: "Employment growth is consistent with sub-par economic activity," says Jack Kleinhenz, chief economist at the NRF. 8.6 percent of unemployment claims are made by workers within this industry.
Healthcare and social assistance: 8.2 percent of unemployment benefit recipients come from the healthcare and social assistance industry. This could come as a surprise to some, as healthcare seems to be one of the very few recession proof fields. However, it is not doctors in this field who experience the growing percentage of unemployment. It is workers in entry-level positions such as nurse's assistants and home health aides who suffer the wrath of unemployment.
