NEW YORK — Job growth continues, with the Labor Department saying Friday that 132,000 new jobs were added in November, but a few key measures _ manufacturing jobs, construction jobs and workers who voluntarily quit _ may signal weakness, according to a Washington think tank.
"While the labor market is reasonably healthy, the economy is still far off its 2000 peak," said Dean Baker, co-director at the nonprofit Center for Economic Policy Research.
The employment-to-population ratio peaked in April 2000 at 64.7 percent, 1.4 percentage points above its current level, Baker said. The difference is sharpest for black teenagers, whose employment-to-population ratio peaked at 31.2 percent in February 2002; the ratio was 24.2 percent in November.
Manufacturing lost 15,000 jobs in November and the number of production workers is now down 95,000 jobs from a June peak, Baker said. The average work week for manufacturing workers is also shrinking; as a result, hours in manufacturing declined at a 4.6 percent annual rate over the last four months.
Construction lost 29,000 jobs in November after dropping 24,000 in October. It is the largest two-month decline since the sector lost 70,000 jobs in April and May 2002, Baker said. Residential construction has shed 110,000 jobs since its February peak.
"One sign that suggests the labor market is weakening is a drop in the share of unemployment attributable to workers who voluntarily quit their jobs," Baker said. The measure peaked at 15.2 percent of people who were unemployed in April 2000, but was 11.6 percent of those who were jobless in November, he said.
"This can be a useful measure, since people will be reluctant to quit their job unless they are confident they can find a new one," he said.
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