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Jobless Rate Hits a High, Dims Hope For Recovery
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High fuel prices walloped trucking companies, leading employment in that sector down by 5,100, and information companies, including publishers and telecom firms, slashed 13,000 jobs. The decline in jobs with employment services was typical for a downturn, said people in that industry. "That's frequently where employers cut first," Gilliam said.
Finance, while not bleeding jobs, is no longer a source of strength. "The accounting and the finance areas, which for years have been really strong, is the area that has definitely been on the decline over the last 12 months," said Paul Villella, chief executive of HireStrategy, an employment services firm in Reston.
The bright spots were few. High oil prices drove new exploration for energy; oil and gas extraction businesses added 10,300 jobs. Government employment rose by 25,000 positions, though many analysts expect that number to come under stress in the months ahead as state and local governments grapple with weaker tax revenue and cut their budgets.
And health care, a stalwart of job creation, continued adding positions, reflecting perennial shortages of qualified labor. Today there are 1,400 job openings in Inova Health System, Northern Virginia's largest nonprofit hospital chain, said Daniel Nichols, the system's director of recruitment.
"While we do have plenty of nursing positions open -- and we're always looking for nurses -- it takes a lot to run a hospital, from mechanics to food service to health care IT," Nichols said.
On the campaign trail, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama responded to the gloomy economic news by calling for a fresh round of $1,000 rebate checks to be sent to taxpayers. The $65 billion cost would be covered through a tax on oil companies' windfall profits. Obama also proposed $50 billion in new federal spending.
GOP presidential candidate John McCain, meanwhile, renewed his call for a job-creation plan that includes cutting the corporate income tax.
The Washington area's job market has held up relatively well as the national picture has deteriorated. The region's unemployment rate was 3.9 percent in June, the lowest among large metropolitan areas, and the region added 25,300 jobs in the past year.
Staff writers Kendra Marr and Lori Montgomery contributed to this report.
