Employment

Amber Medina has been looking for a job for five months, ever since her father, a metal-worker, was laid off and her mom began struggling to support the family of seven on her $15-per-hour job. But the 17-year-old has yet to find anything permanent, despite sending out resumes and visiting dozens of potential employers, including the clothing stores Old Navy and PacSun. "I'm looking for any job to help my parents," she said.

WASHINGTON - U.S. manufacturers have been a key source of job growth in the slow economic recovery. But the factory doors slammed shut last month to new hires, creating another barrier to bringing down the high unemployment rate. With the European recession helping reduce demand for U.S. exports, the pace of manufacturing job growth has slowed in recent months. The steam disappeared from the manufacturing sector in August amid increasing anxiety by factory owners about tax increases and large government spending cuts looming next year.

Latino employment grew 5.1% last year, faster than other major racial and ethnic groups, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Employment increased 2% among African Americans last year and 0.8% for whites. The 3.5% rise in Latino population in 2000 only partially explains the strong employment growth. The surge also reflects a record level of employment among the Latino population with 64.9% of those over age 16 employed.

Investors still glowing from the Dow Jones industrial average's reach toward new highs last week will be looking for signs in the coming week of whether the market's run-up will continue. With the quarter's end so recent, investors won't be able to rely on much in the way of corporate earnings news but rather will be looking to economic news and to any companies that might issue profit forecasts.

One in a series of occasional reports about the U.S. unemployment crisis. Though some American firms are bringing overseas work back home, evidence is growing that companies are moving more jobs than ever to China and other countries ? a trend that could exacerbate efforts to bring down the nation's stubbornly high unemployment rate. One sign of increased offshoring is the rising number of applications for federal Trade Adjustment Assistance, which usually goes to factory workers who lost their jobs because their work was sent overseas or was undercut by cheaper imports.

Employers in the U.S. added a net 115,000 workers to their payrolls in December, ending a quarter in which job creation was the slowest in three years, according to a survey of economists in advance of a government report. The figure, the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey, would follow employment gains of 132,000 in November and 79,000 in October. The Labor Department's report Friday is expected to show that the jobless rate held at 4.5%, close to a five-year low.

It was almost heartening to read "State Gains 40,600 Jobs in December" [Jan. 24]. However, as I put aside my biweekly unemployment claim form to write this letter, I cannot help but wonder why the same report did not provide any information about the average income and status of these jobs. How many unemployed Californians have had to accept a major cut in the income they had formerly attained in order to have a job? How many have had to accept part-time offers? And how many others have entered the temporary employment field because permanent offers were not forthcoming?

Job cuts announced by U.S. employers fell 64% in the 12 months that ended in July, to their lowest in six years. Announced job cuts fell to 37,178 from 102,971 a year earlier, said Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., a Chicago-based placement firm. There were 45% fewer job-cut announcements in July than in June.

With December underway, Wall Street might begin counting down the number of shopping days left -- not until the holidays but until retailers can say with certainty how the shopping season fared and whether consumer spending held up as hoped. Investors have received mixed signals on the health of retailers and consumers in general recently.

Ventura County's economy will end the year on a high note--with reports that showed continued demand for local real estate and a low 5.8% unemployment rate for November. Last month, 1,092 homes were sold in the county--up almost 16% from November 1997, according to a report by Acxiom/DataQuick Information systems. The county's median home price jumped more than 11% from November of last year to $230,000. The figures include new and resale homes as well as condominiums.