U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases new data

New information concerning labor force characteristics by race and ethnicity, job openings, labor turnover surveys, Alabama and Mississippi workplace fatalities, and international comparisons of manufacturing productivity as well as U.S. import and export price indexes were released today by the federal government. The statistics are not surprising but are worth noting:

* Unemployment rates among the major race and ethnicity groups remained high in 2010 as the U.S. economy continued to slowly recover from the 2007–2009 recession. The jobless rates for Blacks (16.0 percent), Hispanics (12.5 percent), Whites (8.7 percent), and Asians (7.5 percent) were much higher than their pre-recession levels. To read the full report on "Labor Force Characteristics by Race and Ethnicity," go to: http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsrace2010.pdf.

* There were 3.2 million job openings on the last business day of July 2011. The hires rate (3.0 percent) and separations rate (3.0 percent) were essentially unchanged over the month.

* Fatal work injuries in Mississippi totaled 64 in 2009. Highway incidents remained the most frequent fatal event in the workplace in Mississippi as well as the nation.

* Manufacturing labor productivity decreased in 2009 in 12 of the 19 economies. The U.S. had the largest productivity increase, 7.7 percent, and Japan had the steepest productivity decline. For the first time, both output and hours in manufacturing declined in all 19 economies compared. In most economies, output declined by more than 10 percent and hours by more than 8 percent.

* U.S. import prices declined 0.4 percent in August led by a 1.8 percent decrease in fuel prices. The August drop in import prices followed a 0.3 percent rise the previous month. In contrast, prices for US exports rose 0.5 percent after declining 0.4 percent in July.