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U.S. Loses 35,000 Jobs After Hurricane Impact

Oct. 7, 2005

The U.S. lost 35,000 jobs in September in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and the jobless rate rose to 5.1% from 4.9%, the Labor Department said Oct. 7. The job losses in the nonfarm payrolls report -- seen as one of the best indicators of economic ...

Agence France-Presse

The U.S. lost 35,000 jobs in September in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and the jobless rate rose to 5.1% from 4.9%, the Labor Department said Oct. 7.

The job losses in the nonfarm payrolls report -- seen as one of the best indicators of economic momentum -- were less severe than the 150,000 feared by Wall Street economists following Katrina's devastation of the Gulf Coast.

In addition to the better-than-expected September results, payrolls in July and August were revised higher by a total of 77,000 jobs. Job growth has averaged 194,000 per month over the past year.

Job losses were concentrated in manufacturing, retail and leisure. Manufacturing lost 27,000 jobs, including 18,000 due to the strike at Boeing. Construction jobs grew by 23,000, on trend.

More On Hurricane Katrina
See IndustryWeek's Hurricane Katrina News & Resources section for more on coverage and how companies are responding.

Service industries lost 36,000 jobs. Within services, retail lost 88,000 jobs while leisure and hospitality industries lost 80,000. Modest job growth continued in professional and business services and in education and health care. Government added 31,000 workers