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Lehigh Valley unemployment rate dips to 5.2 percent The Lehigh Valley's unemployment rate fell two-tenths of a percentage point in June, to 5.2 percent. Anthony Salamone•Contact Reporter - The Morning Call August 2, 2016, 7:32 PM A boost in consumer spending helped create jobs in one sector last month and prompted a slight monthly decline in the Lehigh Valley's unemployment rate, a state labor analyst said Tuesday. The four-county unemployment rate fell in June to 5.2 percent, down two-tenths of a percentage point from May and June 2015. It marked the first decline since March, when the rate stood at 5 percent. It also came in well above January's 4.4 percent, which was the lowest since August 2007, before the Great Recession. The seasonally adjusted nonfarm job total in June stood at 356,000, up about 200 jobs from the previous month, but down 300 jobs from June 2015. By seasonally adjusted, the government takes into account fluctuations during the year, such as holiday hirings. On an unadjusted basis, nonfarm jobs rose by 2,400 between May and June, to 363,000. "Obviously, you want to see the rate go low and stay low, but ... we've gotten back to where we were, pattern-wise, before the recession," said Steven Zellers, an analyst with the state Department of Labor & Industry. "We've gotten rid of the effects of the recession and back to normal fluctuations [in the monthly rate]." Local economist Kamran Afshar noted the jobs report shows growth, though "at a slower pace than we expected. They're showing unemployment down; that is a good indicator." The government said out of an area workforce of 432,400, some 22,400 people were unemployed in June, which is down about 1,000 from May and 600 below June 2015. Meanwhile, the labor force has risen by some 2,300, as more people are venturing out for the first time or resuming the job search. Record number of jobs in leisure and hospitality (31,900) and hospitals (20,100) boosted the data. Zellers attributed the jump in hospitality jobs to the rising level of disposable income. The Associated Press reported Tuesday that consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of economic growth, rose a solid 0.4 percent in June after an identical jump in May. "That usually aids leisure and hospitality first," Zellers said. "If people have more disposable income, they are going to go out and spend it." Lehigh Valley unemployment rate dips to 5.2 percent The Lehigh Valley's unemployment rate fell two-tenths of a percentage point in June, to 5.2 percent. Anthony Salamone•Contact Reporter - The Morning Call August 2, 2016, 7:32 PM A boost in consumer spending helped create jobs in one sector last month and prompted a slight monthly decline in the Lehigh Valley's unemployment rate, a state labor analyst said Tuesday. The four-county unemployment rate fell in June to 5.2 percent, down two-tenths of a percentage point from May and June 2015. It marked the first decline since March, when the rate stood at 5 percent. It also came in well above January's 4.4 percent, which was the lowest since August 2007, before the Great Recession. The seasonally adjusted nonfarm job total in June stood at 356,000, up about 200 jobs from the previous month, but down 300 jobs from June 2015. By seasonally adjusted, the government takes into account fluctuations during the year, such as holiday hirings. On an unadjusted basis, nonfarm jobs rose by 2,400 between May and June, to 363,000. "Obviously, you want to see the rate go low and stay low, but ... we've gotten back to where we were, pattern-wise, before the recession," said Steven Zellers, an analyst with the state Department of Labor & Industry. "We've gotten rid of the effects of the recession and back to normal fluctuations [in the monthly rate]." Local economist Kamran Afshar noted the jobs report shows growth, though "at a slower pace than we expected. They're showing unemployment down; that is a good indicator." The government said out of an area workforce of 432,400, some 22,400 people were unemployed in June, which is down about 1,000 from May and 600 below June 2015. Meanwhile, the labor force has risen by some 2,300, as more people are venturing out for the first time or resuming the job search. Record number of jobs in leisure and hospitality (31,900) and hospitals (20,100) boosted the data. Zellers attributed the jump in hospitality jobs to the rising level of disposable income. The Associated Press reported Tuesday that consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of economic growth, rose a solid 0.4 percent in June after an identical jump in May. "That usually aids leisure and hospitality first," Zellers said. "If people have more disposable income, they are going to go out and spend it." Another sign of optimism, according to Afshar, is initial unemployment claims in the Lehigh Valley during June came in at a seasonally adjusted 4,100. That's about 12 percent lower than the same month last year, he said, and far below January 2009 — during the recession — when 11,300 residents filed claims. Meanwhile, Afshar released data Tuesday from a quarterly survey of employers in Lehigh and Northampton counties that shows about 33 percent of employers will hire more workers during the next six months. About 5 percent of employers will cut jobs, according to the survey. Afshar said employers' planned job cuts are similar to before the Great Recession and during periods of tight labor markets from 1999-2000 and 2004-05. He also said the most recent report is tempered by some semblance of uncertainty heading into the fall. The reason? The presidential election, he said. "Businesses like to know what's happening during the next six months or year and plan based on that," Afshar said. "Over the last 16 years, for every general election, we have observed some drop in business sentiment." For this year, he said, the level of uncertainty is higher, in part due to the presidential candidates and that it is the first election in eight years without an incumbent running for the White House. Afshar polls about 700 employers yearly for the survey, which is conducted for the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce. Mining, logging and construction, and leisure and hospitality experienced seasonal job increases locally, according to the state's June report, while education saw expected declines due to the summer break. The four counties known as the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metropolitan statistical area consist of Lehigh, Northampton and Carbon counties, and Warren County, N.J. Click here to read the original article