IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
There could be ominous news for the Inland Empire in the latest report on U.S. employment.
The economy create only 142,000 jobs in September as the unemployment rate remained at 5.1 percent, according to data released Friday by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Virtually everyone agreed the report was weak and that the number of jobs created was below expectations. The report could be especially bad for the two-county region as the holiday season approaches, a local economist said.
“With businesses losing jobs, I could see the logistics industry cutting back on some of their holiday hiring projections,” said Jay Prag, professor of economics and finance at the Drucker School of Management at the Claremont Colleges. “For the Inland Empire, which relies so much on the logistics industry, that’s a little scary.”
Still, Prag cautioned against reading too much into the report.
“It’s a disappointing report, but we aren’t back in a recession,” Prag said. “The economy is just a little anemic right now.”
