Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 252,000 in December, and the unemployment rate declined to 5.6 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains occurred in professional and business services, construction, food services and drinking places, health care, and manufacturing.
News
There is no post-holiday lull for the twin ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. The ports continue to experience congestion that delays shipment of goods through Inland Southern California to the rest of the nation. Lee Peterson, spokesman for the Port of Long Beach, estimated there is currently an average of six container ships waiting to get into the ports. Those ships are likely carrying clothing to go on sale around Easter and building supplies for spring construction projects, he said in a phone interview.
Bureau of Transportation Statistics
U.S.-NAFTA freight totaled $108.2 billion in October 2014 as three transportation modes – air, rail, and trucks – carried more U.S.-NAFTA freight than in October 2013, according to the TransBorder Freight Data released today by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). October 2014 was the highest month on record for the value of U.S.-NAFTA trade flows, not adjusted for inflation.
With news coming this week that the Pacific Maritime Association (PMA) and the International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILWU) will work with the U.S. Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service in hopes of helping the sides find a way to come to an agreement over stalled labor negotiations, what happens now remains to be seen.
Allison Beck, Acting Director of the U.S. Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, issued the following statement today on the labor negotiations between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and Pacific Maritime Association (PMA):
The Acting Director of the U.S. Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (Allison Beck) released a statement on Monday night indicating that both the ILWU (International Longshore Warehouse Union) and PMA (Pacific Maritime Association) have agreed to mediation assistance.
A federal mediator is stepping in help try to resolve a labor fight that is threatening the flow of packages at ports along the West Coast.
Institute for Supply Management
Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in December for the 19th consecutive month, and the overall economy grew for the 67th consecutive month, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) said today that the PMA member carriers sitting on PMA’s Board of Directors need to come to the negotiating table so that direct and constructive dialogue between key decision makers can take place.
Brushing aside calls for federal mediation in prolonged contact talks with employers at 29 U.S. West Coast ports, the union for 20,000 dockworkers urged shipping executives on management’s board of directors to take a more active part in negotiations.