Telecom sector loses 8,600 jobs in November, BLS says

The nation’s unemployment rate ticked down .2 percentage points in November to an even 10%, but about 8,600 more jobs in the telecommunications sector were lost, according to the most recent information released by the Department of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
In the computer and electronics products segment, employment was down 4.9%, when seasonally adjusted, to about 1.1 million jobs in the sector in November. Breaking down the sector further, about 1,600 jobs were lost in the semiconductors and electronic components segment and another 300 jobs were lost in communications equipment.
Nonsupervisory employees in both the computer and information sectors worked a little more in November than in October; computer and electronics products workers put in an average of 41 hours per week, while information-sector employees averaged 36.7 hours per week, up .4 and .3 hours, respectively. Computer and electronic products workers reported hourly wages that averaged $21.98 in November, down 4 cents an hour from October, but up 61 cents an hour compared to November2008. In the information sector, hourly wages were up to $25.82 in November, better than the $25.78 reported in October and the $25.03 averaged in November 2008. The telecom sector is not broke out in the hourly figures in the information sector.
Overall, “employment fell in construction, manufacturing, and information, while temporary help services and health care added jobs,” according to the agency.