Telecom, computer jobs and wages inched up in July : Verizon Communications workers on strike

July employment numbers in the telecommunications and computer and electronic products sectors ticked up by 2,700 and 2,500 positions respectively, from the previous month, according to figures released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, year-over-year figures still lag in the telecom industry. Further, amid Friday’s debt downgrade, today’s stock market drop and a strike by landline employees at Verizon Communications Inc., (VZ) it’s anyone’s guess what August’s employment picture will look like.
First the numbers: The labor bureau counted 865,700 telecom positions in July, up 2,700 from June, but down 28,400 from a year earlier. Wired telecom employees account for the majority of those jobs, with 573,400 positions filled in June. (Sometimes sub-sector numbers lag a month behind. From June 2010 to June 2011, 25,400 fewer positions exist in the wireline subsector – down 2.8%. In the wireless sub-sector, 167,300 positions existed in June, down 1.1% from the year-ago period.
The computer and electronics equipment sector fared better. The labor bureau counted 1.128 positions in July, up 26,600 positions from July 2010, or 2.4%. Of those jobs, the semiconductor sub-sector accounted for 16,500 of the gains.
Hourly wages in the computer and telecom sector increased from a year ago: wired telecom workers averaged $29.84 an hour; wireless workers averaged $27.57 a hour, while computer and electronics category workers received an average of $33.70 an hour. Wireless workers averaged the least among the sub-sectors analyzed, while computer and peripheral equipment workers averaged the best hourly wages at $38.10.
The labor bureau’s overall employment picture in July was brighter, with employment rising by 117,000 nonfarm payroll positions, with a stable unemployment rate of 9.1%.
Meanwhile, more than 45,000 workers are on strike today at Verizon Communications Inc., according to the Communications Workers of America and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. The strike should not impact Verizon Wireless as its employees are not unionized.
The unions and Verizon are arguing over healthcare benefits, among a long list of other items. Verizon is pointing to its declining wireline business, while the unions are pointing to Verizon’s $6 billion in annualized profits.