Job increases continue

The number of U.S. chemical employees increased again in August, according to seasonally adjusted figures from the Labor Department. The government data show that total employment in the chemical industry rose by 3,300 from July to 897,600. This August figure was up 19,300 from the comparable month in 2005. The industry added 1,400 hourly production workers to July's figure to bring the August total to 530,000. This number was up 16,700 from the same month last year. Average weekly hours of production, however, slipped to 42.5 hours from July's 42.9 hours. In the year-earlier month, workers put in an average 41.6 hours per week.