Recession's Harm to Chemical Employment Detailed by New Data: Hardest hit sectors were plastics, ag chemicals, and paint; some such as drugs weren't affected, according to Labor Department figures

The recession is long past and chemical production is once again on the rise, with an accompanying increase in hiring of chemical workers. But how bad the recession actually was for employment in the chemical industry has only recently come to light through justpublished data from the Department of Labor. For instance, in spite of the recession's ending in late 1982 for the general economy and in the second quarter of 1983 for the chemical industry, employment in the chemical industry in 1983 continued lower than it was during the year before. And, although chemical employment began to turn up at about the same time as the chemical economy, the lagging nature of employment—plus the efficiencies put in place by chemical companies during the recession—tended to slow employment growth all during 1983. Thus, last year, employees for chemicals and allied products totaled about 1.05 million, down 3% from 1982. This follows an equal reduction in ...