Categorized | General Interest

What To Think About Job Numbers?

   The "economy is recovering" voices are clearly their throats again:

The nation’s employers added 192,000 jobs in February, up from a gain of 63,000 the previous month, the Labor Department reported on Friday.

While February’s number represented the fastest growth in nearly a year, it was partly the result of a bounce back from unusually depressed hiring in January, when major snowstorms shuttered offices and factories around the country. Taken together, the job growth for the first two months of 2011 has not been much better than it was last fall.

   Ahem, if I may clear my throat as well in dissent. The numbers are what they are. But, until we begin to see real jobs being created ALONG WITH real wage growth, I would guess that the only people feeling real economic security are those people who are the prognosticators with cushy jobs themselves. In fact, a lot of people don’t even feel the enthusiasm to look for work:

Right now the share of working-age population that is actively involved in the work force — that is, either in a job or actively looking for one — is at 64.2 percent. That is the lowest labor force participation rate in 25 years, an indication that many Americans are waiting for hiring to get better before resuming the job hunt.[emphasis added]


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