Generally good, if not spectacular, news about jobs last month:
Private employers added 123,000 jobs, the most since May 2007….
Manufacturers added 17,000 jobs, the third straight month of gains. Temporary help services added 40,000, while health care added 37,000. Leisure and hospitality added 22,000.
Even the beleaguered construction industry added 15,000 positions, though that likely reflects a rebound from February, when major snowstorms may have kept many construction workers off payrolls.
The average work week increased to 34 hours from 33.9, a positive sign. Most employers are likely to work current employees longer before they hire new workers.
The unemployment rate hasn’t moved, in part because (according to the release linked above) “[m]ore Americans entered the work force last month, which prevented the increase in jobs from reducing the unemployment rate.” So, that’s not exactly good news, but it’s not bad news either, since the mere fact that people are re-entering the workforce is a positive sign.
So, a long way to go, but a positive report.
“So, that’s not exactly good news, but it’s not bad news either, since the mere fact that people are re-entering the workforce is a positive sign.”
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p>That depends on whether or not people “entering the workforce” are not the usual new workers, immigrants, graduates etc. That number is generally over 100K as I recall, or it used to be. (The big argument against Bush’s so-called progress on jobs was that his job growth monthly numbers was always underneath that “new workers entering the workforce” number for a long, long time.)
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p>I don’t think this number counts people “re-entering the workforce” at all. If I’m mistaken, I hope someone corrects me. It might, however, count all of the unemployed who decided to go back to school and are ready for a new job post-graduation. I’m not sure.
Jumped from 44.1% from 24.6% from a year ago.
That this “entering the work force” number includes those people. It might only include truly new people in the workforce – generally college and high school grads and the like.
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p>But, of course, a halving of that number is a good thing.
the stimulus continues to not work.
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Feb appears to be a slight negative, Jan a slight positive.
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p>But really, the trend is important. It’s not hard to see the trend on that chart. If next month is as large as Mar-10 or larger, the trend will clearly be continuing. If, however, the Mar-10 numbers come in closer to 0, we’ll have ourselves a three trend chart — Bush getting worse, Feb-09 — Oct-09 getting better, and then a third portion at 0, with close to a slope of zero.
it is 4 out of 5.
(and stay off my lawn)
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p>:)
even with the recalc. sorry about that.
But seriously — stay off my lawn.