NationStates Jolt Archive


Another bad job report...

Zeppistan
08-10-2004, 15:44
The latest stats are out (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=568&ncid=749&e=1&u=/nm/20041008/bs_nm/economy_dc), and it ain't what GW wanted to hear. Poor growth in September, a downward revision to August, 18,000 more manufacturing jobs lost, and almost all of the job growth in the "do you want fries with that" sector...

U.S. businesses added 96,000 jobs to payrolls in September, the government reported on Friday, a weaker-than-expected total that was expected to sharpen a presidential debate later in the day over the economy's direction.


The Labor Department (news - web sites) report, showing the unemployment rate in September held steady at 5.4 percent, will provide fodder for the second debate between President Bush (news - web sites) and Democratic Presidential contender Sen. John Kerry (news - web sites). It was the final jobs report before the Nov. 2 presidential election with polls indicating that jobs are of paramount concern to voters.

The September job-creation total came in below Wall Street economists' forecasts for 148,000 new jobs. The department also revised down its estimate of August new jobs to 128,000 from 144,000 it reported a month ago.

Most jobs in September came in the services sector, while manufacturers shed 18,000 jobs last month after increased hiring in the two prior months.

Analysts described the jobs number as weak.

"It is a disappointing number, it suggests the economy is still not growing particularly quickly," said economist David Sloan of 4Cast Ltd. in New York.
Biff Pileon
08-10-2004, 15:54
Growth is growth.....5.4% is still a low unemployment rate.
Zeppistan
08-10-2004, 16:39
Growth is growth.....5.4% is still a low unemployment rate.

Job growth that doesn't keep up with a 250,000 population growth over that same period is not real growth.

And that unemployment number would be more meaningful if around 475,000 people hadn't also left the labor force this past month.....

I've always found it odd the way you count your unemployment. As if people who are out of work so long that they give up looking suddenly aren't "unemployed" anymore. I'd bet that they sure feel diferently about that.
Fabarce
08-10-2004, 16:56
Job growth that doesn't keep up with a 250,000 population growth over that same period is not real growth.

And that unemployment number would be more meaningful if around 475,000 people hadn't also left the labor force this past month.....

I've always found it odd the way you count your unemployment. As if people who are out of work so long that they give up looking suddenly aren't "unemployed" anymore. I'd bet that they sure feel diferently about that.

Absolutely true, good point.