March job numbers

[malaise]

192,000
unemployment 6.7%

[NM_Birder]

1. you believe that ?...... unemplyment is 6.7%

[BlueStreak]

2. Why wouldn't one believe that. The "unemployment rate" is bogus

It attempts to measure the people who are actively looking for work. People come in any out of that pool. If job prospects improve, then some people get more active in looking, so the "unemployment rate" can actually go up in a month when hundreds of thousands of people got jobs.

[NM_Birder]

6. That number gives a false sense of what is really happening

in the ability of people to secure employment.

It isn't fake, but it just isn't factually truthful. If you have 100 dollars, and lose 20 dollars in the park, then find 5 dollars on the way home, the truth is you have gained 5% of your original value. However you are still 15% down from your original savings.

Some people cheer blind accounting, some don't. People who no longer get unemployment benefits, and are not employed, and are not counted among the "unemployed" numbers ........ probably are not cheering this fantasy.

but meh ....... who cares about them anyway, it's not like they are going to vote or anything.

[BlueStreak]

10. The statistic is fine. The media obsesses of the WRONG statistics

There are other statistics that are much more meaningful. Like this one

http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/U6RATE

Total unemployed, plus all marginally attached workers plus total employed part time for economic reasons

It shows steady progress since the Bush meltdown, but it also shows we are still 5% above where we were. If the media looked at this, I think we would be a lot more likely to put national attention on the employment problem as opposed to Ryan's Ayn Rand plans.

[NM_Birder]

11. Well,

if that graph and explanation of Bush's record doesn't shut up the millions of Americans without work, without unemployment benefits, and without housing..... what will ?

They don't exist, because statistically, they don't exist, unemployment is as low as it's ever been. Those working are fine, those not working don't factor.

If you can't trust the Department of Labor's graphics department, who can you trust ?

Unemployment is 6.7%, regardless what the reality REALLY is, that number is better than Bush's......... YAY US ! now please donate and vote.

[BlueStreak]

12. The point is true unemployment is more like 12% and much higher in pockets

If a person lost a $60K engineering job and is nw working in a call center for $13/hr, that person is functionally unemployed.

If a person was moved from full-time to part-time because of economic conditions, that person is functionally unemployed.

The chart I provided above is a much truer indicator of our employment situation that the "unemployment" number the media fixates on. The good news is that we have come down from 17.5 to 12.5. And notice that the slope of the recover is actually faster than the two previous recoveries. So the idea that this recovery is slower than previous recoveries is complete bullshit. What makes this one different is that the Bush policies left us a near-depression levels. The recovery is happening faster than most recoveries. We just had twice as far to go and we are only halfway there.

[MoonRiver]

3. The economy is improving.

A little slower than we would like, but moving in the right direction. If we had a Dem House I think we'd have seen much more growth.

[malaise]

4. Agreed

[MoonRiver]

5. Just changed my post from "recovery" to "economy," which was what I meant to say!

Too early in the morning and not enough coffee yet!

[sufrommich]

7. Unemployment under 7% is great news. What will

the republican spin be this time? They must be getting desperate.

[treestar]

8. That is good.

I wonder if the ACA might help. More people will be stimulating the economy.

[ProSense]

9. March Employment Report: 192,000 Jobs, 6.7% Unemployment Rate

March Employment Report: 192,000 Jobs, 6.7% Unemployment Rate

by Bill McBride

From the BLS:

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 192,000 in March, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 6.7 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
...
The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for January was revised from +129,000 to +144,000, and the change for February was revised from +175,000 to +197,000. With these revisions, employment gains in January and February were 37,000 higher than previously reported.

The headline number was below expectations of 206,000 payroll jobs added.

The first graph shows the job losses from the start of the employment recession, in percentage terms, compared to previous post WWII recessions. The dotted line is ex-Census hiring.



This shows the depth of the recent employment recession - worse than any other post-war recession - and the relatively slow recovery due to the lingering effects of the housing bust and financial crisis.

Employment is 0.3% below the pre-recession peak (437 thousand fewer total jobs). Private employment is now above the pre-recession peak by 110 thousand and at a new all time high.

- more -

http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2014/04/march-employment-report-192000-jobs-67.html

<...>

All told, over the last 12 months, the U.S. economy has added over 2.24 million jobs overall and 2.26 million in the private sector. What’s more, March was the 49th consecutive month in which we’ve seen private-sector job growth.

- more -

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/job-market-continues-show-signs-life