Salon's Andrew Leonard: What will the GOP complain about now?
Proof, once again, that its hard to predict whats going on in the U.S. labor market: The consensus opinion of analysts had the U.S. economy adding 120-150,000 jobs in January. The ADP private sector jobs report, released on Wednesday, counted 170,000 new jobs. But the obsessively-watched U.S. government report, released Friday morning, reported a surprising and encouraging 243,000 new jobs. The unemployment rate fell another couple of notches, to 8.3 percent. Can you say bull market?
In the context of the last few years, thats what we call a strong labor report. The job gains were widely distributed. Manufacturing added 50,000 jobs. Health care grew by 31000. Leisure and hospitality, 44,000. And so on. Most encouraging of all, the labor force participation rate held even at 63.7 percent and the employment-population ratio rose, clear signs that Americans are no longer simply abandoning hope and giving up any chance of finding a job.
Republican leaders are already complaining that the unemployment rate is still too high and reminding everyone that the economy has been awful for most of Obamas term in office. Thats true, but the political implications of the new numbers are still huge. If we are to believe Nate Silver, the political number-cruncher now ensconced at the New York Times, President Obama needs jobs growth of 150,000 a month between now and November to have any chance of holding on to his job. Anything better than that obviously improves his odds. The timing could not be better for the White House.
http://www.salon.com/2012/02/03/finally_a_really_encouraging_jobs_report/
vi5
(13,305 posts)It's good news, no doubt about that. But things are still very tenuous and there is no overaching policy or plan in place to get this to continue or even to have really caused this in the first place so it could be just a blip/fluke/whatever. I sincerely hope not, but I'll wait a bit before breaking out the champagne and blowing raspberries at the GOP's chances.
ChairmanAgnostic
(28,017 posts)a) military cuts
b) Iran
c) Keystone Pipeline
d) attacking innocent banks with groundless prosecutions
e) forced abortions under Obamacare
f) taxing religions
ThoughtCriminal
(14,047 posts)and blame the Democrats for everything negative.
Watch.