U.S. Payrolls Fell 17,000 in January (negative job creation)

[Robbien]

Source: Bloomberg

Feb. 1 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. economy unexpectedly lost jobs in January for the first time in more than four years.

Payrolls fell by 17,000 after an 82,000 gain in December that was larger than initially reported, the Labor Department said today in Washington. The jobless rate declined to 4.9 percent from 5 percent in December.
. . .

``The labor market is very close to the edge here and it would not take much to push the economy over the cliff,'' Chris Rupkey, senior financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in New York, said before the report. ``More and more companies are reporting layoffs. Now we are seeing that the economy is, indeed, perhaps just inches away from a recession.''

None of the 80 economists surveyed by Bloomberg had predicted the decline in payrolls, which was the first since August 2003. The median forecast in the survey projected payrolls would rise by 70,000, compared with an initially reported gain of 18,000 in December. Forecasts of an increase ranged from 5,000 to 160,000.

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a6RXEUjetyGE&refer=home

[Roland99]

1. It'll get revised up next month. And, look, gov't got smaller! See? Good news!

:eyes:

[Maeve]

2. "None fo the economists predicted the decline"

And there you have the past seven years in a nutshell...no expert ever seems to predict anything that the non-experts see coming! :eyes:

[Javaman]

5. "I don't think anyone could have anticipated this!"

I guess they don't get out of their ivory towers to often.

[khaos]

14. no.. they just lie

and the peasants eat it up

[liberal N proud]

3. They will just not count the negative numbers

Only count the jobs that were created and don't mention the net loss.

[SpiralHawk]

4. "Whooopeee, these are the results of the republicon economicster SUUUURGE." - Commander AWOL

[NewYorkerfromMass]

6. ``The labor market is very close to the edge here

and it would not take much to push the economy over the cliff,'' Says a man who does not realize we are already sailing down the side of the cliff.
We are definitely in a recession.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

7. The 82,000 was a net loss, too.

What a horseshit article.

[DrDan]

8. heard on Morning Mika this morning

that this is the first time in the past 4 1/2 years where a negative growth occurred

[joneschick]

9. I went from a 40 hr week to 27 hours

and that's true for an entire company (not saying which one)with about 103 stores nationally. :hi: All we've been hearing since even before the holidays is CUT PAYROLL!

[DeepModem Mom]

10. U.S. Economy Unexpectedly Sheds 17,000 Jobs

Source: New York Times

By MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM
Published: February 1, 2008

The economy lost 17,000 jobs in January, the Labor Department reported on Friday, the first decline in four years and the most striking evidence yet that the United States may be slipping into a recession.

Jobs disappeared across a broad spectrum of professions, with the steepest losses coming in the manufacturing, construction and goods-producing industries.

The unemployment rate, after jumping to 5 percent in December, fell back slightly, to 4.9 percent.

“This is the clearest signal yet that the job market is either in or teetering on a recession,” said Jared Bernstein, senior economist at the liberal Economic Policy Institute in Washington.

With the collapse of the housing market, trouble on Wall Street and the continuing fallout of the subprime mortgage crisis, many economists have pointed to the continued growth in the labor market as the final holdout in a sluggish economy.

But the employment report puts the job market in a startlingly different light. Economists had predicted a substantial gain in January payrolls, and early signs pointed to a relatively strong report. Instead, the government reported the first decline in jobs since August 2003....

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/01/business/01cnd-econ.html?hp

[nightrider767]

11. I'm surprised it's that little

When you consider the affect of the housing market, construction, mortgage and real estates companies must be shedding in a big way. I'd imagine next month will be much worse.

[Jim__]

12. There is actually BREAKING NEWS on MSNBC that Bush says the economy is weakening.

Who woke him up?

[gasperc]

13. hmm...that's a surprise

7 months of horrific economic data, who would have thunk it? good thing Bush's crack economic team is on the job, 7 months late and a non-viable economic plan later

[DaveJ]

15. How could 80 top economic experts all be so wrong??

And, do any of them get to lose their jobs now?

[eppur_se_muova]

16. "for the first time in more than four years" the facts have overwhelmed the spin.

I don't believe for one minute this is the first month job growth has been negative under Bu**sh**. It's just the first time that all their little bookkeeping tricks have not been enough to cover it up.

[dysfunctional press]

17. how could payrolls shrink, but unemployment goes down?

:shrug:

am i missing something here? or is there a lag-time while people get their "waiting week" in?

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

18. Elaine Chao has a very creative mind