Friday's jobs report: Mediocre
The nation's payrolls added 88,000 jobs in March, a mediocre showing. This is the first month since June 2012 when the number of jobs added didn't top the break-even threshold of 100,000 jobs. That's the amount economists say is needed each month to keep pace with population growth. Forget about erasing the jobs deficit caused by the recession.
Friday's jobs report: Mediocre
Jane M. Von Bergen, Inquirer Staff Writer
The nation's payrolls added 88,000 jobs in March, a mediocre showing. This is the first month since June 2012 when the number of jobs added didn't top the break-even threshold of 100,000 jobs. That's the amount economists say is needed each month to keep pace with population growth. Forget about erasing the jobs deficit caused by the recession.
So when you see a number like 88,000, you can really view it as negative 12,000. We are not advancing, we are declining. That's not news to the 4.6 million long-term unemployed.
Then comes the news from various interest groups, all interpreting the U.S. Labor Department's monthly report. The missive from the American Staffing Association points out that temporary help jobs were up by 20,300 in March and up 6.4 percent from a year ago.
You could say that nearly one in four new jobs created last month was a temp job. It wouldn't be entirely accurate because some job categories are up, others are down and the net is 88,000 jobs.
Theoretically, increased staffing hiring is a harbinger of increased permanent hiring, as employers hedge their bets, waiting for the economy to improve. But we've been singing that tired old song for way too long. The economy will not improve until people have secure jobs at a decent rate of pay. It's that simple -- and that difficult.
If only this kind of honesty made it to the front page of the paper and website.— Phillies2008WSChamps- How about P*ss poor showing? We're declining from poor numbers, not "robust" numbers for a recovery from a recession. This is going to be our 4th "recovery summer".— tr88
- Oh look a bunch of right wing jokers thinking to comment. Yeah can someone contact the front page editor and paste 2008WSC's thoughts across the top? "We're declining from poor numbers" - as long as you know what you mean. That's the most important thing.— Murrayman
- This is a punch to the gut," "This is not a good number. - Austan Goolsbee, former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors under President Obama. — tr88
- Yes I can also find analysis from actual economists as well. How that translates to, "declining from poor numbers" is beyond me. Here's the point: You have no acknowledgement of actual positive numbers -- only the negative -- because of who you are. You're a sucker.— Murrayman
