Posted on 03/08/2019 7:19:27 AM PST by SeekAndFind
The Labor Department released its monthly hiring and unemployment figures for February on Friday morning, providing one of the better snapshots of the state of the American economy.
■ 20,000 jobs were added last month. Analysts had expected a gain of about 175,000, according to MarketWatch. It was the 101st straight month of job gains, but the weakest report since September 2017.
■ The unemployment rate was 3.8 percent. It was 4 percent in January.
■ Average hourly earnings rose by 0.4 percent after growing by 0.1 percent in January. The year-over-year gain is now 3.4 percent.
Putting the weakness in perspective January’s payroll gains were exhilarating. February’s numbers were disappointing. Together they offer a potent reminder that each monthly employment report from the Labor Department captures just a moment in time. Longer-term trends are what matter, and the streak of job growth continues to set records.
Soon after the report’s release, President Trump celebrated the economy’s strength on Twitter.
“This is as good a time as I can remember to be an American Worker. We have the strongest economy in the world.” Stuart Varney @foxandfriends So true!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 8, 2019
Still, as Carl Tannenbaum, chief economist of Northern Trust in Chicago, said: “This is a disappointing report. I don’t think there’s any way to sugarcoat it.” Rising wage growth is good for workers, but combined with soft payroll growth, he said, “it’s a signal we need to be cautious with the U.S. economic outlook.”
The sluggish job growth was in stark contrast to the two preceding months, both of which look even stronger after revisions announced on Friday. January’s gains were revised to 311,000 and December’s final estimate was 227,000.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
This may be the end of Trump. [/s]
Bad weather....................
The Slimes roots for a bad economy. Figures.
BUT on the other hand, the numbers are so off the mark....maybe we gotta look at the books again.
I think there is literally nobody left to hire. Seriously.
Yep, people paying off the Christmas bills...................
Correct. February 2019 has been a bad weather month for most of the USA—including California!
It’s winter. In less than 45 days every construction trade is going to be begging for help.
That was one of my thoughts too...you will fill available jobs? We’re at full employment.
That said, maybe $15/hour minimum wage is taking effect too - enacted in large cities.
I expect the MSM to hail this as the ‘End of the Trump Presidency’......................
...enacted in large collectives...........................
[[I think there is literally nobody left to hire. Seriously.]]
You could be on to something. You had a huge swath of people move to disability roles and public assistance during the Obama years and they aren’t going to give that up. 63% LPR kind of bears that out.
That said, maybe $15/hour minimum wage is taking effect too - enacted in large cities.
...
That’s a scam designed to increase demand for illegal aliens.
The two main streets of my little burg are lined with “help wanted” signs, both for the businesses in town and other jobs in adjacent towns.
Yup, but leading indicators have been a little softer. Trade negotiations with China probably also had a hand. I know non-stop rain in the southeast has been oppressive. Snow and cold in the northern tier states has presented big problems, also. Should be better next month.
They buried the lede.
Typical.
Next month all those laid off GM workers go on unemployment....................
Yep, I see ‘Now Hiring’ signs everywhere.................
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