Posted on 11/07/2003 6:13:24 AM PST by Tumbleweed_Connection
The nation's unemployment rate dropped to 6 percent in October as companies added thousands of new jobs for the third straight month, new evidence of an improving labor market. The Labor Department reported Friday that payrolls grew by 126,000 last month, significantly more than the 50,000 new jobs that economists had predicted. That followed a revised 125,000 new jobs in September, which initially was reported at 57,000. U.S. companies also added new jobs in August, marking three months of hiring gains after a sixth-month slump. October hiring occurred across a broad swath of the business landscape, including technical services, temporary employment firms, health care, social work, education and retail. But the hard-hit manufacturing sector shed 24,000 jobs in October, the 37th consecutive month of declines in that area. The pace of job loss in manufacturing, however, has slowed considerably. The overall civilian unemployment rate improved from the standstill 6.1 percent level of the last three months. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan struck an optimistic tone about the employment outlook in a speech Thursday to the Securities Industry Association. "The odds ... do increasingly favor a revival in job creation," Greenspan said. The jobs market has been the weak link in the robust recovery, with the economy growing at a sizzling 7.2 percent in the third quarter. Economists now believe the worst days are over, with significant hiring occurring. Good News for America Is Bad News for Democrats The improvement could benefit President Bush, who will be up for re-election next November. Democrats had hoped to use the lack of new jobs as a political issue to win back the White House, and indeed the election is still a year away. "The most likely scenario is, we'll get enough jobs so it won't be the issue Democrats need to oust the president," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Economy.com. Still, the gloom isn't over for all American workers. About 8.8 million remained unemployed last month, with about 2 million without jobs for 27 weeks or more. Jobs in the airlines industry also continued to decline last month. Since reaching an employment peak in March 2001, the industry has lost more than 20 percent of its jobs. Hiring in grocery stores got a boost as companies prepared for strikes in Southern California and elsewhere. About 13,000 jobs were added last month.
No matter how much the Dems and the media try to downplay the economic recovery, it is big news. Amazing how the truth has a way of leaking out. The jobless recovery was just a myth that they thought they could spin into reality.
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