Posted on 02/05/2005 8:20:56 AM PST by Dubya
WASHINGTON ---- President Bush has narrowly escaped becoming the first president since Herbert Hoover to lose jobs on his watch.
Questions about the health of the nation's jobs market dogged Bush throughout his first term, and Democrats used the issue in the presidential campaign. Ultimately, the jobs situation and the economy weren't enough of a concern to deny Bush a second term.
All told, the economy generated a net gain of 119,000 jobs during the president's first term in office.
In January, America's payrolls grew by 146,000, a sluggish pace suggesting that companies are reluctant to bulk up their work forces and highlighting the challenges faced by job-seekers. The unemployment rate fell to 5.2 percent as people left the job market.
The newest employment snapshot, released by the Labor Department on Friday, showed improvements in the job market still coming slowly, even though the economic expansion has become more firmly entrenched.
Companies, keeping a close eye on profit margins, are still showing caution in hiring as they cope with high energy bills and soaring health-care costs for workers, economists said.
"The economy is recovering, but it is still difficult for people looking for a job to find work," said Lynn Reaser, chief economist at Banc of America Capital Management. "Companies are only cautiously putting out the help-wanted signs."
The overall civilian unemployment rate declined to 5.2 percent in January, from 5.4 percent in December, as people left the job market for any number of reasons. January's jobless rate was the lowest since September 2001.
On Wall Street, though, January's lackluster payroll figure helped to send stocks sharply higher on investors' hopes that the Federal Reserve might be less aggressive in raising interest rates. The Dow Jones industrials gained 123.03 points to close at 10,716.13.
Meanwhile, the share of the U.S. population working or actively seeking a job dropped in January to 65.8 percent, the lowest reading since June 1988.
The 146,000 gain in payrolls in January fell short of economists' forecasts for an increase of around 200,000. Jobs gains for December came in at 133,000, down from an initial estimate of 157,000.
"The labor market climate has yet to fully defrost," said Ken Mayland of ClearView Economics.
January's job gain pushed total payrolls to 132.57 million. That was just above the level when payroll employment peaked in February 2001, the month before the economy fell into recession.
Bush said he was pleased with the employment figures.
"That's a good sign. More people are going to work around our country," he said. "But we shouldn't be content. I'm looking forward to working with the members of Congress to create the conditions for continued economic expansion."
However, Bush's critics, including Democrats and labor unions, pointed to Friday's employment figures as further evidence the president's economic policies are flawed. "The recovery still has a long way to go to deliver satisfactory gains in jobs and wages," said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I.
AFL-CIO President John Sweeney struck a similar note. "America's working families are still struggling to gain their footing on the slippery slope of today's labor market."
Workers' average weekly earnings dipped to $535.16 in January, from $535.73 in December. There were 7.7 million people unemployed in January with the average duration of 19.3 weeks without work, the same as in December.
Federal Reserve policy-makers' assessment of the labor market is that "conditions continue to improve gradually." On Wednesday, they boosted short-term interest rates for the sixth time since June.
Economists believe rates probably will go up again at the Fed's next meeting on March 22. But there could be a pause if economic data were to suggest a weakening in the economy.
Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan, speaking in London on Friday, didn't discuss interest rate policy or the jobs situation. But he struck a somewhat encouraging note on a possible improvement to the United State's yawning trade deficits.
Greenspan said a variety of factors from a weaker dollar to tougher budget discipline in Congress may finally start to restrain the deficit's explosive growth.
In January, job gains in the service sector were partially offset by job losses at factories and in construction.
Financial services employment increased by 21,000 jobs in January. The leisure and hospitality sector added 20,000 jobs. Education and health services gained 35,000 jobs. Retailed picked up 19,200 jobs.
Manufacturers, however, lost 25,000 jobs in January. Construction companies cut 9,000 positions.
Economists, however, are hopeful job growth will do better.
"I'm not totally gloomy about the outlook. The labor market has traction; what it needs is more momentum," said Bill Cheney, chief economist at John Hancock Financial Services.
Great biased MSM headline!
http://polipundit.com/index.php?p=6327
Gloomy
5.2 percent = the U.S. unemployment rate, as of Jan. 2005.
On the other hand, there’s this:
5.3 percent = the unemployment rate back in Jan. 1997.
Oh, the humanity.
Data: Here. http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/surveymost?bls
I saw some idiot yesterday on MSNBC grudgingly admit President Bush is NOT the first president since Hoover to lose jobs on his watch. She looked as if she had swallowed a carp.
5.2 percent = the U.S. unemployment rate, as of Jan. 2005.
=======
Yes, the leftist MSM ignores the real facts, and spins to the negative. As usual. They are losers, just spreading hate and discontent, with their lies and half-truths.
No kidding! Bush AVOIDS the label, as if he's running down dark streets to escape it. By now we should be used to the bias, but things like this still make me shake my head.
Hoover didn't prop-up the economy by expanding the federal payroll with over $1.7 trillion of deficit spending.
this makes me so dammm mad!!!
Talk about biased headline.
Don't just shake your head- write letters and email to these turds.
ASSOCIATED PRESS SUCKS
Say it with me, buddy:
Four more years!!!
Four more years!!!
Four more years!!!
Four more years!!!
Four more years!!!
Four more years!!!
Four more years!!!
Four more years!!!
Biased headline? The whole story is biased. Good news like the low unemployment rate is due to people giving up the job search, according to this writer. It's a total hack job!
Oh heck no! There's absolutely NOOOOOOOOOOOO liberal media bias. None whatsoever. Nothing to see here. Move along.
No thanks, chanting mindless mantras is not my style.
It still makes me mad too. But we really can take some comfort in realizing we withstood this gabage throughout Bush's first term and we STILL won. People don't fall for the crap anymore. I don't get as angry as I used to because for the first time in my life, I can see that most of the public has turned on the press. And the tide is moving entirely our way.
Where do I find an annual job growth/loss graph going back to the early 20th century? I searched for about an hour yesterday and couldn't find squat. I suspect and interesting story would appear in terms of administration changes.
Willie, I would accept that as a valid criticism of Bush from most freepers. However, considering you are constantly promoting large-scale boondoogle projects on FR, you are hardly being politically or intellectually consistent here.
It's actually becoming fun to see how bad they can get, and collect the worst examples.
We must have been mislead by --
expanding the federal payroll with over $1.7 trillion of deficit spending!!!
expanding the federal payroll with over $1.7 trillion of deficit spending!!!
expanding the federal payroll with over $1.7 trillion of deficit spending!!!
Only problem is that there's no sense or rhythm to it. If we're going to do something, let's do it right:
Four more years!!!
Four more years!!!
Four more years!!!
Four more years!!!
Four more years!!!
Well, I'm a statistic. I lost a job I loved on "Bush's watch."
Do I blame Bush? Hell no! I blame the selfish socialist I was working for who left his wife and family of 33 years for a bimbette! His actions caused his wife to fight tooth and nail to keep the company she'd spent thirty years of her life building, and she had to liquidate my shop to pony up the cash to get "the man who done her wrong" paid off and out of the picture. I would've done the exact same thing, had I been in her shoes.
You know, there are stories just like mine behind anyone who's ever lost a job. And you know what? I was lookin' for a job before I found that one, LOL! I can do it again.
The MSM will never convince me that life is Doom and Gloom. Life is a journey, an adventure and a blast! It's up to us each to chart our own course. (Though a strong economy and a GREAT leader in the White House helps greatly, LOL!)
Really good point, Diana. You know, EVERY company, town, state and country has its share of professional helpless-victims/gripers/complainers/BLAMERS, and they have their h/g/c/B representatives in Washington still skewing the progress and screwing things up.
"As one can plainly see from the following chart, unlike the data depicted by the Establishment Survey, the Household Survey shows an increase of 2.5 million jobs since Mr. Bush took office, and a 4.5 million rise from the January 2002 recession low." -- from Tech Central Station, HERE
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