Posted on 04/01/2011 5:55:26 AM PDT by Red Badger
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. employment recorded a second straight month of solid gains in March and the jobless rate fell to a two-year low of 8.8 percent, marking a decisive shift in the labor market that should help to underpin the economic recovery.
Nonfarm payrolls rose 216,000 last month, the largest increase since May, the Labor Department said on Friday. January and February employment figures were revised to show 7,000 more jobs than previously reported.
The strong job gains come amid indications the economy suffered a minor setback early in the year as bad weather and rising energy prices dampened activity.
"All the evidence is pointing to a strengthening labor market," said Bill Cheney, chief economist at John Hancock Financial Services in Boston.
While the report indicated sufficient underlying strength in the economy to cushion it against the impact of high energy prices, it was not strong enough to discourage the Federal Reserve from its ultra-easy monetary policies.
Policymakers at the U.S. central bank are, however, debating whether they should start considering withdrawing some of their massive economic stimulus.
The private sector accounted for all the new jobs in March, adding 230,000 positions after February's 240,000 increase. Government employment fell 14,000, declining for a fifth straight month as local governments let go 15,000 workers.
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
Lowe’s, Home Depot, Wal-Mart, Ace, all are in full garden shop mode now..................
Thank you for your illumination.
“April Fool’s!”
My thoughts exactly.
April Fools!
No, we’re not making a joke - we’re calling everyone who believes this an “April Fool”. :)
“It will be interesting to see what numbers are reported when the next wave of college grads hits the workforce. Real problem is that many of them are practically illiterate.”
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A fact, I don’t think I have seen a recent university graduate who could pass my high school finals from 1962 and I don’t think many could pass the test to even ENTER the public high school I attended back then.
Most if not all right wing sites just tell the truth... the truth is the truth and contains no degrees.
LLS
There were 1,553,000 first time jobless claims in March. 216,000 new jobs were added. Okay, I am sure this has been explained before, but could somebody go through it again for me. How can the unemployment rate fall given these facts?”
Real math was replaced by “New Math”.
Now, New Math has been replaced by NObama Math.
You are correct-—these figures are bogus.
You are so right. The closest to our version on CBS, CNN and MSNBC was Scrappleface
Exactly... thanks.
LLS
With NO transparentcy, how could ANYONE trust numbers coming out of the government? I am sure its an April Fools joke.
Does anybody believe this? Weekly job loss totals were a negative so how does the monthly increase?
The BLS does the payroll (total non-farm jobs) and the household (jobless rate) during the 2nd week of each month.
It has been explained before numerous times.
The jobless claims are a component of the jobless rate
The payroll number is derived from a survey of payrolls reported by non-agri employers
Sounds like Bill Cheney was in the tank for the Dems.
The jobless claims are the total # of people who filed for unemployment for the 1st time.
The jobless claims DON’T count how many people found a job.
The non-farm payrolls are from a separate survey of employers.
So, what you’re saying is: 400K people signed up for unemployment for the first time yet 403K found a job? (4 weeks X 3K = 12K increase in jobs - rounding involved)
Still don’t believe it.
216K
Just re-read the story.
So 400K filed for the first time but 500K others found jobs.
Even harder to believe.
Last post... my math on #99 sucks but you get the gist.
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