Despite weak GDP numbers of 1.8% and inflation raging, The Obama Boom continues to defy economic logic. The economy added 244,000 jobs last month. The 3 month streak of 200,000 plus jobs is the best since 2005, despite a very weak economy. Now to be honest, when you read the resort, most of the jobs created were low paying jobs. McDonald’s alone created 62,000 jobs in April. However unlike when Bush was in office, the media will not mention the low pay aspect of these jobs. Instead they will crow about the robust job growth and that good times are back!
American employers in April added more jobs than forecast, indicating the world’s largest economy is weathering the impact of higher fuel prices.
Payrolls expanded by 244,000 last month, the biggest gain since May 2010, after a revised 221,000 increase the prior month, the Labor Department said today in Washington. The jobless rate climbed to 9 percent, the first increase since November, a separate survey of households showed. Employment was forecast to grow by 185,000 last month, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.
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“This is good news, and it’s getting better,” James Glassman, senior economist at JP Morgan Chase & Co. in New York, said in a radio interview on “Bloomberg Surveillance” with Tom Keene. “People increasingly are becoming more confident that we are on a recovery track.”
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The separate survey of households showed the size of the labor force was little changed in April and employment shrank by 190,000. That pushed the share of the population in the labor force down to 58.4 percent from 58.5 percent a month earlier.
Read the rest: U.S. Payrolls Grew 244,000 in April; Unemployment at 9%
Another gem in the report, that is not mentioned in this article. Wages only increases 3 cents! There are also some underlying weaknesses in this report.
The labor participation rate for April, in fact, stood unchanged at 64.2 percent.
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Another measure of unemployment rose as well: the so-called “real” unemployment rate, which rose to 15.9 percent, up two-tenths from the prior month. The government calls the rate the U-6, and it measures not just those looking for work and unable to find jobs but also those “marginally” attached to the labor force and those who are working part-time but who want full-time work.
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But the average workweek, considered a key barometer of economic activity, also did not move, staying stagnant at 34.3 hours. At the same time, wages actually edged higher, up three cents, or 0.1 percent, to $22.95.
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Wages, which are looked at as important for inflation expectations, have gained 1.7 percent over the past year.
Normally spring is when companies hire, therefore growth of 200,000 is what should be expected. However, the jobs being created are low wage positions that don’t allow for upward mobility and increased living standards. As much as the Media will crow about the economy is booming and the great job markets, it’s a lie. Having a job is better than none at all, but McDonald’s and Walmart jobs are not signs of a great economy. This is a 3rd World style economy made up of low wage jobs. The American dream is on life support and something needs to change.
We need Tax and regulatory reform, so companies can create good wage jobs in America again. We have been in an 11 year whole of job and wage creation. Fiscal discipline is needed in Washington and a strong dollar policy is needed once again. Deficit reduction alone will not solves this. We must begin to pay off our debt and not just the interest. One of theways to pay of our debt, is to increase economic growth. Until economic reforms are enacted by Washington, nothing will change. We have had a lost decade of economic stagnation. With the current 3rd World Liberation President and the useless Eunuch Republicans in Congress, we are entering a 2nd lost decade.
America deserevs better than this.
