MIXED SIGNALS AMID “EUPHORIA” ON EMPLOYMENT …
The American economy added 288,000 jobs in June – sending the nation’s employment rate to a six-year low of 6.1 percent. Also job growth in April and May was revised upward by nearly 30,000 additional positions.
Great news, right? Not so fast …
For the third straight month, the nation’s labor participation rate remained stuck at 62.8 percent. Before last fall, it hadn’t plumbed those depths since 1978. All told, 111,000 additional working age Americans were not part of the labor force in June – sending the nationwide total to a record 92.1 million.
That’s right … 92.1 million working age Americans are not part of the nation’s labor force.
Additionally, wage growth remained flat for the second straight month – with the average private sector hourly wage climbing only six cents to $24.45. That figure represents a two percent gain over the previous year – however it’s been more than wiped out by rising consumer prices.
The worst news of all? June’s “Jobs Bonanza” was exclusively a part-time phenomenon. The number of part-time jobs surged last month by 779,000, according to the data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). That’s the largest jump in more than two decades.
Full-time positions? Those plunged by 523,000 …
So … while the quantity of jobs last month may have been good, the quality was not.
Look, we hate to play Debbie Downer when it comes to economic data … we really do. We want nothing more than for the American private sector to rebound (no matter who gets the political credit for it). A robust American economy is good for everyone. But the numbers coming out of Washington, D.C. aren’t as positive as the mainstream media would have you believe.
And it’s time we all start acknowledging that …
15 comments
Well, you missed the the year over year wage increase was 2% and hours worked went up .1%. Also Manufacturing work week is at 41.1 hours, so if that continues, they will hire more people. Thanks zerohedge.
Just read where you had the 2% increase. Sorry about that. Missed it at first.
Yes, a 2 percent increase completely wiped out by price increases.
So, I’m a cop. I certainly didn’t see a 2% cost of living increase. Actually, increasing deductions dropped my take-home more than that.
“Look, we hate to play Debbie Downer…”
Maybe you should play Debbie Downer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ctM3U1SOVQg
OK – the nuts from Whackistan should be out soon. Somehow, at this point, with this many months improvement – you sort of got to admit there’s an improvement. It’s all Haley’s doing.
“Look, we hate to play Debbie Downer…we really do.”
Do you really? IT’S ALL YOU DO!!!!
Even if every single person in the country was employed and working two or three jobs at the same time FITS would find some way to distort and denigrate the employment numbers if they even remotely cast a positive reflection on President Obama. ODS is still rampant.
Record #’s unemployed and 36 year high in labor participation rate and you think things are going well? How’s someone gonna enjoy 17000 stock market when they are using their savings to survive?
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/ali-meyer/record-number-americans-not-labor-force-june
CNS News? Really? I would certainly not look to CNS to tell me whether things were going well or not but please be my guest.
So all the money printing was worth it, right? ….the calm before the storm…the long term cost of the money printing induced mini surge is going to be awful….banks are starting to lend their reserves, which was the only thing keeping a lid on inflation.
stock market over 17000 due to these jobs and to Obama’s polices.
Shhhhhhh! Not allowed to even suggest that President Obama has done anything positive.
Well you may not have thought much of it, but the Dow certainly did. Closed above 17000. Now how much is it up since Bush left office> O yea more than double.
As long as Morgan Freeman is working, it’s OK if the President lies again. Freeman has great numbers and genuinely cares about real science, even if he IS a racist. The President has lousy numbers, is a serial racist, and can’t tell the difference between curb snot and fishing worms.