U.S. added 308,000 jobs in March, well above forecasts

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U.S. added 308,000 jobs in March, well above forecasts. Details soon.Stocks Set to Rise on Job Creation Hopes
April 02, 2004 08:09:00 AM ET
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=568&ncid=749&e=1&u=/nm/20040402/bs_nm/economy_jobs_dc

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. employment rose last month at the fastest pace in nearly four years, easily outstripping expectations, as workers returned after a grocery store strike and construction hiring bounced back on better weather, a government report on Friday showed. <snip>

Non-farm payrolls climbed 308,000 in March, the Labor Department said, the biggest gain since April 2000 and well above the 103,000 rise expected on Wall Street.

The unemployment rate ticked up to 5.7 percent from the two-year low of 5.6 percent seen in January and February.

Upward revisions to January and February payrolls helped contribute to the positive tone of the report, which could fuel expectations that the Federal Reserve may be closer to raising overnight interest rates from their current 1958 low of 1 percent than had been thought. <snip>

BEFORE THE REPORT REUTERS WAS SAYING
By Bill Rigby

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks are set to rise on Friday as investors anticipate a sharp pickup in new jobs in Friday's monthly employment report.

The report, due at 8:30 a.m. (1330 GMT), will be closely watched for signs that the economy's recovery is sustainable.

``It's all about jobs -- the market has been subdued all week long just waiting for the numbers,'' said David Hegarty, head of equity trading for Commerzbank Securities. ``A lot of people are looking for an upside on the number.''

Economists expect to see between 103,000 and 120,000 new jobs created in March, up from 21,000 in February. The unemployment rate is expected to hold steady at 5.6 percent.

The number of jobs created would have to beat that estimate comfortably to trigger a rally, Hegarty said, while any sell-off would likely be limited by technical support levels if the jobs data disappoints.


DETAILS FROM DOL ON THE REPORT
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm

Technical information:
Household data: (202) 691-6378 USDL 04-596
http://www.bls.gov/cps/

Establishment data: 691-6555 Transmission of material in this release is
http://www.bls.gov/ces/ embargoed until 8:30 A.M. (EST),
Media contact: 691-5902 Friday, April 2, 2004.


THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: MARCH 2004

Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 308,000 in March, and the
unemployment rate was about unchanged at 5.7 percent, the Bureau of LaborStatistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Payroll job growth was fairly widespread, as construction employment rose sharply and several major service-providing industries also added jobs.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

The unemployment rate, 5.7 percent, and the number of unemployed persons, 8.4 million, were essentially unchanged in March. Both measures remained below their recent highs of June 2003.Unemployment rates for the major worker groups--adult men (5.2 percent), adult women (5.1 percent), teenagers (16.5 percent), whites (5.1 percent), blacks (10.2 percent), and Hispanics or Latinos (7.4 percent)--showed little or no change over the month. The unemployment rate for Asians was 4.2 percent in March, not seasonally adjusted.
(See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

Total employment in March held at 138.3 million, and the employment-population ratio--the proportion of the population age 16 and over with jobs--was essentially unchanged at 62.1 percent. The civilian labor force was about unchanged over the month at 146.7 million, and the labor force participation rate remained at 65.9 percent. (See table A-1.)

In March, the number of persons who worked part time for economic reasons increased to 4.7 million, about the same level as in January. These individuals indicated that they would like to work full time but were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find full-time jobs. (See table A-5.)

Persons Not in the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

The number of persons who were marginally attached to the labor force totaled 1.6 million in March, about the same as a year earlier. (Data are not seasonally adjusted.) These individuals wanted and were available to work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed, however, because they did not actively search for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. There were 514,000 discouraged workers in March, also about the same as a year earlier. Discourageworkers, a subset of the marginally attached, were not currently looking for work specifically because they believed no jobs were available for them. The other 1.1 million marginally attached had not searched for work for reasons such as school or family responsibilities. (See table A-13.)

Industry Payroll Employment (Establishment Survey Data)

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 308,000 in March to 130.5 million, seasonally adjusted. The over-the-month increase in employment included gains in construction, retail trade, and health care and social assistance. The number of factory jobs was unchanged in March. Since August 2003, payroll employment has risen by 759,000. (See table B-1.)


- 2 -

Table A. Major indicators of labor market activity, seasonally adjusted (Numbers in thousands)
______________________________________________________________________________
| Quarterly | |
| averages | Monthly data |
|_________________|__________________________| Feb.-
Category | 2003 | 2004 1/| 2004 | Mar.
|_________________|_________________ ________|change
| IV | I | Jan. 1/| Feb. | Mar. |
_________________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______
HOUSEHOLD DATA | Labor force status
|____________________________________________________
Civilian labor force.....| 146,986| 146,661| 146,863| 146,471| 146,650| 179
Employment.............| 138,369| 138,388| 138,566| 138,301| 138,298| -3
Unemployment...........| 8,616| 8,273| 8,297| 8,170| 8,352| 182
Not in labor force.......| 75,290| 75,695| 75,298| 75,886| 75,900| 14
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Unemployment rates
|____________________________________________________
All workers..............| 5.9| 5.6| 5.6| 5.6| 5.7| 0.1
Adult men..............| 5.5| 5.1| 5.1| 5.1| 5.2| .1
Adult women............| 5.1| 5.0| 5.0| 4.9| 5.1| .2
Teenagers..............| 16.3| 16.6| 16.7| 16.6| 16.5| -.1
White..................| 5.1| 5.0| 4.9| 4.9| 5.1| .2
Black or African | | | | | |
American.............| 10.7| 10.1| 10.5| 9.8| 10.2| .4
Hispanic or Latino | | | | | |
ethnicity............| 7.1| 7.4| 7.3| 7.4| 7.4| .0
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
ESTABLISHMENT DATA | Employment
|____________________________________________________
Nonfarm employment.......| 130,002|p130,327| 130,194|p130,240|p130,548| p308
Goods-producing 2/.....| 21,676| p21,706| 21,696| p21,672| p21,750| p78
Construction.........| 6,766| p6,822| 6,812| p6,791| p6,862| p71
Manufacturing........| 14,340| p14,311| 14,314| p14,310| p14,310| p0
Service-providing 2/...| 108,326|p108,621| 108,498|p108,568|p108,798| p230
Retail trade.........| 14,915| p14,971| 14,945| p14,961| p15,008| p47
Professional and | | | | | |
business services..| 16,114| p16,195| 16,172| p16,185| p16,227| p42
Education and health | | | | | |
services...........| 16,705| p16,773| 16,746| p16,767| p16,806| p39
Leisure and | | | | | |
hospitality........| 12,172| p12,229| 12,218| p12,221| p12,249| p28
Government...........| 21,549| p21,547| 21,527| p21,542| p21,573| p31
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Hours of work 3/
|____________________________________________________
Total private............| 33.7| p33.8| 33.8| p33.8| p33.7| p-0.1
Manufacturing..........| 40.6| p41.0| 41.0| p41.0| p40.9| p-.1
Overtime.............| 4.4| p4.6| 4.5| p4.6| p4.6| p.0
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Indexes of aggregate weekly hours (2002=100) 3/
|____________________________________________________
Total private............| 98.7| p99.1| 99.1| p99.1| p99.0| p-0.1
|________|________|________|________|________|_______
| Earnings 3/
|____________________________________________________
Avg. hourly earnings, | | | | | |
total private..........| $15.45| p$15.52| $15.49| p$15.52| p$15.54| p$0.02
Avg. weekly earnings, | | | | | |
total private..........| 520.55| p523.95| 523.56| p524.58| p523.70| p-.88
_________________________|________|________|________|________|________|_______

1 Beginning in January 2004, household data reflect revised population
controls used in the Current Population Survey.
2 Includes other industries, not shown separately.
3 Data relate to private production or nonsupervisory workers.
p=preliminary.

- 3 -

Construction employment increased by 71,000 in March, following a decline
in February. This industry has added 201,000 jobs over the past year. Most
of the March employment gain occurred among specialty trade contractors.

Retail trade added 47,000 jobs in March. This sector has added 132,000
jobs since December, after posting a net job loss in 2003. Within retail
trade, employment in food stores increased by 13,000 over the month, reflect-
ing the net impact of workers returning from a strike. Wholesale trade em-
ployment edged up over the month. Since October, the industry has added
39,000 jobs.

Employment in health care and social assistance rose by 36,000 in March.
Over the year, this industry has gained 255,000 jobs. In March, employment
increased in hospitals (12,000), offices of physicians (9,000), and nursing
and residential care facilities (7,000).

In the financial sector, employment in credit intermediation and related
activities grew by 11,000 in March. Following declines in the last quarter
of 2003, employment in credit intermediation expanded in the first quarter,
reflecting a rise in mortgage refinancing activity. Prior to the fourth
quarter of 2003, the industry had been adding jobs for about 3 years.

Professional and business services added 42,000 jobs in March. Small em-
ployment increases occurred in several of the component industries, including
architectural and engineering services, computer systems design, and manage-
ment consulting. Elsewhere in professional and business services, employment
in temporary help services was about unchanged over the month. Since April
2003, however, the industry has added 212,000 jobs.

Within the leisure and hospitality sector, employment in food services and
drinking places increased by 27,000 over the month and by 186,000 over the
year.

Manufacturing employment was unchanged in March at 14.3 million. Declines
in manufacturing employment began moderating late last summer. Employment in
both durable and nondurable goods manufacturing was little changed in March.

Employment in a number of other industries edged up in March, including
transportation and warehousing (13,000), utilities (2,000), and government
(31,000). Within government, the March job gain was concentrated in state
and local education.

Weekly Hours (Establishment Survey Data)

The average workweek for production or nonsupervisory workers on private
nonfarm payrolls decreased by 0.1 hour in March to 33.7 hours, seasonally
adjusted. The manufacturing workweek also declined by 0.1 hour to 40.9 hours.
Manufacturing overtime was unchanged at 4.6 hours over the month.
(See table B-2.)

The index of aggregate weekly hours of production or nonsupervisory workers
on private nonfarm payrolls fell by 0.1 percent in March to 99.0 (2002=100).
The manufacturing index was down by 0.3 percent over the month to 94.1. (See
table B-5.)

Hourly and Weekly Earnings (Establishment Survey Data)

Average hourly earnings of production or nonsupervisory workers on private
nonfarm payrolls increased by 2 cents in March to $15.54, seasonally adjusted.
Average weekly earnings fell by 0.2 percent over the month to $523.70. Over
the year, average hourly earnings grew by 1.8 percent, and average weekly earn-
ings increased by 1.5 percent. (See table B-3.)

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t14.htm

Table B-1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry sector and selected industry detail
ESTABLISHMENT DATA ESTABLISHMENT DATA

Table B-1. Employees on nonfarm payrolls by industry sector and selected industry detail

(In thousands)


Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted

Change
Industry Mar. Jan. Feb. Mar. Mar. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar. from:
2003 2004 2004p 2004p 2003 2003 2003 2004 2004p 2004p Feb. 2004-
Mar. 2004p

Total nonfarm......... 129,148 128,190 128,794 129,801 129,921 130,027 130,035 130,194 130,240 130,548 308

Total private........... 107,131 106,767 106,968 107,816 108,305 108,483 108,491 108,667 108,698 108,975 277

Goods-producing............. 21,529 21,168 21,126 21,335 21,949 21,686 21,668 21,696 21,672 21,750 78

Natural resources and mining.... 556 556 556 563 571 571 570 570 571 578 7
Logging...................... 64.2 62.9 62.1 62.0 69.2 67.6 65.9 65.1 64.2 66.7 2.5
Mining......................... 491.5 492.9 494.0 501.2 501.6 503.4 504.3 505.1 506.5 510.8 4.3
Oil and gas extraction........ 119.8 126.8 128.5 128.4 121.2 123.9 124.6 126.9 128.4 129.2 .8
Mining, except oil and gas(1). 196.4 191.7 191.1 196.3 201.9 202.4 202.0 200.0 199.8 201.8 2.0
Coal mining.................. 70.5 69.2 69.4 70.0 70.7 69.5 69.8 69.6 69.9 70.2 .3
Support activities for mining. 175.3 174.4 174.4 176.5 178.5 177.1 177.7 178.2 178.3 179.8 1.5

Construction.................... 6,319 6,399 6,356 6,516 6,661 6,771 6,774 6,812 6,791 6,862 71
Construction of buildings..... 1,510.6 1,535.2 1,524.0 1,550.5 1,571.4 1,583.9 1,585.1 1,593.3 1,591.4 1,610.0 18.6
Heavy and civil engineering
construction................. 811.6 816.6 806.8 840.4 898.1 918.8 920.7 928.0 923.9 925.9 2.0
Specialty trade contractors... 3,997.0 4,046.9 4,025.0 4,124.7 4,191.3 4,268.6 4,268.4 4,290.2 4,276.0 4,325.9 49.9

Manufacturing................... 14,654 14,213 14,214 14,256 14,717 14,344 14,324 14,314 14,310 14,310 0
Production workers........... 10,303 9,952 9,953 9,991 10,346 10,048 10,044 10,035 10,027 10,024 -3

Durable goods.................. 9,066 8,818 8,835 8,864 9,092 8,874 8,868 8,869 8,877 8,882 5
Production workers........... 6,232 6,040 6,049 6,074 6,244 6,089 6,079 6,081 6,081 6,080 -1

Wood products................. 528.5 526.0 528.9 529.9 537.4 536.3 536.6 536.3 538.5 538.5 .0
Nonmetallic mineral products.. 485.9 475.7 471.0 480.5 497.1 489.7 487.5 492.7 488.6 490.0 1.4
Primary metals................ 488.8 462.2 460.8 461.0 489.3 464.1 464.6 462.2 461.5 460.7 -.8
Fabricated metal products..... 1,492.0 1,469.2 1,473.3 1,475.6 1,494.5 1,468.1 1,471.2 1,471.8 1,475.9 1,476.7 .8
Machinery..................... 1,171.1 1,137.3 1,140.3 1,143.8 1,169.3 1,142.5 1,140.4 1,138.7 1,139.5 1,141.6 2.1
Computer and electronic
products(1).................. 1,387.0 1,331.2 1,331.6 1,333.9 1,388.6 1,334.4 1,332.2 1,333.2 1,332.9 1,334.2 1.3
Computer and peripheral
equipment................... 231.4 218.2 218.2 219.0 231.3 219.1 217.8 219.4 219.1 218.9 -.2
Communications equipment..... 160.2 154.8 155.2 154.7 160.6 154.4 153.0 154.8 155.0 155.0 .0
Semiconductors and electronic
components.................. 472.0 449.3 450.9 451.5 472.2 451.2 451.3 450.2 451.1 451.2 .1
Electronic instruments....... 434.2 424.4 422.0 423.3 434.9 425.2 425.3 423.7 422.1 423.5 1.4
Electrical equipment and
appliances................... 469.6 449.0 448.6 448.3 469.3 450.9 451.2 449.8 448.9 447.0 -1.9
Transportation equipment...... 1,792.1 1,753.4 1,762.4 1,765.7 1,793.6 1,766.5 1,762.7 1,760.6 1,765.8 1,765.2 -.6
Furniture and related products 580.6 567.0 567.8 573.6 581.9 568.9 569.3 571.3 572.1 575.5 3.4
Miscellaneous manufacturing... 670.1 646.9 650.3 652.0 670.9 652.7 651.9 652.0 653.3 652.4 -.9

Nondurable goods............... 5,588 5,395 5,379 5,392 5,625 5,470 5,456 5,445 5,433 5,428 -5
Production workers........... 4,071 3,912 3,904 3,917 4,102 3,959 3,965 3,954 3,946 3,944 -2

Food manufacturing............ 1,493.2 1,480.1 1,472.1 1,470.9 1,517.3 1,508.3 1,506.3 1,500.7 1,499.6 1,498.4 -1.2
Beverages and tobacco products 197.5 193.5 190.2 190.5 202.2 198.3 198.3 197.7 195.9 195.6 -.3
Textile mills................. 274.6 237.5 235.1 238.0 274.2 245.1 241.0 239.2 237.1 237.2 .1
Textile product mills......... 186.3 174.3 173.4 177.7 187.2 175.2 174.3 176.9 175.7 177.2 1.5
Apparel....................... 326.9 289.9 293.5 293.6 326.8 297.7 297.7 296.1 296.4 292.8 -3.6
Leather and allied products... 46.7 43.8 44.3 46.1 46.8 44.1 44.3 44.6 45.0 45.7 .7
Paper and paper products...... 522.1 508.4 505.2 504.9 525.0 511.7 510.3 509.8 507.8 507.7 -.1
Printing and related support
activities................... 684.6 665.2 661.1 659.8 685.7 673.1 670.1 667.6 664.3 660.7 -3.6
Petroleum and coal products... 114.4 110.7 109.5 110.9 116.8 112.0 112.4 114.3 113.0 113.0 .0
Chemicals..................... 916.1 890.3 893.6 895.6 916.2 897.6 895.9 893.7 894.6 894.8 .2
Plastics and rubber products.. 825.6 801.2 801.4 803.8 826.9 806.5 805.8 804.8 803.5 804.5 1.0

Service-providing........... 107,619 107,022 107,668 108,466 107,972 108,341 108,367 108,498 108,568 108,798 230

Private service-providing.. 85,602 85,599 85,842 86,481 86,356 86,797 86,823 86,971 87,026 87,225 199

Trade, transportation, and
utilities...................... 24,994 25,132 24,951 25,084 25,328 25,261 25,211 25,312 25,325 25,398 73

Wholesale trade................ 5,598.2 5,568.8 5,568.9 5,596.0 5,628.3 5,592.7 5,598.4 5,611.4 5,610.1 5,621.0 10.9
Durable goods................. 2,948.5 2,940.0 2,937.3 2,950.3 2,961.2 2,943.9 2,945.8 2,954.9 2,952.7 2,961.1 8.4
Nondurable goods.............. 1,997.6 1,970.0 1,971.3 1,980.9 2,013.0 1,989.2 1,991.8 1,993.7 1,993.6 1,993.4 -.2
Electronic markets and agents
and brokers.................. 652.1 658.8 660.3 664.8 654.1 659.6 660.8 662.8 663.8 666.5 2.7

Retail trade...................14,648.1 14,842.1 14,672.4 14,754.0 14,911.6 14,921.7 14,876.0 14,944.8 14,960.9 15,008.0 47.1
Motor vehicle and parts
dealers(1)................... 1,861.1 1,870.2 1,877.7 1,894.4 1,874.3 1,892.9 1,893.7 1,895.4 1,900.7 1,907.5 6.8
Automobile dealers........... 1,246.4 1,251.7 1,257.0 1,263.7 1,249.4 1,258.9 1,259.5 1,261.3 1,264.3 1,267.3 3.0
Furniture and home furnishings
stores....................... 540.2 548.0 540.5 542.2 543.5 544.8 547.2 546.4 544.7 545.6 .9
Electronics and appliance
stores....................... 510.9 517.5 508.0 507.8 513.2 512.8 511.9 509.3 507.4 509.4 2.0
Building material and garden
supply stores................ 1,143.2 1,167.6 1,164.8 1,200.4 1,173.7 1,210.0 1,209.5 1,221.4 1,226.8 1,231.9 5.1
Food and beverage stores...... 2,818.0 2,813.6 2,804.8 2,814.5 2,854.0 2,821.4 2,813.9 2,826.3 2,833.1 2,845.9 12.8
Health and personal care
stores....................... 930.8 956.2 950.9 949.9 937.3 951.6 952.6 954.1 954.9 956.4 1.5
Gasoline stations............. 871.3 868.2 860.5 861.6 881.7 875.2 871.1 875.1 872.1 871.7 -.4
Clothing and clothing
accessories stores........... 1,260.7 1,312.2 1,274.3 1,281.5 1,296.8 1,297.1 1,301.0 1,304.3 1,310.7 1,316.5 5.8
Sporting goods, hobby, book,
and music stores............. 634.9 644.4 623.2 617.3 651.2 641.3 633.2 635.9 635.3 632.7 -2.6
General merchandise stores(1). 2,733.7 2,804.2 2,728.9 2,752.5 2,815.8 2,826.4 2,793.4 2,822.7 2,823.2 2,834.0 10.8
Department stores............ 1,575.4 1,604.8 1,544.7 1,555.8 1,628.8 1,612.6 1,601.3 1,603.4 1,600.7 1,608.0 7.3
Miscellaneous store retailers. 918.2 915.2 915.6 910.9 939.2 930.9 924.4 929.6 926.6 930.4 3.8
Nonstore retailers............ 425.1 424.8 423.2 421.0 430.9 417.3 424.1 424.3 425.4 426.0 .6

Transportation and warehousing. 4,165.8 4,143.3 4,132.8 4,154.4 4,204.3 4,168.0 4,157.0 4,175.9 4,174.6 4,187.8 13.2
Air transportation............ 545.2 505.9 506.9 511.9 550.5 511.5 512.9 510.2 511.8 514.4 2.6
Rail transportation........... 213.2 214.0 213.8 214.5 214.7 215.5 215.5 215.4 215.7 215.9 .2
Water transportation.......... 52.0 48.8 46.5 47.6 53.4 50.9 50.0 50.6 48.8 49.0 .2
Truck transportation.......... 1,303.5 1,315.4 1,312.0 1,318.2 1,329.0 1,335.7 1,338.7 1,343.6 1,342.3 1,342.9 .6
Transit and ground passenger
transportation............... 390.9 389.8 389.7 392.5 376.4 385.7 385.0 382.3 380.4 379.1 -1.3
Pipeline transportation....... 40.8 38.3 37.9 37.7 41.0 38.7 38.8 38.3 38.1 37.9 -.2
Scenic and sightseeing
transportation............... 21.5 23.7 24.3 25.6 26.5 28.7 29.4 28.7 30.8 31.7 .9
Support activities for
transportation............... 513.8 509.3 511.6 512.5 518.5 512.4 511.6 514.1 514.4 516.8 2.4
Couriers and messengers....... 565.5 572.1 565.2 565.2 570.8 564.7 559.0 566.9 567.6 568.3 .7
Warehousing and storage....... 519.4 526.0 524.9 528.7 523.5 524.2 516.1 525.8 524.7 531.8 7.1

Utilities...................... 581.4 578.2 576.9 579.7 583.4 578.9 579.3 580.2 579.8 581.4 1.6

Information..................... 3,214 3,151 3,155 3,158 3,221 3,172 3,175 3,163 3,168 3,167 -1
Publishing industries, except
Internet..................... 935.0 912.1 912.9 914.1 935.9 918.4 917.4 914.0 914.8 915.5 .7
Motion picture and sound
recording industries......... 367.0 377.2 377.6 376.0 371.3 382.7 385.2 379.7 382.8 381.1 -1.7
Broadcasting, except Internet. 326.3 328.4 330.7 332.8 327.0 327.0 329.5 329.7 331.8 333.1 1.3
Internet publishing and
broadcasting................. 30.0 30.4 31.7 31.8 30.1 30.4 30.4 30.8 31.8 31.8 .0
Telecommunications............ 1,097.0 1,059.0 1,055.3 1,053.1 1,098.6 1,062.2 1,061.2 1,061.3 1,057.4 1,055.4 -2.0
ISPs, search portals, and data
processing................... 410.3 396.8 400.1 402.5 409.6 402.6 402.6 400.1 402.1 402.6 .5
Other information services.... 48.3 47.3 47.1 47.9 48.1 48.2 48.2 47.8 47.5 47.9 .4

Financial activities............ 7,910 7,926 7,938 7,956 7,945 7,985 7,981 7,981 7,989 7,995 6
Finance and insurance.......... 5,895.4 5,899.8 5,910.9 5,921.6 5,902.9 5,922.7 5,916.5 5,917.1 5,925.2 5,931.8 6.6
Monetary authorities - central
bank......................... 22.8 22.4 22.3 22.3 22.9 22.5 22.5 22.4 22.4 22.4 .0
Credit intermediation and
related activities(1)........ 2,758.3 2,777.4 2,778.5 2,790.4 2,763.5 2,790.3 2,783.3 2,785.3 2,788.7 2,799.2 10.5
Depository credit
intermediation(1)........... 1,741.4 1,758.2 1,758.5 1,759.6 1,745.0 1,758.1 1,757.1 1,758.7 1,763.4 1,763.6 .2
Commercial banking.......... 1,275.5 1,279.5 1,278.6 1,278.8 1,279.1 1,280.5 1,278.9 1,280.4 1,282.5 1,282.7 .2
Securities, commodity
contracts, investments....... 761.0 771.9 776.6 777.4 764.6 769.1 771.9 773.8 778.0 780.1 2.1
Insurance carriers and related
activities................... 2,270.0 2,248.8 2,253.7 2,251.7 2,268.5 2,261.2 2,258.1 2,255.8 2,256.4 2,250.4 -6.0
Funds, trusts, and other
financial vehicles........... 83.3 79.3 79.8 79.8 83.4 79.6 80.7 79.8 79.7 79.7 .0
Real estate and rental and
leasing....................... 2,014.2 2,025.8 2,027.2 2,034.5 2,041.7 2,062.7 2,064.0 2,063.6 2,064.1 2,063.0 -1.1
Real estate................... 1,360.7 1,372.2 1,376.9 1,384.3 1,376.8 1,394.5 1,395.7 1,397.7 1,399.3 1,400.3 1.0
Rental and leasing services... 627.1 624.4 620.3 620.6 637.9 639.0 638.3 636.0 634.4 632.3 -2.1
Lessors of nonfinancial
intangible assets............ 26.4 29.2 30.0 29.6 27.0 29.2 30.0 29.9 30.4 30.4 .0

Professional and business
services....................... 15,700 15,802 15,897 16,039 15,871 16,114 16,159 16,172 16,185 16,227 42
Professional and technical
services(1)................... 6,697.1 6,680.5 6,732.7 6,757.1 6,626.1 6,647.9 6,669.3 6,657.9 6,662.0 6,689.2 27.2
Legal services............... 1,130.9 1,131.0 1,132.4 1,131.6 1,136.1 1,142.9 1,140.5 1,138.7 1,138.6 1,137.4 -1.2
Accounting and bookkeeping
services.................... 935.2 900.4 944.1 928.2 827.7 810.6 826.6 815.2 812.6 819.0 6.4
Architectural and engineering
services.................... 1,212.1 1,216.2 1,215.6 1,226.9 1,228.7 1,233.9 1,235.2 1,236.0 1,238.8 1,244.0 5.2
Computer systems design and
related services............ 1,112.9 1,103.4 1,102.4 1,109.0 1,110.3 1,105.7 1,105.7 1,104.6 1,104.0 1,108.9 4.9
Management and technical
consulting services......... 739.1 754.8 761.9 770.3 742.8 760.6 764.0 765.4 769.0 774.5 5.5
Management of companies and
enterprises................... 1,667.9 1,661.3 1,658.6 1,659.9 1,679.2 1,671.6 1,670.2 1,675.1 1,672.6 1,670.3 -2.3
Administrative and waste
services...................... 7,335.4 7,460.6 7,505.7 7,622.0 7,565.8 7,794.5 7,819.2 7,838.5 7,850.7 7,867.2 16.5
Administrative and support
services(1).................. 7,022.1 7,147.6 7,191.0 7,304.9 7,246.3 7,473.7 7,496.3 7,517.5 7,528.3 7,544.2 15.9
Employment services(1)....... 3,114.7 3,258.1 3,311.0 3,363.6 3,240.2 3,427.6 3,461.3 3,473.8 3,496.1 3,496.6 .5
Temporary help services..... 2,069.1 2,185.7 2,231.2 2,269.4 2,163.7 2,319.4 2,355.3 2,344.3 2,372.9 2,371.1 -1.8
Business support services.... 749.5 732.0 738.0 745.9 745.7 746.7 745.1 739.0 738.8 742.7 3.9
Services to buildings and
dwellings................... 1,513.9 1,502.3 1,491.2 1,540.7 1,607.0 1,639.4 1,635.9 1,637.1 1,631.5 1,639.6 8.1
Waste management and
remediation services......... 313.3 313.0 314.7 317.1 319.5 320.8 322.9 321.0 322.4 323.0 .6

Education and health services... 16,632 16,635 16,865 16,948 16,488 16,705 16,731 16,746 16,767 16,806 39
Educational services........... 2,817.1 2,653.3 2,863.6 2,879.9 2,672.1 2,723.1 2,728.0 2,729.3 2,731.7 2,735.5 3.8
Health care and social
assistance....................13,814.7 13,982.0 14,001.7 14,068.2 13,815.9 13,981.5 14,003.2 14,017.1 14,034.9 14,070.4 35.5
Ambulatory health care
services(1).................. 4,730.8 4,824.6 4,834.4 4,856.7 4,739.2 4,818.7 4,831.0 4,840.3 4,853.8 4,865.4 11.6
Offices of physicians........ 1,987.1 2,028.7 2,028.9 2,038.9 1,990.7 2,023.3 2,030.0 2,032.3 2,033.9 2,042.4 8.5
Outpatient care centers...... 423.4 427.0 430.9 430.5 422.9 426.4 425.0 427.8 430.8 429.6 -1.2
Home health care services.... 711.6 737.2 731.8 739.8 714.0 735.7 739.9 740.2 740.4 742.8 2.4
Hospitals..................... 4,229.4 4,281.6 4,276.9 4,292.3 4,233.4 4,278.1 4,283.9 4,287.8 4,284.6 4,296.2 11.6
Nursing and residential care
facilities(1)................ 2,771.5 2,785.1 2,778.8 2,793.6 2,774.7 2,792.8 2,793.0 2,792.1 2,791.2 2,798.6 7.4
Nursing care facilities...... 1,578.9 1,576.9 1,572.2 1,580.0 1,580.4 1,584.1 1,581.7 1,580.3 1,578.8 1,582.8 4.0
Social assistance(1).......... 2,083.0 2,090.7 2,111.6 2,125.6 2,068.6 2,091.9 2,095.3 2,096.9 2,105.3 2,110.2 4.9
Child day care services...... 771.1 770.7 783.9 788.9 756.4 766.3 770.0 766.3 772.1 773.1 1.0

Leisure and hospitality......... 11,769 11,634 11,701 11,925 12,107 12,178 12,192 12,218 12,221 12,249 28
Arts, entertainment, and
recreation.................... 1,665.2 1,596.3 1,608.9 1,660.5 1,807.8 1,799.4 1,795.2 1,801.4 1,799.5 1,800.7 1.2
Performing arts and spectator
sports....................... 358.7 335.4 344.5 349.6 377.0 371.7 368.8 369.4 369.3 367.2 -2.1
Museums, historical sites,
zoos, and parks.............. 109.2 105.2 104.5 108.1 114.8 113.3 113.1 113.4 113.2 113.5 .3
Amusements, gambling, and
recreation................... 1,197.3 1,155.7 1,159.9 1,202.8 1,316.0 1,314.4 1,313.3 1,318.6 1,317.0 1,320.0 3.0
Accommodations and food
services......................10,103.6 10,037.5 10,091.9 10,264.4 10,299.6 10,378.9 10,396.3 10,416.5 10,421.0 10,448.1 27.1
Accommodations................ 1,725.0 1,659.5 1,671.1 1,692.5 1,786.7 1,751.7 1,763.0 1,752.1 1,749.4 1,749.2 -.2
Food services and drinking
places....................... 8,378.6 8,378.0 8,420.8 8,571.9 8,512.9 8,627.2 8,633.3 8,664.4 8,671.6 8,698.9 27.3

Other services.................. 5,383 5,319 5,335 5,371 5,396 5,382 5,374 5,379 5,371 5,383 12
Repair and maintenance........ 1,233.4 1,223.3 1,223.9 1,235.0 1,233.3 1,234.4 1,228.5 1,233.5 1,229.7 1,234.9 5.2
Personal and laundry services. 1,253.7 1,234.5 1,231.6 1,247.2 1,262.2 1,254.1 1,250.2 1,251.2 1,247.7 1,255.7 8.0
Membership associations and
organizations................ 2,896.1 2,861.4 2,879.2 2,888.9 2,900.2 2,893.9 2,895.7 2,894.5 2,893.8 2,892.8 -1.0

Government...................... 22,017 21,423 21,826 21,985 21,616 21,544 21,544 21,527 21,542 21,573 31
Federal........................ 2,774 2,694 2,699 2,700 2,789 2,723 2,720 2,715 2,714 2,713 -1
Federal, except U.S. Postal
Service...................... 1,961.3 1,901.9 1,909.3 1,912.6 1,972.7 1,924.9 1,928.9 1,921.5 1,922.3 1,923.0 .7
U.S. Postal Service........... 813.1 791.9 789.2 787.0 816.5 798.1 791.4 793.1 792.0 790.2 -1.8
State government............... 5,164 4,925 5,117 5,167 5,024 5,023 5,027 5,007 5,018 5,028 10
State government education.... 2,404.8 2,201.4 2,392.5 2,433.0 2,258.7 2,282.5 2,285.7 2,268.0 2,279.7 2,289.2 9.5
State government, excluding
education.................... 2,758.8 2,723.5 2,724.6 2,733.8 2,765.1 2,740.0 2,740.9 2,738.9 2,738.3 2,739.0 .7
Local government............... 14,079 13,804 14,010 14,118 13,803 13,798 13,797 13,805 13,810 13,832 22
Local government education.... 8,055.2 7,798.1 7,995.6 8,081.1 7,696.8 7,684.5 7,687.1 7,692.2 7,698.0 7,713.5 15.5
Local government, excluding
education.................... 6,023.6 6,006.2 6,014.5 6,037.1 6,106.2 6,113.1 6,109.7 6,112.7 6,112.3 6,118.8 6.5

...that in a week or two they'll revise the number down to 4,700 or something.

Or how many are McJobs?

On edit: Am I reading the #'s right?
Service-providing: 108,326

That's basically McJobs, right?

Wal-Jobs

notice?

Could someone send a note to Lou Dobbs for tonights show on CNN?

this number just happens to be optomistic the day chimpy* is in W VA "looking to talk jobs". I don't believe ANY of their "official" figures.

unless they happen to hurt Chimpy...Then we can point to him as a failure. When the numbers don't go our way, they are forged...yeah right...
time to acknowledge it folks...the economy is bouncing and we need better arguments against the chimp's policies

there's really nothing THEY can say that can be believed.

this mis-administration been revised DOWNWARD??
Your damned skippy I don't believe them...
Look, I'll be the first person to do a big yee-haw when I see more people working.
But I don't see any evidence of that.

See that's the thing, lots of do-overs.

Basic math anyone?

Whoops! February was better than we thought!

Whoops! So was January!

Did you know that the UE numbers have been revised som 55 out of the last 56 weeks? Something like that.

Yes indeedy! Hard to trust numbers taht are constantly subjected to do-overs. Especially by the BFEE.

Ugh.

Julie

the December numbers being revised downward, and also the January numbers. However now the January numbers have been revised back up.

I work with business owners, talking to about 25 or so everyday. The first ones to get busy were in the pipeline for federal programs. Like the plumber I know who's installing free waterheaters, (with up-dated electrical) for low income people for a "study" in high efficiency appliances. All fed money.
My husband has been busy with minority clients (advertising) that suddenly have been given civic and fed. brochures to create.
It IS starting to effect the economy. I know of 2 business owners that are called EVERY WEEK by the federal govt., looking to update employment numbers of non W-2 type folks.

I tell them "It's an election year, feast while you can."

Also, loans are being federally guaranteed to almost any business owner they can talk into going further into debt. And they're snapping them up.

loans, loans, grants, grants, but all the people see is moneymoneymoney. It's gotta come from somewhere, and those off-roll unemployed are growing into a sizeable demographic.

If I recall, there was a similar jobs "boom" in late summer, but job growth tailed off after that.

After 9/11 our business dropped off quite a bit. We are in heating & air conditioning and everything kind of froze for a while. When I look at our year to date figures - 1/1 to 4/2 we show a 42.8% decrease from 2002 to 2003. In 2004, for the same dates, we are showing an increase of 71% ytd in total sales.

Like or not, things are improving. Our client base is everything from new construction (custom built homes) to residential repairs and replacements. To me this says that everything is breaking loose. I think that initially after 9/11 people were afraid to do anything and now they are feeling more secure.

We have added one person since the fall and are currently looking to hire a couple more techs in anticipation of the summer.

Monetarily things might be improving for some, but overall health of a society and the employment outlook is what most seem to be in discussion here with. I can see numbers improving financially, but trends of sustained growth take more than shuffling books. If you could point to a real growing sector that is not related to Home building and improvement (which will quickly dry up and blow away as soon as the artificial low rates go back up) more people would believe you.

I work for a company that has quite a few accounts in servicing HVAC companies equipment, they also seem to be doing okay, but nothing a point or two rise in interest rates wouldn't make evaporate. Would it be wrong to say when building gets a cold, heating & air conditioning get an pneumonia

I just am not able to rationalize how any economy could improve when the means for production for goods and services and the employment garnering the ones that work in it could ever improve when it gets transfered out the area. Doing that for short term profit really just seems like selling capital investments to put it out that things are on a uptick (which they are really not) Capitalism doesn't work if there is no real growth.

granddaughter, too. She is also gorgeous (not a bit prejudiced regarding her at all) tee hee!

interests rates and taking equity loans for home improvement. Enjoy it while you can...you'll be the first ones biting the dirt when the housing bubble bursts....and it will. No worries though, you can always pick a job up in the appliance department at Wally World..you know, if you want to work.


RC

Just about every time, if memory serves me correctly.

Take a good look around you...do you actually SEE the "economy bouncing", or are you just taking the NeoCon Junta's word?

Even for those who think the numbers are not authentic, there needs to be a credible response. My suggests/ comments are:

1. How much of the job creation is really the result of the tax cuts?
2. Where are these jobs being created; in the safe or swing states?
3. Why are state and local governments still cutting back on services?
4. There's still a problem with high gas prices negatively impact
working and non-working people. OPEC's decision to cut back productio
will probably raise prices more.

I have trouble beleiving that there are 300k more jobs but unemployment is up......

and would help to build credibility

try to look at reality outside the prizm of politics... it feels pretty liberating

Heyo

people are skeptical of the Bush Administration. Who 'da thunk it?

Release the big number, get a good sound bite and/or a good day at the market. Everyone is happy. La la la. Then sometime down the road quietly show the real deal. But you gotta remember too, that even after the real numbers are released, they still get to quote their original numbers in interviews and media events to show how well everything is. After all, who is going to correct them?

They lie, lie, lie, lie. Who can tell us the truth? I want the jobs to be true....but I don't trust these people about anything.

eom

Bush still has 9 months to create an additional 2.2 million jobs, and he can avoid being the first President since Hoover to oversee a net loss in jobs. That is, assuming these figures aren't going to need to be revised in a week or two.

Counting returning strikers?? What's that all about?

the jobs are, is that asking to much after a big claim has been made?

That's the only way they added that many jobs.

sh!t

Each time a decent jobs report has come out, it's been revised DOWN.

Keep an eye out, there's still a huge net loss of jobs to contend with...

Even if we cut these numbers down by 50%, they would still wildly exceed the expectations of just 100k jobs being added...

Sheesh! I'd be very surprised if these figures were not quietly surprised over the next few days.

case and places where we will look silly trying it. if i drive to town, i pass two freaking help wanted signs planted outside of manufacturing plants. if this keeps up, it's going to be hard to press that case here. we all need to identify the best issue for our specific area and nail that one. do your research and nail them where your best arguements are.

what a creepy picture:scared:

and remember from the news.

I have yet to here from a single company or headhunter.

Don't start celebrating too soon!

Being unemployed for 4 years is a sign your old job is never coming back.

Don't know what else to do!

IF these are mostly low-wage no-benefits jobs then its still an issue especially if the people getting those jobs used to have good middle class jobs with benefits. They are going to be just as angry with these crappy jobs as they would have been if they were still unemployed.

With this bunch of crooks and liars I would not be surprised if these numbers are completely bogus. I mean this is a White House that lies about EVERYTHING from the reasons for invading the Middle East to whether some kid was yawning during one of the Great Leader's speeches.

Those sound like good middle-class/upper-class jobs? Not to me. It is my understanding that the economy *must* create at least 100,000 jobs per month just to keep up with incoming new, young workers.

One (questionably) good month doesn't really mean shit. Especially since it is seasonal and quite full of spin. But that doesn't seem to matter to you.

You are awfully quick to run up the flag. I wonder why?

This morning when the numbers came out. Their rebuttal was a pathetic response to the national deficit, which of course the average John Doe pays no attention to. They said nothing about the remaining jobs that are needed to be created. Where is that response? I am sooooo disappointed in this campaign.

We are doomed. Doomed!

and how many in the public sector?

self employed Food Service.

Might make a difference in the commute...

If a part of the new jobs has to do with the end of the strike, then next month it could easily dip back down again.

Interesting that the unemployment rate ticked UP.

first off, most of that construction stuff is probably seasonal.

Most importantly, adding menial labor jobs might help people survive, but they're not the kind of jobs that we need to be adding. More high paying 'professional' jobs would be nice, IMO.

U.S. payrolls rocket higher in March

WASHINGTON - U.S. employment rose last month at the fastest pace in nearly four years, easily outstripping expectations, as workers returned after a grocery store strike and construction hiring bounced back on better weather, a government report on Friday showed.

snip

Non-farm payrolls climbed 308,000 in March, the Labor Department said, the biggest gain since April 2000 and well above the 103,000 rise expected on Wall Street.

snip

The March rise in payrolls reflected the resolution of a labor dispute at grocery stores in southern California that had idled 72,000 workers. The department said the return of those workers helped fuel a 47,000 increase in retail employment last month, but it did not quantify the impact.

snip

The report showed job gains were widespread across industries.

While a long-hoped for rise in manufacturing employment did not appear, the department said factory payrolls were unchanged in March, finally breaking a string of 43 consecutive monthly declines.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4652107/

this????

I don't understand how we can add jobs but have the unemployment rate go up from 5.6% to 5.7%. It looks like they are starting to revise previous months up now instead of down. I don't believe these numbers can be trusted.

with good news on job creation. "Discouraged workers," those who quit looking for work long ago, reenter the "looking" workforce on news of job creation, and the unemployment rate rises.

Look for more of a spike in the unemployment rate in the next two months.

P.S. - the "employment index" of yesterday's ISM factory index was negative. Factory jobs added in March may be the last for a while.

that always seem to follow a rosy picture in this administration.

Consultants and self employed Food Service are the obvious padding - but still a good report.

But why can't Bush ever release clean numbers - even good numbers like these - without adding a few lies to make them look better?

Credibility is just not part of this Whitehouse crew!

who were on strike--also what a clever manipulation--show two weak months of job #s--then revise them up-like they did today-- with this blockbuster number--all phoney!

It is good news for people that are unemployed and probably won't be revised down too low. However, I wouldn't count on the employeement being sustained at this level. Most of this is finally the result of low interest rates. The huge jump in construction hiring, financial services, and Professional services (architects) are due to hte building boom. The building boom is tied to the low interest rate and the interest rates are being held low by a lack of inflation. If hiring increases, wages will start increasing, and inflation will kick in. Greenspan will then have to raise interest rates and the construction market will eventually decline. Also construction spending declined last month. I'm pessimistic and will wait for a substantial increase in manufacturing jobs before I declare there has been a real turn in employment growth.

all weekend his 'surrogates' will be on the talk shows beaming.

The fact is we should have had these type of numbers now for last 12 months.

But it's the perception that counts. As you know, the masses will drink up these numbers and bush will become the "shining knight" once again.

April Fools Day was yesterday.

21,000 jobs were created in Jan. 1 million people lost their unemployment insurance this year so far. The unemployment rate is up.

What recovery? :eyes:

First of all the unemployment rate is higher not lower.

Second, underemployed, marginally attached, and discouraged workers equals an additional 2.1 million workers.

Recently, one economist on CNBC said the real unemployment is 7.6 percent. I think this is closer to the truth.

I took a local survey. My son is underemployed. My wife out of work for two years recently was offered a part time position which she intends to take, although there are no benefits and the income is totally inadequate for a job averaging 6 days a week. I am out of work, this is the fourth month. My next door neighbor has been out of work for five months. My wife's close friend has been out of work seven months. Employed people who know us get nervous and uncomfortable out when the subject of unemployment comes up. Two of these people are borrowing on their homes trying to retrain. My wife and I almost borrowed on my home but decided against it at the last minute as a long term bad move.

Supposedly unemployment in Florida is 4.2 percent. New residential and commercial construction is going on in a lot of places nearby while in my immediate area vacant commercial properties are plentiful and increasing. I've seen this once before in Texas in the mid eighties preceding a huge market collapse occassioned by the S&L scandals.

I look at professional listings for my career on a regular basis. The number of jobs offered has declined significantly in the last two publications. Many of the positions listed are repeats indicating to me that the market is weak.

I think moveon.org has a commercial where we hear the * political lies about employment and the economy. Then a middle age middle class guy looks at the camera and says something like, I don't know what he's talking about, I've been out of work for 2 years or words to that effect.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040402/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/economy&cid=668&ncid=716

The following from the article reflects your local survey teryang:

"But for out-of-work Americans, the economic rebound has been frustratingly slow. In March, there were 8.35 million people unemployed, compared with 8.17 million the previous month. The average duration of unemployment has been more than 20 weeks, a 20-year high.

Jobless workers are increasingly accepting part-time work. The number of people who worked part time for economic reasons rose to 4.7 million in March, up from 4.4 million the previous month."

There is an element of desparation involved in taking part time work. You know it won't pay the bills. And without benefits any health problem may push you over the edge. What choice do you have? It's only a stopgap measure.

...from mere bush supporter to full scale media whore. Economy rebounding? Tell that to these 3300 that are getting laid off as we speak, or to all the gateway people out of work for all for a freakin' a freakin 12 cent jump in their stock price.

CNN, YOU DISGUST ME....

This administration has shown a definite pattern of lying in order to win. They lied to the world about Iraq. WMD, Iraq's connection to 9/11, and Saddam's connection to OBL were all lies. It would not surprise me that the people putting these numbers together also fudged the data.

A now that Bush needs to get positive job creation numbers, he gets them. A little too convenient for me.

Bring up a chart at 7:29 Central and see what
the bond market's doing.

Traders in Chicago are pissed.
There'll be more on this.

Can we guess where the leak came from?

Can we ask how solid are numbers that a locked down a week ahead of schedule for the purpose of a speech?

Unreal. "He locked down the numbers." Where in the hell does he presume to derive the authority to do that? That goes past Orwellian to Stalinistic. "Look comrades the five year plan is working as I have decreed it." The Mayberry Machiavellis strike again.

seen the 10 year note jump .25. Ever.

will be 400,000 jobs added and like numbers until the November election at which point there will be a net gain of over 1 million jobs for the last 4 years. No one will be working and the numbers, of course will be all false. But that's their plan.

... when nobody's looking, and nobody will report it, either. It's the way they work, and it's been their pattern for a few years now.

Don't pay any attention to the man behind the curtain, folks.

Including the same bumped up numbers but nothing really there. The boom in construction and shuffling the deck for Refies on home mortgage is petering out. This has to be another attempt to try and kick start an economy that has FLAT-LINED.

This old story could probably work this year

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2003/jul2003/jobs-j08_prn.shtml

Amid official predictions of recovery
US jobless rate soared in June
By Bill Vann
8 July 2003


The unexpectedly steep climb in the US unemployment rate announced by the Labor Department last week sent Wall Street into a tailspin and opened up a fresh crisis for the Bush administration, which has been predicting an economic upturn fueled by its policy of tax cuts for the rich.

The official jobless rate climbed by 0.3 percentage points to hit 6.4 percent for the month of June. The increase was three times as severe as the one predicted by most analysts, who expected a moderate rise from 6.1 to 6.2 percent. The increase was the worst since the one posted in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The Labor Department

it's not believable

We take a million-plus legal immigrants a year and as many or more illegals. Most are healthy young adults coming here for jobs. The first couple of hundred thousand new jobs created each month are needed just to accommodate the immigrants before we put the first unemployed person back to work.

Add to that the fact that immigrants compete primarily for lower-skill/entry-level positions. This is the primary reason for wage stagnation on the lower rungs of the ladder.

I am not anti-immigrant or anti-immigration, but I do think the total numbers we are currently taking are out of line. I also think population stability is a sound goal for many reasons, of which the two mentioned above are just the beginning.

in unemployment. This is because the unemployment rate in general use only includes those people who are actively looking for work. There are many people that want work but have been discouraged and didn't look for work in the last 4(?) weeks and are not included in the unemployment rate. Once people start hearing that jobs are returning, they will start looking for work again, raising the unemployment rate. You should also note that 75,000 more people are age 20 or older in March than in Feb.

First, the number of new jobs and especially the revisions to the prior months are inconsistent with the hours worked and the average wage numbers and with the consumer confidence and right track-wrong track numbers. With strong job growth all of these should be rising instead of falling or remaining unchanged.

Second, based on the bond market trading this morning, it appears that the employment report numbers were illegally leaked prior to the official release.

Falsifying and leaking the numbers smells like Rove.

I wonder - would they do something unethical and "adjust" the numbers to something they liked better? Maybe I'm outta line suggesting that our beloved Mr. Rove would ever do something like that... :crazy: (Yes, that part about Rove is sarcasm)

To be quite honest, I cannot in my life remember thios level of deception and wanton misuse and fraudulent forgery of the number EVER.

Reminds me of Soviet Russia when I was a kid with all the lying.

It pains me to say this, because previosuly semi-trustworthy institutions lick the Imperial Boot, have been purged and "restaffed" with Bushevik Scum, and rountinely alter procedures in place through administrations both Republican and Democratic for decades.

It's a lie. A disgusting Soviet Lie.

"Comrades! Our glorious Leader, Comdrade Bunnypants* announces the Ministry of Truth and Job Creation shows 300,000 new jobs! Pay no attention to those unemployment lines. They are the LIES, LIES of our enemies!

My God, how we've fallen.

Mitch McConnell is her husband and together they are both a joke.

Mitch was spitting out the bull this morning while Elaine was spinning more garbage.

The numbers are false, just repackaged data, ie seasonal, strikes, low-wage retail, more govt etc.

It wouldn't surprise me if someone added too many zero's at the end of 308,000!

They desperately need a great 2nd quarter. What a right winged up fantasy. Snow and Chao putting their heads together for the next wild scheme for the US general public to keep right on believing.

the mass layoff index for feburary 2001 totaled 941 mass layoffs for a net layoff total of 84,201, so your figures are slightly off, northdallas. you can add all the jobs you want, but when they are leaving out the back door as quickly as they are entering the front, where is the viability of the job market?

http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/mmls.nr0.htm

Consider the following:

Latest CBS poll has Kerry leading by five points.

Clarke’s little book of truth is flying off shelves.

The numbers they released included revisions for January and February...choke on my coffee...

Condomneeded is going before the commission.

The bad news from Iraq comes every five minutes.

Gas is at an all time high; the thought gives me gas.

When I look in the paper, the amount of help wanted ads is less than half what it was a few years ago.

Color me cynical, but this rosy stuff always comes out when the BFEE is on the ropes.

And now a word from our sponsor:

WHERE’S THE JOBS!



Damn, I need to get Photo Shop.

CNN's home page is a paragraph that says that the report is buoyed by California grocery workers returning to work after being on strike. That's not new jobs. They're skewing the numbers folks. Who's surprised?

who's spinning who here...

number. No big deal, right? Especially when their last report was a mere 20,000.

How in the hell can you count people out of strike as jobs created---
is this some sort of new accounting proceedure----???

I hear Blackwater is hiring---need more security people---good pay, travel expenses---etc...any takers???

Talking points

http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=43927

The Labor Department reported today the American economy created 308,000 new jobs last month, a seemingly welcome sign in an otherwise abysmal three-year record of job losses. But the Bush administration should hold the champagne. Economists estimate the labor market still falls short by 2 to 5 million jobs. The administration promised its massive tax cut agenda would fuel job growth. Measured by its own standard, President Bush has failed on his key economic promise, delivering millions of job losses rather than gains.

The Bush administration has failed to deliver on its promise of millions of new jobs. The administration projected that employment would grow by a total of 5.5 million jobs between July 2003 and the end of 2004, with 1.4 million of these jobs a direct result of the latest tax cut proposal. By March 2004, the economy was still down more than 2 million jobs – jobs the administration projected would be created by now.

By any historical standard, the economy needs 2 to 5 million new jobs to fully emerge from the recession.

snip>

More tax cuts for the wealthy will not accelerate job growth and will only plunge the nation deeper into debt.

more...

I have followed the economy and stock market for years and it is normal for the jobs numbers to be revised over and over. But this is unusual in that the revision for Jan. and Feb. is quite large and the March figure is way over the economists' predictions. They usually aren't this wrong.

I suppose it could be right, but somehow (knowing this administrations' tendency to lie) I don't trust it. But what can we do? It's like the electronic voting thing, there's no way to prove the fraud.

Chimpy will take these new figures all the way to the bank. The 5.7% won't even register. This is bad for Kerry.

Remember in this number of 308,000 is 71,000 construction jobs. Good jobs, but seasonal, the north is heading back to road repair, and house building. Also whenever there is a strike settled as in California those employees are added back in. So half of the "new jobs" are because its spring and a strike settled.

What I do not understand is that the Fed has been dumping cash into the economy for two years. The government is creating tons of funds with deficit financing in record amounts and interest rates are so low they are practically giving it away and FINALLY there is a little job growth.

Why did the unemployment rate go up? Because more people entered the job market, in other words we still did not create enough jobs this month. The work week decreased so we are not expanding our usage of already employed workers.

Do not get caught up on the revisions and think someone is playing with the numbers there is always revisions, always has been always will be.

With commodity inflation running at the rate it has been the Fed can not sustain these low interest rates. However they probably will as long as possible to stay "out" of politics. Remember George the First lost his re election and one of the reasons was the Fed was raising rates as they should have been. I do not know they will do that again.

One last point. I was talking to a friend last month that is in a large financial services corporation. The word came down to look to hire new employees in a selected way. So that they could help out "Our President" I bet that happened in many a board room in the last few months.

...and how many of them paid ABOVE min wage and were not gas-station cashier or wal-mart cashier/greeter jobs? What KIND of jobs, in other words?

MORE damned bu$hit...:mad:

Let's not forget another report posted just yesterday that HUGE numbers of folks have given up the job search - meaning they are NOT counted amongst the unemployed anymore - but they are STILL unemployed and UNcounted.

Thank you very little and f*ck you very much, GWB...

New jobs in March (Seasonally Adjusted)

 71,000  Construction
      0  Manufacturing
  7,000  Other Goods-Producing
 47,000  Retail Trade
 42,000  Professional and business services
 39,000  Education and Health Services
 28,000  Leisure and hospitality
 31,000  Government
 43,000  Other Service-providing
------------------------------------
308,000  Total


Average  Change  Category
-------------------------------------------
  33.7    -0.1   Hours of work per week
 $15.54   $0.02  Hourly earnings
$523.70  -$0.88  Weekly earnings

More useful than the average hourly or weekly earnings would be the actual distribution. I'm sure the wealthy 1% in this country skew the averages.

Unemployment numbers, 2004 (Seasonally Adjusted)

Jan   Feb   Mar   Category
-----------------------
2.3%  2.2%  2.3%  U-1
3.0%  3.0%  3.1%  U-2
5.6%  5.6%  5.7%  U-3
5.9%  5.9%  6.0%  U-4
6.7%  6.7%  6.7%  U-5
9.9%  9.6%  9.9%  U-6

U-1 Persons unemployed 15 weeks or longer, as a percent of the civilian labor force

U-2 Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs, as a percent of the civilian labor force

U-3 Total unemployed, as a percent of the civilian labor force (official unemployment rate)

U-4 Total unemployed plus discouraged workers, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus discouraged workers

U-5 Total unemployed, plus discouraged workers, plus all other marginally attached workers, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all marginally attached workers

U-6 Total unemployed, plus all marginally attached workers, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all marginally attached workers

Unemployed means unemployed and actively looking for work.

Marginally attached workers are persons who currently are neither working nor looking for work but indicate that they want and are available for a job and have looked for work sometime in the recent past.

Discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached, have given a job-market related reason for not currently looking for a job.

Persons employed part time for economic reasons are those who want and are available for full-time work but have had to settle for a part-time schedule.

All data taken from http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.toc.htm

because Centerpoint (formily Arkla Gas) is closing offices all over Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, Memphis

http://www.theeveningtimes.com/articles/2004/03/16/news/news3.txt

Also Acxiom is laying off in Arkansas too:
http://www.thecabin.net/stories/040104/loc_0401040003.shtml

So I just don't get these numbers and also didn't we have a thread here saying Gateway was laying off in California?

Something stinks.

and will only be selling via the Internet.

BULL SHIT

http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/lou.dobbs.tonight/

John Snow on jobs report
And, Secretary of the Treasury John Snow is our guest. He talks about Friday's jobs report, and what it could mean for working Americans.

Also, former presidential adviser David Gergen is our guest.

Plus, we talk to presidential adviser Karen Hughes about the race for the White House.

well. Along with his comments earlier this week that we would have "really good" job numbers today. Hmmmmm :eyes:

...unfortunately someone was filling in for him and simply read through the list of questions.

When Snow was asked if outsourcing hurts American workers, he answered with a non-answer: America makes up only 5% of the global population. There are huge untapped markets of labor and consumers in India and China, so basically Americans are being thrown under the bus for the sake of corporate profits. Who gives a rat's ass what happens to them? We have bigger fish to fry.

Then he added a couple of talking points about the dangers of "isolationism" and the inevitability of it all.

I'm paraphrasing but that was the gist of it.

none of the guest hosts have the "in your face" approach of Lou.

I've been freelancing ever since my layoff last summer, but I have received more calls and interviews lately.

However, there still aren't enough jobs to go around, and I'm always in the "top two" or "top three," fighting it out over three, four, sometimes five interviews.

Then again, it may just be my field. (Web Editing/Marketing)

Of course, job hunting is always competitive, but some of my friends who are hiring managers say they cannot believe the amount of great people they have to choose from.

It's so depressing.

Then again, it may just be my field. (Web Editing/Marketing) It's always been more competitive than most.

I do hope these numbers keep increasing. Yeah, it may be good for Bush*, which I don't want, but people out here need jobs!

Stalin is raising a glass of vodka in salute to Goebbels for his masterful tuteledge of Karl Rove.

Read the story on msnbc http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4652107 with an eye for Orwellian doublespeak.

"In March, there were 8.35 million people unemployed, compared with 8.17 million the previous month. The average duration of unemployment has been more than 20 weeks, a 20-year high."

"The March rise in payrolls reflected the resolution of a labor dispute at grocery stores in southern California that had idled 72,000 workers. The department said the return of those workers helped fuel a 47,000 increase in retail employment last month, but it did not quantify the impact."

"Jobless workers are increasingly accepting part-time work. The number of people who worked part time for economic reasons rose to 4.7 million in March, up from 4.4 million the previous month."

Hmmm, 4.7 minus 4.4 million, is 300,000.
Coincidence?

How can any of this be spun as "positive" news?

___neo-con response___

"You are so good at bring out the negative in something that many people feel is good. Unemployment was 6.6% when Clinton was in office. If you really want to be fair in your statements why don't you try comparing apples to apples. In March of 1996 the unemployment rate was at 5.5%. Today it is a 5.7%. I do not think that is too bad considering that Bush had to get us out of the Clinton/Gore recession."

___
EXCUSE ME?
("clinton/gore recession?" - is that like "liberal media"?) - meaning it doesn't EXIST?

HA!

are those actually the unemployment percentage figures for then and now?

Heyo

Employment percentages grew steadily during Clinton's 8 years, much to the republicans' chagrin. Then, as soon as bush2 takes over, we have a mega-taxbreak for the wealthy followed by a serious recession that unravels all the gains made on Clinton's watch.

Check it out:
http://www.epinet.org/briefingpapers/146/epi_bp146.pdf

Figure 4 will tell you what you need to know about the "Clinton-Gore recession". Gawd only knows who made that shit up. The republicans have NO reason to be proud of their little prince.

I think Kerry needs to talk it down and put Bush back on the defensive.

One month in which the economy didn't hemmorhage jobs doth not a recovery make.

Do you have any idea how many jobs are needed just to keep up with the growth in eligible workforce? No? It's over 200000/month.

If bush wants to take credit for a "recovery", let him. It'll come back to bite his stupid ass. No down-talking needed, just tell the truth.

This is the underplayed statistic here.

that means anything to me is how thick the help-wanted
ads are in the local paper, and they're still mighty thin
around here.

I tried to get a job at a local dry cleaner. When I dropped of my resume they informed me over 200 people also dropped off resumes in less than 6 hours. We have PHD's waiting tables. I don't know what to do. I have been unemployed for months without any leads. It sucks living in a college town.

:eyes:

Bush's "Council of Economic Advisors" gave us a 2004 employment forecast for job growth just two months ago. It averages out to 546000/month. So far, they still owe 246000 for March and over 400000 for February.

Good luck guys!

Combining this thread in per moderator.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=460344