Private Job Growth Over Last Year is Strongest Since 2006, Mfg. Continues to Lead Economy
1. Employment in temporary help services continued to grow by 20,100 jobs in February, which was the 7th consecutive monthly increase and the 27th increase in the last 29 months. The 2.4 million temporary and contract employment jobs at the end of last month was the highest since May 2008, more than three and-a-half years ago (see chart above), and is only 160,000 jobs below the pre-recession level of 2.6 million in November 2007.
2. Overtime hours for the manufacturing sector, at an average of 4.4 hours per week, reached a 4-1/2 year high in February, the highest level of manufacturing overtime hours since June 2007 (see chart above).
3. Manufacturing employment increased by 29,000 jobs in February, which brings the total number of new manufacturing jobs since 2010 to 425,000, the largest 26-month increase in factory jobs since 1998.
4. Over the last three months, more than 15% of the 734,000 new payroll jobs created in the economy have been in the manufacturing sector (111,000), even though manufacturing employment represents fewer than 9% of total payroll jobs.
5. For the ninth month in a row starting last June, the jobless rate for the manufacturing sector in February at 8.4% (not seasonally adjusted) was below the overall unemployment rate of 8.7% (not seasonally adjusted).
6. Over the last 12 months, total payroll employment has increased by more than 2 million jobs, the largest one-year gain in jobs since the 12-month period ending January 2007, slightly more than 5 years ago.
7. The gain in private payroll employment over the last 12 months, 2.247 million, is the largest 12-month in private payrolls gain since May 2006, 5-1/2 years ago.
Bottom Line: The labor market continues to gradually improve, private job growth over the last 12 months is the highest since 2006, and the manufacturing sector continues to be at the forefront of the economic expansion.
9 Comments:
Professor
You often highlight how good our economy is yet you also cite the President's dumb economic policies. Does this suggest it doesn't matter who is President or that perhaps you do support him?
Bureau of Labor Statistics
March 9, 2012
Over the last 3 months, nonfarm job growth has averaged 245,000 per month.
The number of persons unemployed was essentially unchanged at 12.8 million.
Among the employed, the number of individuals working part time who preferred full-time work was about unchanged at 8.1 million.
Among persons who were neither working nor looking for work, 2.6 million were classified as marginally attached to the labor force.
I always pay attention to the current situation survey. It doesn't get revised like the payroll data. Based on this survey, there were over 400,000 jobs (seasonally adjusted) created in February. It was a good report.
"It was a good report"...
Really junk_hawg?
Consider the following from the American Enterprise Institute's blog site: The real unemployment rate? It sure isn’t 8.3%
By James Pethokoukis
March 9, 2012, 10:51 am
Even if it were a legit number, the 8.3% February unemployment rate, released today by the Labor Department, would be simply terrible – and unacceptable. It would still extend the longest streak of 8%-plus unemployment since the Great Depression. The U.S. economy hasn’t been below 8% unemployment since Obama took office in January 2009. And back in May 2007, unemployment was just 4.4%...
Juandos,
I stand corrected. Directionally, it was a good report. The overall levels still stink.
what is full employment? who has the authority to say what it is? maybe when unemployment gets too low, it triggers a slowdown, so maybe full employment is 6% or more, maybe it is 8%? I don't want inflation.What is the lowest unemployment rate consistent with zero inflation?
>>>PFCT Professor
You often highlight how good our economy is yet you also cite the President's dumb economic policies. Does this suggest it doesn't matter who is President or that perhaps you do support him?<<<<
I have often wondered how much of the growth in manufacturing jobs often cited here on Carpe Diem is due to the oil and gas industry which the President is actively against. Not only direct jobs in drilling(which I believe is classified as manufacturing)-but also to make things like pipe. 2-mile deep plus 2 mile long lateral oil wells take a lot of pipe. Plus drill rigs, plus trucks etc etc.
Yep. Despite government, the economy is adding jobs. Not nearly at the level we'd like, but something is better than nothing.
Why can't you see the big picture Mark? The BLS is not telling it the way that it is and much of the 'good news' was created by adding liquidity to the system. That is not exactly the basis for a healthy economy.
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