Jobs Growth in U.S. Finally Takes Off
Posted by Jason Apollo Voss on Aug 5, 2011 in Blog | 0 comments
Department of Labor figures demonstrate that in July jobs growth in the U.S. has finally taken off. Specifically, the economy added 117,000 non-farm jobs. This compares to economist expectations of only 75,000 jobs created.
By the way, in case you are wondering, the significance of the “non-farm” part is that farm work is seasonal. By stripping out agricultural jobs you get to a “permanent” jobs created figure.
The creation of all those jobs caused the unemployment rate to fall to 9.1%, while economists had expected the unemployment rate to remain flat at 9.2%. Of that 117,000 jobs created figure the private sector created a robust 154,000 jobs.
What’s more, job creation figures for the two previous months were revised upward by a total of 56,000 additional jobs not accurately measured in previous surveys. Specifically it is now believed that 53,000 jobs were created in May and 46,000 in June.
Analysis:
What’s not to like about these figures? The private sector generated high levels of jobs, the unemployment rate dropped, and most importantly, previous months were revised strongly upward. All of this is an indication that if the governments of the United States and Europe could manage their own finances, that global gross domestic product (GDP) would be stable and likely growing.
Hopefully, the turmoil in the financial markets driven by “who knows what?” will finally subside. Applying quantitative data to the bizarre qualitative state of things is just what the doctor ordered.
Importance grade: 10; this data could not have come at a better time. Further, because the debt crisis in the U.S. is mostly behind us, and the crisis in Europe finally has specific machinery in place for coping, it is likely that investors begin to focus on what they should at most other times: the state of businesses.
Jason
