This is a pretty amazing feat. America’s job market picked up 290,000 jobs, yet the unemployment rate still rose to 9.9%.
Washington Post: U.S. employers added 290,000 jobs in April, blowing past analysts’ expectations and giving a potential indication that the labor market is strengthening.
That figure was boosted by temporary hiring for the 2010 Census, but there were also jobs added in the private sector, according to Labor Department data released Friday.
Analysts had expected the report to show that the country added 162,000 jobs.
So how is this possible? This situation comes about because for too long we have been ignoring the underemployment rate. Those people who have given up looking or who are working part time when they really need fully time work are still out there. As more real jobs become available, the underemployed are there to snap them up.
Buried in today’s job report is the fact that the underemployed number isn't budging:
The Wall Street Journal: The comprehensive gauge of labor underutilization, known as the “U-6? for its data classification by the Labor Department, accounts for people who have stopped looking for work or who can’t find full-time jobs. Though the rate is still 0.3 percentage point below its high of 17.4% in October, its continuing divergence from the official number (the “U-3? unemployment measure) indicates the job market has a long way to go before growth in the economy translates into relief for workers.
America’s private sector cannot produce enough jobs under a climate of higher taxation and heavy regulation. Until this administration chooses to stop making so many demands on the private sector, don’t expect the unemployment rate to significantly move away from 10%.
Via: Memeorandum
Via: The Washington Post