Expectations for today's new jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics were modest, at best. The most optimistic forecasts projected growth of about 155,000.
The nation did much better than that, adding 243,000 jobs in January, as the overall unemployment rate dropped to 8.3%. The job totals are the best we've seen in two years, and the jobless rate has reached its lowest level in three years.
As is always the case, there was a gap between the private and public sectors. Businesses added 257,000 jobs last month, while budget cuts forced the public sector to shed another 14,000 jobs.
Nevertheless, it's hard not to feel good about the surprising strength of this new report. After years of jobs reports that were only considered encouraging when compared to where we've been, January's total is objectively good news. Indeed, this is one of the best -- if not the very best -- jobs reports since the recession began four years ago.
In terms of revisions, the job numbers for November and December were better than previously reported. Today, the BLS also released revised totals for every month in the previous calendar year, and those revisions are reflected below.
We now know, in 2011, the economy added 1.8 million jobs, which obviously isn't good enough, but it was still the strongest year for job creation since 2006. We've also seen the economy add over 900,000 jobs in just the last five months.
And with that, here's the homemade chart I run on the first Friday of every month, showing monthly job losses since the start of the Great Recession. The image makes a distinction -- red columns point to monthly job totals under the Bush administration, while blue columns point to job totals under the Obama administration.
Update: Here's another chart, this one showing monthly job losses/gains in just the private sector since the start of the Great Recession. Note: these reflect the revised BLS data for all of 2011.
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Still need labeling on the X axis.
Fox Noise viewers don't know how to read charts and graphs - won't make a difference
LOL!
The x-axis is months and each bar is the jobs numbers for that month.
While not labeled, I thought it was pretty self explanatory since that is what the conversation was about job growth per month.
This is great news for the country, and very good news for Pres. Obama and the Democrats in an election year. If only the stimulus had been as large as Christy Roemer had wanted (but Larry Summers blocked) we'd be much further along in the recovery than we are at the moment.
I wonder how Mitt "Let Detroit Go Bankrupt" Romney will try to disparage this when he hits the stump today?
Not just the size of the stimulus! Also what The Capitulator in Chief conceded to co-Presidents Snowe & Collins!
@Charley. Mitt and all the others will find some way to spin this jobs report, or not comment on it at all. Ha, they have to comment, they can't help it.
Romney will say exactly what the Koch Syndicate wants him to say! I feel that it is in Romney's bones to become President of the United States that he has made a pact with these devils to serve as their puppet. Remember, the Koch Syndicate held one of first fundraisers for him and their golden-boy, Christie, was one of the first "big" endorsements he received and is now serving as his surrogate.
Romney is not, in my opinion, interested in governing; he just wants the pomp and title of being president!
The American economy is on a clear path to recovery thanks to measures taken by our government to stimulate job creation and put the important of jobs ahead of a long-term debt and deficit focus, What in the world will Republicans complain about now that the economy is improving by leaps and bounds? What will Mitt Romney and the GOP run on this election year if they can no longer smear the economic numbers as gloom and doom? This recovery is leaving the Republicans speechless, because they have no other platform to take to the American people. America is moving ahead without their help. http://www.sunstateactivist.org
The GOP's greatest nightmare Dems being able to take credit for jobs and a stronger economy.
The shift is tectonic. It strikes at Reagan's message about economics:
How's that housing market doing? How about the national debt? How about over a thousand days of no budget; three years, no budget. The dems have run the Senate the entire time.
There ya go again, in your best Reagan voice.
That's right, Right... it get's harder to spin the glass as half empty when it's 3/4 full. Keep trying, because we can always use some amusement.
The dems have run the Senate the entire time.
LOL good talking point that's been beat to dead.
guess you forgot the about the obstruction party's filibusters. but we all wouldn't expect much more out of the obstruction backers of the teaparty.
And enter conservative comments about how this is just smoke and mirrors, data manipulation to help Obama's cause in 3, 2, 1...
This chart is but one example of why Republicans can't run against the 'real' Obama. Indeed, they've invented their own fake Obama to run against - the dreaded 'Strawbama'!
"President Strawbama – Right-Wing Hay Job"
Wouldn’t it be something if the bed-wetting, chicken hawk baggers had the balls to run against the real President Obama. They don’t though, do they? They’d rather s**t all over democracy and run against a bale of hay – they love ‘em some hay ...
Article:
"President Strawbama – Right-Wing" Hay Job"
"The Chart" is being used by the Obama 2012 campaign - if you haven't noticed. They've bought advertising space for it - complete with animated, whooshing, upward arrow - on provider websites like Time Warner, Comcast, Yahoo, etc.
Huzzah!
Not that I'm unemployed, but I consider myself underemployed, and it's easier to trade upward when people are actually hiring.
Congratulations! Best of luck in landing the position that you truly desire.
Obama's economic policies are working. 2012 is looking good as a year to crush Willard.
This far along the recovery data is no longer a "Bikini Graph"
it's more like a thong.
Now all we need is a Venn diagram to go above it.
'Will share... The graph would tell more if dates were included.
Obama 2012!
Hey, Vox, it' still the Bikini Graph (TM), but now a strap is loose! :)
the GOP has a sad this morning
I suspect followed by a Sad this month, and a Sad this year!
The numbers look good but it is small consolation to all the unemployed. Obama needs to use the numbers to push for infrastructure funding. Dems in the Senate should keep bringing bills up that Republicans will filibuster so that Obama and the Dems can build their case about Republican obstruction to jobs bills. Dems can introduce bills all the way up to the elections. Of course, the Republicans are going to try to deflect the political discourse to the deficit. But public opinion is on the side of jobs, not the deficit. Mr. "Jobs, jobs, jobs Boehner and Sen. McConnell will feel the heat as we get closer to the elections.
All it will take is one air raid on Iran by Israel to send gas prices soaring and the economy plummeting again so let's not get complacent. It doesn't even have to come to that if there's enough saber rattling to give oil companies an excuse to raise prices and speculators a chance to pile on. There's a lot of powerful people and corporations that would love nothing better than to sabotage the economy long enough to get Obama out and put one their own in.
Ok enough of the cassandra warning, this is great news. I'd like to see a breakdown of the sectors creating jobs. Is housing really coming back?
Among other changes detailed in today's job report:
• Retail: +19,000
• Constructon: +21,000
• Transportation & warehousing:
• Leisure and hospitality: +44,000
• Mining: +10,000
• Professional & business services +70,000
• Health care: +31,000
• Manufacturing: +50,000
• Government employment: -14,000
• The average workweek (for production and non-supervisory workers) rose to 33,8 hours.
• The average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls rose by 4 cents to $23.29. Over the past year such earnings have risen 1.9 percent, compared with an inflation rate of 3.2 percent.
@Mike Paganucci So, if Israel attacks Iran, would that imply an endorsement of the Republican Party?
Of course Iran could
takeattempt action to close the Straits of Hormuz, for a similar effect!Would Iran be considered to be leaning Democratic or Republican? A Republican administration helped to engineer the overthrow of their democratically elected government in 1953, but then they dumped on Democrat Jimmy Carter by releasing our hostages right after Republican Ronald Reagan took office - Very 'Mixed Signals'!
OOPS, My Sincere Apologies! My comment to @Mike Paganucci above should have been to @markg8 - Bad 'cutting-n-pasting', my error!
Depends -- it's a gamble.
good news and the bigger part that`s 240K more TAX paying people.
this is also good news for America and bad news for the repeal wrong/right wing obtrusion party.
In the first full year since President Obama’s health care reform law took effect, the cost of prescription drugs to those on Medicare fell $2.1 billion in 2011. A total of 3.6 million people took advantage of the bill’s provisions, which provided beneficiaries with a 50 percent discount on certain brand-name drugs and another seven percent discount on generic prescriptions, or about $600 per person.
here are charts show the relationship between gov't regulation and wealth across the states:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/pajaroentertainmentltd/weath-govt-regulation-across-the-states-31ii
When I look at Steve's excellent chart, I can't help but perceive what looks like a non-random pattern -- strong private sector job growth in the winter/early spring, followed by a collapse in the late spring and summer. It's happened the last two years, to devastating effect on Obama's approval rating. Why did it happen? I guess I vaguely recall the Greek freak out last year, but what about the year before that? While I am not normally a paranoid conspiracy buff, I can't help but look at this chart and think we should have sustained, 250,000+ per month private sector job growth almost 2 years ago, but every time we have strung together a couple of good months, it crashes. Sure would love the RMS folks to look into that.
Census hiring ended. Mystery solved!
ETA: Also, don't forget that last spring was not only the tsunami mucking up the global supply chain; not only Arab Spring and Libya scaring up oil prices, but also a throng of Teahadist implementing stark austerity in the states after too many progressives stayed home in the midterms. The shredding of state jobs that's been a drag on the economy ever since started then. Thank heavens the President managed to get the lame duck deal through congress so Making Work Pay could be continued in the payroll tax cut...
The Bikini graph now looks more like a wardrobe malfunction. But in a good way.
Yesterday, during the 'Rich Guys who Enjoy Firing People Club' Endorsement
CeremonyMoment, didn't Trump say the Unemployment numbers were UP? And today, the OFFICIAL numbers are DOWN? Trump LIED?? I'm Shocked, SHOCKED!Republican Motto: "Facts? We don't need no Stinkin' Facts!"
John McCain WAS RIGHT! Looks like President Obama WILL indeed turn this country around.
Never underestimate the old fox fortune telling... ;)
I don't want to hear another thing about Obama's terrible handling of America. This guy has put in more effort to right our country than you naysayers realize because you're blinded by your right-wing delusions. I'm surprised he was able to get done what he has given the constant obstacles the republicans keep trying to put in his way fro the last four years.
Republicans have been taking the tact that Obama has had total control over the political infrastructure of the country for the first 3 years (see Mitch McConnell) and, consequently, that the mess was/is is doing. (This strategy conveniently *ignores* the Republican filibuster epidemic when Democrats controlled the senate and the absolute unwillingness of the Republican house to do virtually anything to improve the country for fear that it would make Obama look good.)
My money is now on a reversal of this tact wherein Republicans claim it was *because* of their filibuster tactics and senate clogging that the economy is improving. Hence, Obama didn't have total control over the political infrastructure, and Republicans are responsible for the upturn.
Furthermore, I'd double down on both of these tacts existing simultaneously. Cognitive dissonance is a wonderful thing.
(This strategy conveniently *ignores* the Republican filibuster epidemic when Democrats controlled the senate and the absolute unwillingness of the Republican house to do virtually anything to improve the country for fear that it would make Obama look good.)
smiling and in the mean time they have made him look good anyways as he has done good thing with out help from the other side of the house/senate. once again they did not think things all the way though.
After 3 years of childlike tantrum throwing by the republicans in congress (filibusters and the current "do nothing" congress), the Republicans can't break Americans people's will to be great and will be set to bed without eating in 2012.
The weekly unemployment claims chart is looking good, too.
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2901142941521&set=a.1620143997348.84283.1648874888&type=1&ref=nf
I'm surprised that John Boehner and Eric Cantor haven't taken credit for this already, as is in the nature of most republicans.
this from the DailyKos
So it was no surprise that the first public Republican reactions, coming in at 9:08 AM, sounded a bit like stutters. House Speaker John Boehner:
And House Majority Leader Eric Cantor: