By Don Lee | The
nation’s unemployment rate held steady in February at 9.7 percent, the
government said today, and employer payrolls dropped by a net 36,000
last month, although most if not all of the decline was seen as due to
temporary work stoppages stemming from the blizzards in the East Coast.
The latest snapshot of the economy, though harder to interpret because
of the influence of the weather, was generally consistent with a slowly
improving job market in which layoffs have fallen sharply but vigorous
hiring remains elusive.
Economists on average were expecting net job losses of about 50,000 in February. Without the effects of the weather, some analysts said, the economy probably would have added about 25,000 to their payrolls last month. The nation lost 26,000 jobs in January and 109,000 positions in December, when the unemployment rate was 10%.
The payroll jobs data are derived from a survey of employers and are seasonally adjusted, but those statistical adjustments are based on past average fluctuations, and last month’s snow storms along the mid-Atlantic were hardly normal, shutting down many businesses, schools and transportation routes. The biggest effect was most likely borne by the construction industry, which dropped 64,000 jobs last month.
There were some hopeful signs as well: Manufacturers added a tiny 1,000 jobs last month after a 20,000 increase in January, the first upturn after factory payrolls plunged by more than two million during the last two years of the deep recession. The temporary-help industry, widely seen as a harbinger of broader hiring, expanded by another 48,000 jobs in February, bringing to 285,000 the number added since September.
Weather wasn’t likely a major factor in the Labor Department’s unemployment report, which is based on a national survey of households that counts as employed those who have jobs but say they missed work because of weather factors, even if they were unpaid.
This survey, which counts self-employed and other non-payroll workers such as family-paid employees, showed 308,000 more people working in February than the previous month. Even so, the labor market remains under severe strain.
The number of officially unemployed remained at nearly 15 million, with four in ten, or 6.1 million people, having been out of work for six months or longer. And the Labor Department’s broader measure of unemployment and underemployment, which includes part-time workers who want full-time jobs, rose to 16.8 percent last month from 16.5 percent in January.
Although job losses moderated in February the total of Americans that have lost jobs, some permanently, remains way too high. If we are in a recovery, as some economists believe, it is a very weak one when compared to past economic upswings after a recession.
depot-jim,
If you remember back to 1994, that was a jobless recovery. It looks like that is what we are getting again, even after Obama says his first focus is unemployment. After saying it, he goes right back to healthcare. This President is all about healthcare, the last one was about a war in Iraq. Yet none of the Presidents stop the work visa programs, the illegals, ofshoring of jobs or companies moving their headquarters offshore to stop paying taxes even though they have government contracts (that’s your tax money at work). Don’t tell me there aren’t enough people willing to do the work with 9.7% unemployment. My thought is that the US government is controlled by corporations and as long as they make money that is all that matters. Companies are making money again with programs like bailouts and cash for programs and the upcoming appliance program. That is were I expect the focus to continue. The US economy is now something you just suck the life out of instead of trying to build it up.
For some reason, the most important point in this article is saved for the final paragraph: The Labor Department’s U-6 figure for unemployment, those who have stopped looking for work or cannot find fulltime jobs is 16.8 percent, not 9.7. By comparison, in 1940 when the Great Depression was still in bloom, unemployment was 15 percent. Is this a recession or depression? If the president and Congress would apply as much attention to rebuilding the American economy as they do to health care, perhaps the primary underpinning of American society would have a resurgence.
Pictures of job-seekers at these career fairs rip at my heart. Outside of two part-time jobs, I was unemployed for 2.5 months and it felt like forever. I cannot imagine 6 months or more.
I have always doubted the sincerity of companies that attend these functions. But they have the pick of the litter.
To those out of work, my thoughts are with you.
The recession is still in its infancy. The fact that the government said it was over is pretty hilarious.
“The temporary-help industry, widely seen as a harbinger of broader hiring, expanded by another 48,000 jobs in February.” How, exactly, is employers hiring temps – most of whom will never become permanent workers, a “harbinger of broader hiring?” More like a band-aid slapped onto a lousy job market. Temp jobs are NOT what out of work people need. They need good, career-oriented jobs.
This month’s statistics mean nothing except to the people whose paycheck comes from reporting it. We are still losing jobs, that’s LOSING jobs and a huge wave of mortgage foreclosures are due come summer. You do the math.
This month’s statistics mean nothing except to the people whose paycheck comes from reporting it. We are still losing jobs, that’s LOSING jobs and a huge wave of mortgage foreclosures are due come summer. You do the math.
Also, many of those “temporary” jobs are for the census. They will go away in the Fall when the census is done.
This is my 9th month out of work, and I am over 50 like most of the people currently out. I certainly hope things are turning, but I still have my doubts. I am likely to take a 20% or more cut in pay when and if I land a new job. So as far as I am concerned, the recession will continue for a long time since my income will probably never recover to what it was before the downturn.
This is my 9th month out of work, and I am over 50 like most of the people currently out. I certainly hope things are turning, but I still have my doubts. I am likely to take a 20% or more cut in pay when and if I land a new job. So as far as I am concerned, the recession will continue for a long time since my income will probably never recover to what it was before the downturn.
Only 36,000 jobs lost, which is UP from last month. What a super awesome day! I’m sure the people out of work don’t look at that number the way the Trib does.
Most of these jobs are just temp jobs or meaningless jobs. These are not career jobs. As one responder indicated, they are hiring Census workers by the thousands. You can’t count those as legitimate jobs. Therefore unemployement is MUCH higher. In Illinois, the rate must be off by a few percentage points.
Very sad. However, we are pushing a horrible healthcare bill that nobody support. This is waht seems to be important.
With discouraged workers, the rate rose to 16.8 percent.
Obama has spent month after month after month neglecting jobs and the economy so he can obsess about his ObamaCare takeover, but he also found time to start working out the details on — his next campaign. Politico has a story that Obama has already started work on his 2012 campaign.
Gee, thanks for all the hard work, Barry. At least you found some time to golf, surf and host 300+ parties in 2009 too.
Most of these jobs are just temp jobs or meaningless jobs. These are not career jobs. As one responder indicated, they are hiring Census workers by the thousands. You can’t count those as legitimate jobs. Therefore unemployement is MUCH higher. In Illinois, the rate must be off by a few percentage points.
Very sad. However, we are pushing a horrible healthcare bill that nobody support. This is waht seems to be important.
Look at the little boy in the picture. Jarad – interviewing candidates. How is Jarad going to know who to hire? His mommy still picks out his clothes.
That jobs bill that the house passed the other day does not go far enough. It’s a bandaid on a festering wound. A $1K tax credit and temporary freeze of the payroll tax will not incentivize employers to hire for jobs that otherwise would not be there.
I am on my 8th month of unemployment after a year of 50% pay cuts. Broke and scared out of my mind. When things go down hill they snowball, and fast.
Every month short-term thinkers breathlessly deliver the results because the media loves a horse race and the populace is desperate for work. But we are still losing jobs and those who have already lost theirs may never recover from the effects. How does that sound?
It’s called a recession if someone you know loses a job. It’s called a depression if you lose yours.
Obama, Obama, Obama. Well, deal with this very simple FACT. The unemployment rate is 9.7%. It STILL hasn’t gotten as high as it did under Ronald Reagan in the early 80s. Funny, I don’t remember conservatives complaining nearly as much about their God Reagan’s unemployment numbers as they do today.
There has always been a symbiotic relationship between government and business because businesses hire staff which then buy things as they aspire to have the “good” life, which then in turn create a larger tax revenue stream for the government.
While it’s easy to criticize business as being the culprit, our government has a large stake in culpability. For it is OUR governemnt that mandates stricter pollution control laws, it is OUR government that mandates higher health insurance costs, it is our government that establishes the bar for “union” wages.
I believe that it is REALLY important to remember what a business mission is supposed to do, make a profit. If the business can make a better profit by moving off-shore, they will. It’s unfortunate, but true.
What our government hasn’t figured out yet is how to level the playing field in terms of operating conditions, fees, wages, et al, across the global spectrum. Jobs are off-shore because there is a lower wage cost overseas, there are less pollution restrictions, there are minimal (if any) health insurance costs.
It would be nice if we could support companies who’s products are still made in the USA, but the truth of the matter is we won’t due to the increase in cost. Why do you think Wal-Mart is so successful?
One other gorilla in the room is our collective retirement funds. Our collective greed in the surge in 401K collections ties us DIRECTLY to the businesses as their performance value affects our share “value”. We were no longer content with the 3% interest the bank was giving us. We now wanted 15, 17.5 and even 20% returns on our money. We stopped being a nation of savers and became a nation of investors, thus adding even more stress to our business entities to perform.
Unfortunately, I am as clueless as Washington these days as to how to fix the mess. One thing I do know, though, is that blaming businesses for the problem is not the right call. We are paying the price for our rampant consumerism and “me-first” mentality. How long it will last is anybody’s guess. It really depends on our electorate and how well they bite the bullet to right the ship.
This is a total misrepresentation of the data. U-3 numbers have gone down slightly, but the real number to look at is the U-6 data which shows people who have stopped looking altogether. This number is steadily increasing. So, even though less people lost jobs, the total number of people out work is still rising dramatically.
@ JRCDMC | March 5, 2010 11:52 AM | Reply “Obama, Obama, Obama. Well, deal with this very simple FACT.” —- Well he did state that “jobs” are important.
November 2008
President-elect Barack Obama’s statement on the jobs report”But now is the time to respond with urgent resolve to put people back to work and get our economy moving again. At the same time, this painful crisis also provides us with an opportunity to transform our economy to improve the lives of ordinary people by rebuilding roads and modernizing schools for our children, investing in clean energy solutions to break our dependence on imported oil, and making an early down payment on the long-term reforms that will grow and strengthen our economy for all Americans for years to come.”
After passing ARRA, the focus was on health care all of 2009 and leading up to this month. Those words sounded great back then but not much has changed since this administration took over. Lots of Wall Street, banks, corporations, insurance and pharmaceuticals bashing.
36000 jobs were lost. That is not remaining steady. What a crock. They should of told the truth, that jobs were lost. Of course if they did that. Stocks would go down. Oil would not of gone up by almost 2 dollars today, and you would not be paying more at the pump. More at the pump means more tax dollars for them to blow on crap we do not need. THE TRUTH IS 36000 JOBS WERE LOST>>>>>>>
If you look at the link to the bureau of statistics (Dept of Labor) the actual UE (called the U6 alternative gauge)rose to 16.8%!
That figure totals the cumulative UE figure that the Obama Admin wants to hide from the American public.
During the great depression it was around 15%. Barack Obama has ruined our Nation in just over a year in office.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/payrolls-fall-36000-jobless-rate-steady-at-97-2010-03-05?reflink=MW_news_stmp
Temp work isn’t as easy or pleasant as so many people think. My most recent assignment was satisfying, but couldn’t be renewed for a lack of funds. I was even shown proof that they wanted me, but they couldn’t get blood out of a turnip.
As for the other temp work I’ve had, don’t expect to be treated well. They won’t invite you for lunch; then they’ll wonder why you want to eat alone. One job I had – at a corporation I won’t name – lasted all of two days. I got the news secondhand that they couldn’t afford me.
Well, that was the official excuse, anyway … I believe it was more about me being too serious & professional while the workers around me spent more time talking to each other or on the phone to their friends than actually working. Also, I drove an older, slightly shabby car while the rest of them had sparkling new ones.
@Mal – Do you know what that number would be if the government hadn’t passed stimulus legislation? I don’t either, except that it would be bigger. The people that screwed it up were the ones that passed and signed the stimulus legislation to the banks that allowed them to funnel all that money into employee bonuses and not directly into the market. While many banks are trying to save face now by “doing the right thing”, the delay in getting that money into the system drasticly reduced the effectiveness of the bank bailout stimulus. The second stimulus, ARRA, is doing a better job at it, but with oversight comes red tape and, again, delays in getting the money into the market. You can’t fix a recession overnight by throwing tons of money at it and a year is too short a time to expect a full turnaround from the level at which we had sunk, especially since we didn’t even hit the bottom of the recession for several months into Obama’s term.
‘Do you know what that number would be if the government hadn’t passed stimulus legislation? I don’t either, except that it would be bigger.” No you don’t. No one knows that, because it didn’t happen. If the democrats hadn’t borrowed so much for the stimulus and further devalued our dollar, employers may have been able to come back on their own and add to payrolls. As it is our deficit went up, our dollar went down and each business and paycheck in this country was made to be worth a little less. Also, newsflash: Look at the construction numbers, we haven’t hit bottom yet.
Monkey See, I think I’ve crossed the proverbial line in the sand and I say “Let the Markets Decide”. It has long been debated that the government is pumping vast quantities of dollars into the market to stem the depth and speed of the fall. While all is done with noble intent, it is done so at the expense of our 3rd, 4th tier generations.
It seems to me that the more we require government involvement, the more dependent we are on our government to sustain us. There is a delicate balance between business and government and I believe we have tipped that scale. Americans are resilient and we will recover, but this business of trying to stem the tide needs to cease.
When the Fed and Congress won’t close down or seriously regulate the operating platforms (re. derivative markets) that allowed the sytemic risk to exist, we are kidding ourselves if we think we can prop up an unsustainable model. Given that Congress has an overall approval rating of under 25%, it also seems to me that the nation has no hope of our electorate to come up with any reasonable solution(s).
There’s no question that stopping government funds would expose us (and business) to tremendous risk, but at least we would know the worst of it and be able to move forward. At the end of the day, what are we really afraid of anyway?
the unemployment figure is wrong , i would think that the number should be above 20
No questions the U-6 stats are the important ones. Why aren’t these plastered all over the Major media outlets? This country is truly on the verge of revolution. But come on people, to blame Obama for this mess is ridiculous. Reagan created more debt in this country than any president. We are still paying considerable interest on that debt. How’s that trickle down economics working for all the unemployed now while the Wall Street fat cats are laughing all the way to the bank?
I have been there and do agree. My last job was Temp work. The company treated myself and other experienced and skilled temp coworkers who have been the field for years like total crap. We had lost our real jobs due to the economy. It was`nt our fault. We were second class all the way. When they let us all go we were replaced with less skilled non temp employees who could`nt do half the job and did`nt have half the experience. The day after we had to sit in the lunch room and watch the annual bonus checks get handed out we got let go.
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