U.S. Economy Gains Steam as 200,000 Jobs Are Added - Jets Insider.com Forums

Buster · 01-06-2012, 12:21 PM

[URL="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/07/business/economy/us-adds-200000-jobs-unemployment-rate-at-8-5.html?_r=1&hp"]http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/07/business/economy/us-adds-200000-jobs-unemployment-rate-at-8-5.html?_r=1&hp[/URL]

[QUOTE]

The United States added 200,000 new jobs last month, the Labor Department said Friday, a robust figure indicating that the economic recovery may finally be building up a head of steam.

[B]The nation’s unemployment rate fell to 8.5 percent in December, from a revised 8.7 percent in November, the government said. The Labor Department also revised the number of new jobs added in November to 100,000, from 120,000. [/B]

The employment report added to a flurry of heartening economic news in December, when consumer confidence rose, manufacturing came in strong and small businesses showed signs of life. It was the sixth consecutive month that the economy added at least 100,000 jobs — not enough to restore employment to prerecession levels, but enough, perhaps, to cheer President Obama as he enters an election year.

The upward trend restored some of the ground lost this spring and summer, when global events like the earthquake in Japan and domestic ones like the debt ceiling debate slowed the American recovery to a crawl and raised fears of a second recession. Then, even signs of modest growth were dismissed as too anemic. Now, they are drawing tentative praise.

“People were very much thinking that the sky was falling,” said Tom Porcelli, an economist at RBC Capital Markets. “It’s no small victory that we’re up here, even with all these headwinds.”

Up here, Mr. Porcelli was quick to note, is none too lofty a perch.

Lowering the unemployment rate significantly would require many more jobs a month than the economy has been adding. And there are several factors that could weigh down what momentum there is.

[B]Congress may yet decline to continue extensions of the payroll tax break and unemployment benefits that have given families a lift and boosted spending. Money, in the form of loans, is still hard to come by. Home values continue to drop. And though the most recent numbers make it appear the United States is shrugging off the troubles in the euro zone, a severe slowdown there or, worse, a catastrophic financial collapse, is still a threat. [/B]

Still, optimists were quick to trumpet the American economy’s resilience. “This is the real thing,” said Ian Shepherdson of High Frequency Economics. “This is finally the economy throwing off the shackles of the credit crunch.”

The numbers were foreshadowed in a report by ADP, the payroll processing company, that showed a whopping gain of 325,000 private-sector jobs in December. ADP’s reports do not always correlate closely with the Labor Department’s findings, but they can provide additional insight. Diane Swonk, an economist with Mesirow Financial, said most of the new jobs in the ADP payroll report were at small businesses and that generally only newer small businesses used a payroll company.

“It’s one of those things where you look at that and say, ‘That would be really cool if that continues,’ ” Ms. Swonk said. “It’s not just small business — it’s new business formation.”

Ms. Swonk said the Labor Department numbers tend to underestimate growth in small business jobs and the self-employed, both of which can be indicators of a turnaround.

Other factors, like seasonal adjustment, could actually make the economy look better than it is. Seasonal adjustments are calculated based on the patterns of recent years. Because the recession began in December 2007, a drop-off at that time of year is now part of the pattern, and anything else looks better by comparison.

[B]But there are indications that there is more to the good news than a statistical fluke, said Ellen Zentner, an economist with Nomura, pointing to the big jump in consumer confidence in December. “People do not feel more upbeat for no reason,” she said. [/B]

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: January 6, 2012

Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article, and an e-mail alert, misstated the unemployment figure for November. Although it was initially given a month ago as 8.6 percent, it was revised Friday to 8.7 percent.

[/QUOTE]

AlwaysGreenAlwaysWhite · 01-06-2012, 12:24 PM

Posting job increases for November and December is only masking the true numbers...

If they're still employed in March and April, then you have real increase...

FF2® · 01-06-2012, 03:03 PM

These are good numbers so prepare to be slammed.

Warfish · 01-06-2012, 03:18 PM

[QUOTE=FF2®;4315455]These are good numbers so prepare to be slammed.[/QUOTE]

For what?

8.5% > 8.7%

So it's good news on the surface.

I'd like to read more, get the full picture, how many dropped out (no longer counted), how many under-employed, how many new jobs were "seasonal", etc.

But on it's face, reduced unemployment is good economci news.

AlbanyJet · 01-06-2012, 04:30 PM

News Update: Wall Street shrugs off December jobs report because they know that 60,000 of the 200,000 putative new jobs were seasonal.

:jets17

Piper · 01-06-2012, 05:03 PM

[QUOTE=Warfish;4315497]For what?

8.5% > 8.7%

So it's good news on the surface.

I'd like to read more, get the full picture, how many dropped out (no longer counted), how many under-employed, how many new jobs were "seasonal", etc.

But on it's face, reduced unemployment is good economci news.[/QUOTE]

Stop slamming people who don't want to know complete facts.

Just stop.

01-06-2012, 12:21 PM	#1
Buster not a rocket surgeon All League Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: East of the Jordan, West of the Rock of Gibraltar Posts: 4,267	U.S. Economy Gains Steam as 200,000 Jobs Are Added [URL="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/07/business/economy/us-adds-200000-jobs-unemployment-rate-at-8-5.html?_r=1&hp"]http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/07/business/economy/us-adds-200000-jobs-unemployment-rate-at-8-5.html?_r=1&hp[/URL] [QUOTE] The United States added 200,000 new jobs last month, the Labor Department said Friday, a robust figure indicating that the economic recovery may finally be building up a head of steam. [B]The nation’s unemployment rate fell to 8.5 percent in December, from a revised 8.7 percent in November, the government said. The Labor Department also revised the number of new jobs added in November to 100,000, from 120,000. [/B] The employment report added to a flurry of heartening economic news in December, when consumer confidence rose, manufacturing came in strong and small businesses showed signs of life. It was the sixth consecutive month that the economy added at least 100,000 jobs — not enough to restore employment to prerecession levels, but enough, perhaps, to cheer President Obama as he enters an election year. The upward trend restored some of the ground lost this spring and summer, when global events like the earthquake in Japan and domestic ones like the debt ceiling debate slowed the American recovery to a crawl and raised fears of a second recession. Then, even signs of modest growth were dismissed as too anemic. Now, they are drawing tentative praise. “People were very much thinking that the sky was falling,” said Tom Porcelli, an economist at RBC Capital Markets. “It’s no small victory that we’re up here, even with all these headwinds.” Up here, Mr. Porcelli was quick to note, is none too lofty a perch. Lowering the unemployment rate significantly would require many more jobs a month than the economy has been adding. And there are several factors that could weigh down what momentum there is. [B]Congress may yet decline to continue extensions of the payroll tax break and unemployment benefits that have given families a lift and boosted spending. Money, in the form of loans, is still hard to come by. Home values continue to drop. And though the most recent numbers make it appear the United States is shrugging off the troubles in the euro zone, a severe slowdown there or, worse, a catastrophic financial collapse, is still a threat. [/B] Still, optimists were quick to trumpet the American economy’s resilience. “This is the real thing,” said Ian Shepherdson of High Frequency Economics. “This is finally the economy throwing off the shackles of the credit crunch.” The numbers were foreshadowed in a report by ADP, the payroll processing company, that showed a whopping gain of 325,000 private-sector jobs in December. ADP’s reports do not always correlate closely with the Labor Department’s findings, but they can provide additional insight. Diane Swonk, an economist with Mesirow Financial, said most of the new jobs in the ADP payroll report were at small businesses and that generally only newer small businesses used a payroll company. “It’s one of those things where you look at that and say, ‘That would be really cool if that continues,’ ” Ms. Swonk said. “It’s not just small business — it’s new business formation.” Ms. Swonk said the Labor Department numbers tend to underestimate growth in small business jobs and the self-employed, both of which can be indicators of a turnaround. Other factors, like seasonal adjustment, could actually make the economy look better than it is. Seasonal adjustments are calculated based on the patterns of recent years. Because the recession began in December 2007, a drop-off at that time of year is now part of the pattern, and anything else looks better by comparison. [B]But there are indications that there is more to the good news than a statistical fluke, said Ellen Zentner, an economist with Nomura, pointing to the big jump in consumer confidence in December. “People do not feel more upbeat for no reason,” she said. [/B] This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: Correction: January 6, 2012 Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article, and an e-mail alert, misstated the unemployment figure for November. Although it was initially given a month ago as 8.6 percent, it was revised Friday to 8.7 percent. [/QUOTE]

01-06-2012, 12:24 PM	#2
AlwaysGreenAlwaysWhite is all out of fuCks to give... All Pro Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 7,453	Posting job increases for November and December is only masking the true numbers... If they're still employed in March and April, then you have real increase...

01-06-2012, 03:03 PM	#3
FF2® Believes Sloppy Guy was involved JetsInsider.com Legend Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 46,223	These are good numbers so prepare to be slammed.

01-06-2012, 03:18 PM	#4
Warfish JetsInsider.com Legend Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 35,000	[QUOTE=FF2®;4315455]These are good numbers so prepare to be slammed.[/QUOTE] For what? 8.5% > 8.7% So it's good news on the surface. I'd like to read more, get the full picture, how many dropped out (no longer counted), how many under-employed, how many new jobs were "seasonal", etc. But on it's face, reduced unemployment is good economci news.

01-06-2012, 04:30 PM	#5
AlbanyJet All League Join Date: Apr 2003 Posts: 2,633	News Update: Wall Street shrugs off December jobs report because they know that 60,000 of the 200,000 putative new jobs were seasonal. :jets17

01-06-2012, 05:03 PM	#6
Piper Hall Of Fame Charter JI Member Join Date: May 1999 Location: L.I. NY (where the Jets used to be from) Posts: 13,197	[QUOTE=Warfish;4315497]For what? 8.5% > 8.7% So it's good news on the surface. I'd like to read more, get the full picture, how many dropped out (no longer counted), how many under-employed, how many new jobs were "seasonal", etc. But on it's face, reduced unemployment is good economci news.[/QUOTE] Stop slamming people who don't want to know complete facts. Just stop.