Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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The
nation added 192,000 new private-sector jobs in March, the best
performance in four months but still on a par with a four-year recovery
that advances haltingly and never managed to sustain prolonged and
vigorous growth.
U.S. jobs up 192,000 in March, unemployment rate holds at 6.7%
Associated Press
Job seekers line up to attend a marijuana industry job fair in downtown Denver.
The
nation added 192,000 new private-sector jobs in March, the best
performance in four months but still on a par with a four-year recovery
that advances haltingly and never managed to sustain prolonged and
vigorous growth.
The U.S. economy even reached a milestone last month: The private sector has recouped the number of jobs it lost in the downturn that began in 2008.
"The private sector lost 8.8 million jobs during the labor market downturn and has gained 8.9 million since the employment low in February 2010," according to a statement Friday from Erica Groshen, commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The nation's unemployment rate remained unchanged from February at 6.7%, but economists pointed out that the flat figure obscures an optimistic trend.
The proportion of unemployed Americans who are looking for a job increased in March, meaning fewer feel so discouraged that they don't even bother looking. Official government statistics only tally a person as "unemployed" if they are looking for work, meaning the new job applicants statistically inflate the number of unemployed.
If not for an increase in the size of the labor force, the unemployment rate would have fallen, said Scott Anderson, an economist in San Francisco at the BNP Paribas banking group.
"Headline unemployment held steady for the right reasons," Anderson said.
The unemployment rate has hovered between 6.6% and 6.7% for the last four months, but remains lower than 7.5% in March one year ago and well below the recessionary peak of 10.0% in late 2009.
The national recovery has been uneven and often frustratingly slow. But around Green Bay, manufacturers are looking for skilled labor, said James Golembeski, executive director of the 11-county Bay Area Workforce Development Board.
"Job postings have been increasing week by week," Golembeski said. "I've seen it increase week by week," rising to 9,200 estimated openings in the northeast quadrant of the state, up several hundred from three weeks ago.
Asked why the greater Green Bay area is showing signs of life, Golembeski said his hometown ranks among the "Resurgent Industrial Cities" in a study of the Midwest by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Those are cities that have maintained their industrial base as well as their quality-of-life and well-being metrics.
Not all Midwest cities fall into that category. According to the Chicago Fed, places like Racine are called "Fading Cities" — cities with measurable erosion in both manufacturing employment and measures of well-being.
For the month of March, many on Wall Street were expecting national job creation closer to 200,000.
"The markets got about what they expected, a solid and improving labor market snapshot for March, but not a blowout payroll report as some analysts were expecting," Anderson said.
While private-sector jobs continued to plow ahead, the government sector remained hobbled. Employment by any government body — either federal, state or municipal —netted out at zero in the month.
Government employment has fallen for 35 of the last 48 months. Even as the private sector clawed its way back to pre-recession levels, total government employment nationwide is still down by more than a half million.
Delving into Friday's data revealed several other reasons for optimism.
The labor force participation rate, which counts the proportion of working-age Americans who have a job or are looking for one, rose to a six-month high of 63.2% from 63% in February.
Also on the positive side, the previously reported job creation tallies for January and February were revised upward by 37,000.
Some attributed the malaise in December and January to a bitterly cold and snowy winter.
As weather warms, the economy also looks sunnier going forward, said Marquette University economics professor Abdur Chowdhury.
"Now that the weather-related weakness is behind us, we expect monthly gains in payroll employment to remain close to the 200,000 mark, driving the unemployment rate gradually lower," the economist said.
The U.S. economy even reached a milestone last month: The private sector has recouped the number of jobs it lost in the downturn that began in 2008.
"The private sector lost 8.8 million jobs during the labor market downturn and has gained 8.9 million since the employment low in February 2010," according to a statement Friday from Erica Groshen, commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The nation's unemployment rate remained unchanged from February at 6.7%, but economists pointed out that the flat figure obscures an optimistic trend.
The proportion of unemployed Americans who are looking for a job increased in March, meaning fewer feel so discouraged that they don't even bother looking. Official government statistics only tally a person as "unemployed" if they are looking for work, meaning the new job applicants statistically inflate the number of unemployed.
If not for an increase in the size of the labor force, the unemployment rate would have fallen, said Scott Anderson, an economist in San Francisco at the BNP Paribas banking group.
"Headline unemployment held steady for the right reasons," Anderson said.
The unemployment rate has hovered between 6.6% and 6.7% for the last four months, but remains lower than 7.5% in March one year ago and well below the recessionary peak of 10.0% in late 2009.
The national recovery has been uneven and often frustratingly slow. But around Green Bay, manufacturers are looking for skilled labor, said James Golembeski, executive director of the 11-county Bay Area Workforce Development Board.
"Job postings have been increasing week by week," Golembeski said. "I've seen it increase week by week," rising to 9,200 estimated openings in the northeast quadrant of the state, up several hundred from three weeks ago.
Asked why the greater Green Bay area is showing signs of life, Golembeski said his hometown ranks among the "Resurgent Industrial Cities" in a study of the Midwest by the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Those are cities that have maintained their industrial base as well as their quality-of-life and well-being metrics.
Not all Midwest cities fall into that category. According to the Chicago Fed, places like Racine are called "Fading Cities" — cities with measurable erosion in both manufacturing employment and measures of well-being.
For the month of March, many on Wall Street were expecting national job creation closer to 200,000.
"The markets got about what they expected, a solid and improving labor market snapshot for March, but not a blowout payroll report as some analysts were expecting," Anderson said.
While private-sector jobs continued to plow ahead, the government sector remained hobbled. Employment by any government body — either federal, state or municipal —netted out at zero in the month.
Government employment has fallen for 35 of the last 48 months. Even as the private sector clawed its way back to pre-recession levels, total government employment nationwide is still down by more than a half million.
Delving into Friday's data revealed several other reasons for optimism.
The labor force participation rate, which counts the proportion of working-age Americans who have a job or are looking for one, rose to a six-month high of 63.2% from 63% in February.
Also on the positive side, the previously reported job creation tallies for January and February were revised upward by 37,000.
Some attributed the malaise in December and January to a bitterly cold and snowy winter.
As weather warms, the economy also looks sunnier going forward, said Marquette University economics professor Abdur Chowdhury.
"Now that the weather-related weakness is behind us, we expect monthly gains in payroll employment to remain close to the 200,000 mark, driving the unemployment rate gradually lower," the economist said.
