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The truth behind the December jobless numbers
On Friday, January 6, the U.S. Labor Department once again released its figures for the December jobs situation. Once again, after a crescendo of hype build up in the business press that the forthcoming numbers would show a clear recovery in the jobs market, the numbers "disappointed."
The Labor Department's 'Current Establishment Survey', based on reporting of job hiring and layoffs by more than 400,000 U.S. companies, showed only 103,000 jobs added in December. For net job growth in the economy, a minimum of 150,000 jobs needs to be added each month. So the trend continues toward job loss despite the media hype.
But wait a minute, those who argue the economy and jobs market is in recovery say, another Labor Department survey, the 'Current Population Survey' shows that jobs grew by 297,000 in December and the unemployment rate fell from 9.8% to 9.4%. Doesn't that show a turnaround?