Job growth picks up steam in July, far exceeds expectations

[ProSense]

Job growth picks up steam in July, far exceeds expectations

By Steve Benen



<...>

The new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the U.S. economy added 163,000 jobs in July, more than double the figures from the previous three months, and nearly double the predictions from economists going into this morning. The unemployment rate inched higher, from 8.2% to 8.3%, but as we've discussed many times, the figure can be misleading -- the rate sometimes goes up when more people reenter the job market.

As is nearly always the case, there was a gap in the public vs. private sectors -- American businesses added 172,000 jobs last month, while the government shed 9,000 jobs. In terms of revisions, May's totals were revised up a little, while June's totals were down a little.

It's worth emphasizing that 163,000 new jobs in a month is not evidence of a strong, robust recovery, but given the severity of the Great Recession, the figures are relative -- today's report is good news because it's evidence of real progress. July's totals are the best we've seen since February, and reverse the deeply disappointing trend of the last few months.

<...>

Update: Here's another chart, this one showing monthly job losses/gains in just the private sector since the start of the Great Recession.



http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/08/03/13103195-job-growth-picks-up-steam-in-july-far-exceeds-expectations

[greatauntoftriplets]

1. That's great news for President Obama and the nation.

Rmoney must be squirming.

[mazzarro]

2. Ok - Keep it classy

By right-wingnuts logic, the improvement is a result of expectation that rMoney will win the election - so the business community in now hiring in anticipation of that. So no credit goes to Obama for this!

[n2doc]

3. If the freakin state and fed governments would just stop making things worse with layoffs

We would be doing pretty well. Of course, all the MSM will say is "unemployment rate went up".

[ProSense]

4. It's the

"If the freakin state and fed governments would just stop making things worse with layoffs"

...state and local governments, not the fed.

<...>

Notice that I said “government in America,” not “the federal government.” The federal government has been pursuing what amount to contractionary policies as the last vestiges of the Obama stimulus fade out, but the big cuts have come at the state and local level...We’re talking big numbers here. If government employment under Mr. Obama had grown at Reagan-era rates, 1.3 million more Americans would be working as schoolteachers, firefighters, police officers, etc., than are currently employed in such jobs.

And once you take the effects of public spending on private employment into account, a rough estimate is that the unemployment rate would be 1.5 percentage points lower than it is, or below 7 percent — significantly better than the Reagan economy at this stage.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/05/opinion/krugman-states-of-depression.html

Krugman: Reversing Local Austerity
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/17/reversing-local-austerity/

[n2doc]

5. The fed government has been working on continuing resolutions since the baggers took over

Many departments (except defense and HS) haven't increased their size in years and have had to actively cut back on projects.

[ProSense]

6. Maybe,

The fed government has been working on continuing resolutions since the baggers took over

Many departments (except defense and HS) haven't increased their size in years and have had to actively cut back on projects.

...but the nearly 700,000 jobs cut have been at the state and local level.

[earthside]

7. Go Figure. Or, Don't Fall for the Spin.

From the BLS

Table A
Household Data
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf

Employed
June 2012: 142,415
July 2012: 142,220
Change: -195

Unemployed
June 2012: 12,749
July 2012: 12,794
Change: +45

Unemployment rate
June 2012: 8.2
July 2012: 8.3
Change: +.1

In other words, don't fall for the spin. This is not a good unemployment report.
Imagine, we are still in a predicament where an alleged, 'seasonally adjusted' increase of 163,000 is being touted as "real progress".

Nothing will be worse for Pres. Obama and the Democrats than trying to tell Americans that everything is coming up roses -- when personal experience in everyday life tells folks that things are just plain not good. Crowing about minor ticks in employment will be counterproductive -- telling the American people the truth that corporate elites are screwing us and we all ought to be angry at their corruption and the Repuglican's complicity in this economic fiasco is what will rally voters to reject Romneyism.

More news ... unemployment was up in June in swing state Colorado:
Colorado jobless rate increases to 8.2 percent - July 20, 2012

[ProSense]

8. From the

"Go Figure. Or, Don't Fall for the Spin."

...OP:

The unemployment rate inched higher, from 8.2% to 8.3%, but as we've discussed many times, the figure can be misleading -- the rate sometimes goes up when more people reenter the job market.

That's not spin.

More than 160,000 jobs were created. That's not spin either.