The US jobs report was a warning sign - even before the Omicron surge

[turbinetree]

Robert Reich

Friday’s jobs report from the Department of Labor was a warning sign about the US economy. It should cause widespread concern about the Fed’s plans to raise interest rates to control inflation. And it should cause policymakers to rethink ending government supports such as extended unemployment insurance and the child tax credit. These will soon be needed to keep millions of families afloat.

Employers added only 199,000 jobs in December. That’s the fewest new jobs added in any month last year. In November, employers added 249,000. The average for 2021 was 537,000 jobs per month. Note also that the December survey was done in mid-December, before the latest surge in the Omicron variant of Covid caused millions of people to stay home.

But the Fed is focused on the fact that average hourly wages climbed 4.7% over the year. Central bankers believe those wage increases have been pushing up prices. They also believe the US is nearing “full employment” – the maximum rate of employment possible without igniting even more inflation.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jan/09/us-jobs-report-warning-sign-even-before-omicron-surge

[Hoyt]

1. Glad Biden isn't using Reich for advice.

[KPN]

8. Huh. Why do you say that? What specifically has he got

so wrong. I don’t see it.

[Hoyt]

9. Don't get me started on Reich. He helped give us trump, and now he's

implying “Biden’s economy” really isn’t that strong. Inflation may be short-term, but it will not be good for Democrats if it goes well into 2022.

There’s a reason neither Obama or H Clinton sought his advice.

Maybe you could be specific about why you think Reich is correct about anything beyond first year economics and politics.

[KPN]

10. How did Reich give us Trump. That's a specious statement

absent explanation. By all means, get started.

[Hoyt]

11. It's time for you to answer some of my questions.

As to your question, Reich was for NAFTA under Bill Clinton. Then, running up to 2016 election, Reich — a a few other Democrats— bashed Obama and H Clinton for international trade update to NAFTA and new TPP, playing right into trump’s victory.

Again, why didn’t Obama or H Clinton listen to — or trust — him? Answer, the above plus he’s not a good economist.

With that said, I probably would have liked him for freshman economics and policy 50 years ago.

Your turn.

[Hoyt]

15. LMAO. Your boy Reich was for NAFTA when Bill Clinton was Prez. Then, he was against NAFT when trump

also came out against NAFTA.

Worse, your boy Reich went after Obama and Hillary Clinton on TPP (that would have done as you said regarding China), essentially taking trump's position leading up to 2016 election.

Think you ought to do a little digging on Reich. Then, you'll realize why Obama, H Clinton, and now Biden, shun him.

[anti stupid]

16. if you were paying attention

Reich was against the fucked up version of a trade program the idiot trump was trying to pursue AFTER he pulled out of all sorts of agreements that the US had negotiated over years. As it turned out Trump royally fucked up and had to "renegotiate" The north American trade agreement after bashing ....Canada. And then made a big announcement that he had made a great ne deal....The New agreement was ...was so similar to the one Trump had vilified that the whole situation was just a big political show. Pretty much standard for the ASSHOLE trump administration.

[Hoyt]

17. Reich might have bashed trump's trade deals after Reich's back-stabbing helped elect trump.

But, Reich's BS definitely helped elect trump.

Like I said, there is a reason Obama, Hillary Clinton, and now Biden avoid Reich.

[anti stupid]

2. bull

Robert Reich is dead on accurate. Throughout these pandemic, corporate profits have not suffered ...notice the stock market at recent highs? Nor are the well-off suffering. As usual it has been the middle class and low wage earners suffering. Real wages have not increased. It is well known that raising minimum living wages, does not contribute significantly to inflation. But Cooperate price fixing does and lack of competition does.

[Sherman A1]

3. Precisely

Reich is spot on as usual.

[liberalmuse]

6. Yep.

This is the first time in my life as a Democrat I'm starting to become severely disillusioned. To tell Americans we are nothing more than grist for the capitalist mill and our lives will be sacrificed for the economy which only benefits the very few is so demoralizing. "Go back to work" as a policy and allowing CEO's to dictate CDC guidelines is not going to help us win elections. When it comes down to it, Republicans would vote for satan but Democrats will stay home if they realize their leadership doesn't give two shits about them.

[KPN]

7. Yep, serfdom is back and alive. Stunning that

anyone would defend the banksters and Wall Street. Let alone …

[NickB79]

4. We only added 199,000 jobs because of a worker shortage

There are literally millions of open positions in the US right now. The demand from employers is there; the workers aren't. Millions have left the labor market permanently thanks to COVID.

No amount of policy change, short of opening the border, will fix that.

[Takket]

5. they only added 200k jobs because people are VOLENTARILY leaving the workforce

its not like they added 200k because employers aren't hiring and there are millions on unemployment.

you can only add so many jobs every month before everyone that wants one, has one. this isn't complicated.

[Bettie]

13. Also, every jobs report since Biden took office

ends up getting adjusted upward by a whole lot after all the data is in.

The early ones are never right.

[RussBLib]

14. can someone explain this?

last week, ADP showed over 800,000 jobs added in December. The govt stats the next day showed 199,000 jobs, which "severely disappointed".

Now, every tv show talks about the 199,000 jobs, but not the ADP stats of over 800,000.

If it were up to me, I would tend to trust ADP over the govt stats.

so...why does the ADP figures just disappear from the conversation.

Apologies if this has been answered before.