This morning’s employment data: Are we back on track? If so, why does the American Job Shortage Number or AJSN say we can fill over 800,000 more positions than last month? See http://worksnewage.blogspot.com/2019/07/junes-employment-report-with-big-hiring.html.
For once I agree with Pinnocchio. It's unbelievable. There may be jobs, but they're not the ones you brag about. Minimum wage burger flipping and retail is nothing to build a life on. And definitely not to raise a family on. If the GOP were half responsible, this would be the perfect time to fix the deficit, Social Security and The Climate issue. Why are you laughing?
8
Short memory and ADD is in full play once again.
The numbers euphoria won't last, but would definitely will result in slowdown trend or worse...I'm just a common sense person, with no economic background, but have some familiarity with facts of boom & bust cycles.
"A boom and bust cycle is a process of economic expansion and contraction that occurs repeatedly. The boom and bust cycle is a key characteristic of today's capitalist economies. ... In the subsequent bust the economy shrinks, people lose their jobs and investors lose money. Jun 25, 2019"
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/boom-and-bust-cycle.asp
Unfortunately, it's all by design...
"The primary problem lies in the interpretation of the data by economically illiterate reporters in the mainstream media who report on unemployment levels without bothering to define their terms"
Bags the question, why hire these economically ignorant people in the 1st. place...
The cheer insanity of stock market is beyond my non financial brain.
Here's the book from expert...
https://www.amazon.com/Collapse-Societies-Choose-Fail-Succeed/dp/0670033375
"When Diamond wrote his book on why societies collapse he came to the conclusion that it occurred when elites weren’t experiencing the same things as the majority of the society–when they were isolated from the problems and challenges the society was facing."
How long since americans had a raise...
meanwhile cost of living on steroids.
Breathing permitted only in rarified air.
3
It is called the three job per person economy.
4
What Democrats really want is bad news for America; for them bad news is good news. Is that any way to win an election? They must think so.
2
This economy, was and is all due to Ben Bernanke and Obama! Thanks to them!
2
That peculiar. ADP claims less than half that number of jobs were created during the month of June on Wednesday. Someone is obviously lying, and I'm going to bet it's the person whom we know always lies.
I understand the idea of linking potential inflation to employment, but that’s not true today, with the mega corporations holding down wages and the lack of unions.
When wages Have been stagnant since the 70s, this makes no sense.
8
Seems the culture of the United State has always been for the wealthy class of people to own others. In revolutionary times they owned people based on race now it’s based on social and financial position.
We need to plant trees, grow gardens, educate ourselves, stop eating meat and consuming useless items. Reduce dependency on fossil fuel.
The consumer culture is depleting all resources. It is time for independence from consumerism and time for more self sustenance.
15
The economy is good because the Trump administration is pro-business. It has rolled back crippling regulations Obama put in place which were anti business. Antibusiness government regulations are the one single thing that can hold back expansion. The debt level is nothing congress will deal with and maybe they shouldn't-after all the members need to get reelected. Given time the expansion will lead to growth in wages. Wages are rising and will increase as jobs to be filled are greater than those individuals available to fill them. Its pretty simple, that's what causes wages to rise-nothing else. The trade war is mostly for political show, although it needed addressing. China and Europe have had the advantage for along time by subsidizing their industries that complete with the U.S.
6
@clayton e woodrum. I often wonder why those such as yourself think removing regulations, which has vastly increased pollution a good thing...while you give no credit to Obama who brought us out of the horrific economic collapse given to us by bush and the repubs.
You should look deeper into this economy and it’s weaknesses which emphasize only the wealthy. GDP growth means little when it goes to only the wealthiest.
19
Clayton E. Woodrum, then why are we creating only 194,000 jobs per month under Trump compared to the 229,000 per month for the same period under Obama? WHY is the level of economic growth essentially the same?
9
@clayton e woodrum i'm no economist, just a poor social worker. Didn't unions have something to do with regulating wages and work conditions? I don't think that happened without some street level political action and bloodshed. Somehow, I don't think you grasp the worker's perspective on this.
12
When an economic report is good, Trump claims credit. When a report is bad, he blames the Fed. Usually, neither is true. Clearly, he does not understand the rationale for the Fed and thinks it is his to manipulate to serve his personal interests. Clearly, he (someone who works for him) cherry-picks data from the economic reports to serve his own interests. It is time to elect a president who can look at data, discuss it with experts and make reasoned claims and decisions.
14
If one is concerned about one's blood pressure, how does one monitor it? Drive through rush hour traffic and run up the stairs to your doctor appt...nurse enters the room, straps the cuff on. That number is a snapshot of "something".
Or you could watch a movie of your health by measuring it at home, sitting in a comfortable chair for a few minutes. And record that BP every week, or every day. Take the measurement properly and look at the long term trend.
A one month "jobs report" is a snapshot. Show me the movie which started some time ago, please.
And as so many have said, what do these jobs offer for pay and benefits? Enough to feed a family, health insurance?
The only silver lining that I see here is that this might cause the Fed to hold off on rate cuts. The banks and shadow lenders have been given too many gifts already. And savers have been punished.
Dig deeper, please. Dark times ahead... Google CLOs.
5
Sure, jobs, but at what price? The federal debt is in bubble territory. Zombie companies are still staggering along, fueled by cheap debt. Whomever is President in 2020 will have a huge mess to clean up.
12
....Workers assembling cars at a Ford Motor plant in Chicago..
(Figure caption)
Doesn't look like a car to me. Looks like a pick up.
And btw, tariffs help manufacturing in the US, preventing further shifts to China - such as passagers cars, production of which both Ford and GM are terminating in the US
4
"Strong Job Growth!" However, the caveat was an "uptick" in unemployment?
It appeared to me that there was a net loss of jobs and stagnation rather than growth, It also indicated that the "Strong Job Growth" was based on temporary employment.
9
What does a job mean in the USA? What sort of lifestyle does it offer? Why aren't there less homeless, fewer drug addicts, and more encouragement to let in new people who statistically have always improved a nation's workforce.
10
Where, what demographics and what industries? Because I can say with strong confidence that job opportunities are not in abundance for those of us in our late 40s and 50s. Many of us have seen contraction in the industries in which we worked (e.g., publishing), largely due to mergers.
13
@statuteofliberty mostly in the manufacturing sector
If the fed drops rates again get your money out of the market and banks
6
Everytime new job numbers come out, I find myself asking the same question. How many of those jobs are full-time, high-paying jobs with great benefits and how many are part-time, minimum wage, no-benefit jobs? I'm willing to bet there are a lot more of the latter than anyone wants to admit. It should be relatively simple to add a couple of questions to those that the Labor Department asks employers. Then we could see what types of jobs are being created. But maybe that's the point of the current way of doing things. The powers that be don't want to know the truth and don't want the rest of us to know the truth either.
22
@Doug
Then this fact that Trump doesn't discuss:
"A trio of new reports paint an increasingly troubling picture of the auto loan landscape. First up: According to new numbers from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, a record 7 million Americans are at least three months behind on their car loan payments. That’s about a million more than there were in 2009, the end of the last recession."
https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2019/02/subprime-car-loans-buy-automobile-lending-debt-trap/582652/
1
i sense a phenomenon that economists are unable to explain
the lack of available people to fill positions
the dropping of previous requirements for job eligibility
possibly this is why minorities are now beginning to feel the benefits of this expansion
and possibly the stopping or uncertainty of being able to employ illegal workers is also contributing
1
Seems like just yesterday that the Tea Party Republicans were so worried about debt that they blocked relief for Hurricane Sandy Suffers. Now they are Trump Republicans basking in a prosperity built on massive debt created, in part, by the Bush and Trump cuts. Can't wait to see what happens when it comes time to raise the debt ceiling again.
10
I saw earlier today a sobering and somewhat surpriding list of well-known chain stores closing or planning to close.
Sure, the retail landscape is changing, as new businesses arise, but they didn’t appear to be good economic news.
11
@lm
Stores depending on customer traffic are dying because so much is purchased on line. Newer businesses are starting out on line. They depend on people like me who haven't been to a store in years except maybe Lowes or Home depot.
4
Trade War Is a bit extreme. The issues at hand have been and will always be similar. MSM will always exaggerate issues either way.
2
As a small business owner and an independent voter, I say cut taxes again and I will hire yet again — full time jobs with healthcare and 401k benefits. It’s really that simple.
7
@Chris So, if we continue to cut taxes on the premise of hiring and providing benefits, at what point do we the remaining taxpayers realize we have really broken the bank due to diminishing returns?
Perhaps if you pay your employees a wage that would make up the shortfall in taxes you no longer pay then the model may work.
If you pay fast-food wages, then, the model fails.
Pay now or pay later, but, don't try to pull a Trump con stunt on us.
10
@Dan
Literally from the article
"Only recently have the economic gains filtered down to black and Hispanic workers, those with less education, and others who face discrimination or other barriers to employment."
1
@Chris
I had my own small factory for 13 years with 40 employees.
The only reason I would hire more workers was if I had more business.
Tax cuts went into my pocket for a new BMW and vacations to Europe.
We certainly didn't see Corporate America doing a lot of hiring because of this last tax cut.
But a lot of stock buy backs.
And with this last tax cut, the deficit went from $600 Billion to $1 Trillion.
The projected ten year addition to the debt is $12 Trillion which is $80,000 per taxpayer.
Jobs 2018: 2.6 Million
Jobs 2015: 2.7 Million
Jobs 2014: 3.0 Million
And that was with Obama putting back the W Bush highest marginal "tax cut for the job creators."
And with the "jobs killing" Obama-care.
10
You know what would turn the trickle into a dribble? Moar tax cuts!
3
@Dron
Literally from the article
"Only recently have the economic gains filtered down to black and Hispanic workers, those with less education, and others who face discrimination or other barriers to employment."
1
Bravo, Mr. Trump. Bless you and your love for America.
16
The biggest increase in the deficit in the history of the US has occurred under Trump and the Republicans. Any Republican who dares mention a problem with “ the deficit” is a bald-faced liar.
15
Reality Check 240 thousand tempory jobs added with no health care.400 thousand people retire from jobs pay living wage an health care. Incredible shrinking job market.
12
Manufacturing jobs have increased 700% more under Trump than under Obama.
10
Is it fair to say that Donald Trump is the greatest president this country has ever had?
6
No, it’s not. He’s in the bottom two.
1
@Tad R.
In the last two years anyway. And then, not by much.
Maybe I'm naive, but who is verifying these numbers? It wouldn't be the first time that someone within the administration has plugged some numbers. I am not a conspirator aficionado, but something doesn't fit: vis a vis, the falling interest rates and the rate of growth as published. What has been done to verify these numbers?
JFS
11
@JFS, the numbers are right. I checked them myself.
4
@JFS I had the same thought. This administration isn't very transparent and every day we find out about data they've erased, manipulated, or are trying to hide, so I have become skeptical.
5
When campaigning in 2016, Trump alleged that the excellent jobs numbers reported by the BLS during President Obama's tenure were faked by the BLS, and Republicans believed and promoted this message.
How is it, then, that BLS numbers suddenly are reliable and accurate?
What changed, Republicans?
The skin color of the person in question.
That's what.
19
Wage growth is not there. Jobs aren’t worth a great deal if you can’t buy anything, save anything, plan for anything. Most people are living paycheck to paycheck.
14
US unemployment, GDP, and inflation indicators are manipulated to the point where they became meaningless, just like the so-called 'market'. It's all a command and control economy now, Capitalism has been dead for decades. For real indicators, see: shadowstats.com
Over 700,000 more jobs were added during Obama’s last 2 1/2 years than in Trump’s first 2 1/2 years. Someone tell Trump.
19
I'll once more ask the question I always ask in response to "good news" about employment: How good will the official numbers have to get before the numerous workers over 50 (or 40), which corporations purged from their payrolls during the Great Recession to "unlock shareholder value," become employable again?
18
Good job Mr. President!
16
and say Trump is doing a good job.
@Adam a great job for those making 15,000 a year!
4
A rate cut this year would be irresponsible.
3
If 224,000 jobs created is doing "unbelievably well", Obama did "unbelievably better" on about 50 different occasions
19
no interest rate cut...a small increase would be nice...
4
The question here should really be not “how many jobs were added” but “where are those jobs, what are those jobs, and how much do they pay”. Are they jobs that pay a living wage with benefits, or are they just a whole bunch of part time jobs in retail and fast food? That’s the information that will provide a true picture of how the economy is really doing.
24
Agree.
5
@WesternMass mostly in the manufacturing sector
I won't get into parsing the depth and darkness of the cloud to this economy silver lining. It's real, and Democrats will have plenty of amunition to make their case, what we're all rightly worried about. Yes.
But how we got here is really the bigger problem, Neocon/neoliberal "3rd way" pseudo Democrats (above, or rather "below" all the Clintons, but probably Obama too) sold out American workers by abdicating the message/stance Trump seized, that was really a Democractic message and policy stance.
The neolib/con Dems made a pact with the devil (U Chicago/Friedman/Becker economics), Wall Street (GS especially), defiling their own house in corruption, venality, an internecine welter of moral-ideological confusion selling out the American worker and industry, so FORTINBRAS-TRUMP could swoop into the decimated edifice to seize the mantel. Democrats brought this on themselves starting with embracing the Republican mole Bill Clinton. Thinking back, I alnost wish I voted for GHW Bush, far better man than Clinton, and bided our time for real Democrats (not Biden either by the way, not by a long shot).
Dems made this mess, and they sure better fix it before Trump-republicans further establish themselves as the party of the American worker, a claim the Clintons and their globalism/$-worshipping ilk surely abdicated. They created Trump, and had better fix this, fast!
4
@anonThe “mess” hit the fan when GE Bush was in charge. Lax regulation in the guise of being pro business. Obama made great strides in cleaning it up, but, with unfounded tax cuts along with aims to remove the social safety net, Trump is laying the groundwork for crash 2.
6
@anon i hate to be a downer but bill Clinton signed the Financial modernization Act which repealed the glass-steagall Act. Thus causing the great recession. All because he wanted his to say that he put more people and housing than any other president, well he did now all those poor people were foreclosed on and bankrupt. Clinton created the sub-prime lone market. The economy doesn't peter out, a black swan event or some other out side event causes it.
3
Only geniuses like Bernie Sanders and Ocasio Cortez can add 1 Million jobs per month, they are really what the US, Cuba and Venezuela need. A Revolución! Something radical....
10
Election security is the biggest emergency our country faces right now.
Russians again on our doorsteps and they won't leave until their puppet will be re-elected.
Christopher A. Wray director of the FBI was very clear what to expect ahead of 2020
https://nypost.com/2019/04/27/fbi-russia-will-continue-working-to-undermine-u-s-democracy/
Again please watch...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buwv2zh8WC8
https://www.newsweek.com/kamala-harris-bots-ali-alexander-twitter-donald-trump-jr-conspiracy-race-1446523
Liberals are upset and negative.
Why?
14
@Dr. John
Because the last President created more jobs ?
It's not being upset, it's just being disappointed ....
9
@Marion Grace Merriweather
Your former President never recouped the number of jobs he started with. Slowest recovery in history.
7
@Dr. John: these job numbers are not accurate. Most of the "jobs" are low paying - the kind that Trumptards are able to do. No need for education or thinking.
8
Or course Trump will make the economy a selling point for his re-election.
It wouldn't be smart to run on being a racist corrupt liar who's fine with Vladimir Putin manipulating our election results.
10
More evidence that Trump knows absolutely nothing about anything. In one breath he says the economy is doing "unbelievable well" in the next he's calling for interest rate cuts. Why? What is his justification for the need to cut interest rates further. They are already at historic lows even with the recent increases.
No cogent explanation - he's an idiot.
12
I think that with all the unfilled jobs, the whiny snowflakes who keep saying "illegals" are taking all the jobs are just TOO LAZY to get out and get a job.
Easier to blame someone else for thier failure.
Get a job. Millions of unfilled jobs. Why aren't these FOX-addicted crybabies working?
4
@Ignatz They're too busy enjoying the extra social safety net money from the government that donor states like NJ, CT, and NY do not receive. Are you aware that these donor states receive less back in federal funding than they give to the government? I believe it's around .76 cents on the dollar, whereas poor red states receive a far better ratio from our social safety net. Don't tell them that they're already benefitting from social democracy, though. Truth hurts.
10
Why doesn’t someone tell this to Paul Krugman...
11
@Matt I'm sure the economic professor, Dr. Krugman, could make a better case concerning job creation than most of the pro-Trump arm chair economists on this forum.
4
So the fact that the President of the United States breaks the laws, lies to us on a daily basis, is probably a traitor (read the Mueller Report) and a crook, commits crimes against humanity at the border, some people don't care because he hasn't tanked the economy? It's like reading an article about Hitler praising him for making the trains run on time. How blind and daft is this country and press? I feel like I'm reading something from the twilight zone. Will this country wake up before it is too late?
10
@kay Thank you for bringing reality back to the table. I wish the media would do this constantly, but they won't. It's up to us, the citizens, to rebel against this despot and his cruel behaviors. Vote them ALL OUT.
2
@Matt I'll look forward to you getting your comeuppance, whether it's before the Good Lord when you're standing at the pearly gates, or within your own dark night of the soul.
I can't get inside the mind of a Trumper who just has so much hate in his heart against the "other", or (s)he who is different from you. And the only way you'll learn is by experiencing the same thing that Trump is doing to these poor, afflicted people at the border.
4
Kay,
You must really be enraged, but thanks for your sad message. It reinforces my decision to vote for Mr. Trump.
4
If you happen to watch "Deadline WH" with Nicole Wallace, it's basically highlights how disinformation campaign is already in it's highest gear.
Can't be stressed enough that democrats should be much more prepare since everything is going viral instantly in a fraction of a second, and all the bots coordinating in weaponizing & amplifying tweets releasing all familiar messages like birtherism with domestic help like trump jr. also creating fake site for Biden 2020 that highlights all the negative for the candidate, and gets the record amount of traffic.
Fake sites, fake news all over again...
"Birther" tweet targets Kamala Harris. 2020 Democrats rushed to her defense.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/28/us/politics/donald-trump-jr-kamala-harris.html
Asymmetrical warfare is in full force.
Watch...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buwv2zh8WC8
3
"The strength of the United States economy stands in stark contrast to weakness overseas. Data released Friday showed that German factory orders fell sharply in May, the latest sign of trouble in Europe’s largest economy. The European Central Bank is widely expected to take action to stimulate the economy when it meets this month. China’s manufacturing sector has likewise been struggling, in part because of tariffs imposed by the United States.
Only recently have the economic gains filtered down to black and Hispanic workers, those with less education, and others who face discrimination or other barriers to employment."
So the Global Elites were taking advantage of America and it looks like our most poverty sensitive population (minorities) are actually benefiting from Trumps economy. Yet Trump according to the news he only cares about the 1%.
If you make over $95,000 a year you are the elite.
3
You will head every increasing numbers month by month up until the election or until it all comes crashing down. No numbers coming from DC can now be trusted. Amazing that most of America does not show any increase at all and the numbers continue to go in the opposite way as witnessed by people all over the country. Liars all now in the exec division of the government.
6
@DG I have never believed the numbers the BLS releases concerning employment as many are under-counted, not counted, no longer reported after "x" amount of months, and lastly, there are statisticians, mathematicians and liars. And many times these three "professions" are not mutually exclusive.
1
This is only bad for Dems, not bad for Americans.
14
@James Obama added more jobs in his last 2.5 years than Trump has added in his first 2.5 years. It’s not even close.
1
funny how one month of strong employment numbers gets our republican friends interested in facts again! let's take advantage of this rare moment to state another easily verifiable fact: Obama's last two years and a half in the job produced more jobs than Trump's first two years and a half (by the tune of ONE MILLION jobs more): https://www.forbes.com/sites/chuckjones/2019/07/05/trump-is-falling-almost-1-million-jobs-short-vs-obama/#6eb82fbb8caa
9
Tough wall for Democrats to climb, regardless of the "yes, buts..."
7
Great! All those farmers living off of government handouts in the West and Midwest can go out and get a job in the "service" sector. Good luck waiting tables, guys! Making America great again!!!
8
Minimum wage, no benefit, temporary McJobs is nothing to crow about.
8
Nice to see that Obama economy humming along.
3
It’s summer. Kids have jobs. The bump always happens. I’m more I impressed to learn that air power secured our victory in the Revolutionary War (or maybe it was the war of 1812). That was news!
5
@VisaVixen Kids have jobs in manufacturing? Don't think so.
2
@samuel Of course they do. There are summer, part time jobs for teens and college age kids.
Unemployment rate went from 9.9 in 2009 to 4.1 under Obama, and from 4.1 to 3.7 under Trump. Rather than try to blame Obama for every problem of his own making, Trump should thank Obama every day for the good economy.
13
It doesn’t matter anymore what the economic numbers show. The “resistance “ will refuse to acknowledge any good the current administration is doing. Moderate voters see it though, and woe is me, they are the ones that decide presidential elections.
12
The “resistance”? No, how about the majority of Americans that see through the con that is trump. You know just as well as anyone that the economy has been improving since 2010, but republicans had to come up with something to counteract all that positive news from Obama, so they said “this is the worst recovery since WWII”. So try and admit that the economy has been recovering for 10 years now, alright. And yes, moderates will decide the election, and moderates are over trump and his con games. This will be the first president to lose reelection while presiding over a good economy, because trump has to be the luckiest human ever, and benefited from Russian propaganda, gerrymandering, electoral college, and going up against someone just as unpopular as he is. The perfect storm allowed trump, lighting will not strike in the same place twice, never does.
5
@DanielMarcMD
No woe, just right. Trump is a bull in a china shop, but his pro-business policies produce results. Adapt accordingly.
2
@A. Gargano
Hmmm....30 states voted for Trump. And yes, popular vote is irrelevant. Looks good for Trump.
3
The current employment data indicate that we are still in an Obama economic expansion period. Look at any economic data trends from 2009-2019 when Obama inherited an economic disaster. Thank you Barack.
10
The only expansion during the unfortunate O malady was the number of world leaders the public had to witness a president bow to.
3
@Paul Robillard
Year, right. And we will remain in it for the next hundred years or until the next Democrat President is elected whichever comes first.
2
Seriously? You don’t truly believe that, do you?
1
I was going to say so much for the naysayers and Trump bashers that make up the vast majority of NYT readership. . .but as the comments here reflect, most of you will throw anything against the wall to see if it will stick. You all hate Trump so much you can't admit to anything positive that can be attributed to him. You should be shaking in your boots should the economy continue through the election. Keep in mind that the American public distrusts the main stream media less than congress and they distrust congress more than the president.
9
@Irving Nusbaum
I admit it, Irving. I hate Trump for all of the dishonest and despicable things he has done. The sugar rush in the economy will come to an abrupt and ugly end. Only then will Trump supporters feel a little queasy about their revered hero.
5
Too bad those tRump supporters- the typical Republican, can't see beyond their paycheck.
Eventually, this whole boondoggle will collapse and they will be left with nothing, all the while the tRumps will celebrate a windfall of tax cuts.
No wonder those Republican states have such a poor rating on Education...
7
And that supposed superior intellect. Right.
2
These comments are hilarious. If this was President Clinton in office all any of you could do is shout this good news from the rooftops. Because it's under Trump this news must be undercut and parsed into oblivion.
8
@ Ryan... While I'm no fan of Trump I try to be fair minded and supportive of any President when there is evidence of success for the common good.
7
Whatever credit you might want to grant to our grifter in chief it doesn't "trump" his racism, misogyny, and vileness.
5
"Employers have added an average of 171,000 jobs over the past three months, down from 223,000 per month last year."
They've also only added an average of 144,000 jobs over the last 5 months - which is much worse.
Why did Mr. Irwin cherry pick the better number ?
2
This lightweight report failed to do even the simplest analysis of the BLS data. First, there are still 6 million unemployed people who are actively looking for work. This is the same number as in April and May. The new jobs numbers for both April and May were revised down by a combined total of 11,000. The labor participation rate remains low compared to the pre-crash numbers. 4.3 Million people counted as job holders are involuntarily working part time. Many do not know how many hours they will work from week to week. This is reflected in the fact that the average number of hours worked for all non-farm employees is only 34.4 hours. And average wage growth continues to lag at 1.2% above inflation. That number is also distorted by the huge salaries paid to the corporate elites.
Pair this data with the fact that consumer debt in the US is now well over $13 Trillion, that car loan delinquencies hit a 19 year high in Feb. 2019, and that there are 5 million vehicle driving jobs which will be eliminated by self driving vehicles in the near future.
The current administration is too concerned about keeping its "base" satisfied with the requisite hate and fear messages per day on Twitter to pay attention to solving any of the real problems we face as a nation and as individuals trying to get by.
7
@Granny
Yes when Obama was President, Irwin and his cohorts in the paid media all pointed to the "low" labor participation rate to refute the strength of the Obama recovery.
Now they don't mention labor participation anymore for some bizarre reason.
Is it because that rate is now even lower than it was under Obama ? Yes, I think so.
4
Trillion dollar budget deficits will do wonders for any economy. It's Econ 100 and when the bust part of the business cycle returns we'll have very few weapons to facilitate a recovery.
10
The question is, what kind/quality of jobs. And with people needing 2-3 jobs to stay afloat, the number loses some of its meaning.
7
@pogopaws
Yes. Obama inherited the Global Financial Crisis. Thank God an intelligent rational leader was steward at that distressful time. Imagine if it were Trump in power in 2008.
Donald as he has inherited everything in his life, inherited a carefully recovered economy from Obama.
Can anyone seriously contend that Trump tucked a brief case under his arm and went off to work on even one morning to read financial data and plan the "be best" economy? Of course not. The 2 Trillion dollar tax cut for the wealthy has overstimulated the economy in a sugar high. This will have to be paid for in the future, probably when the Dems have inherited the underlying mess. Trump sent several casinos broke; what makes people think he will not do the same to America?
9
It is difficult to take this jobs report at face value with a potus who exaggerates to the point of telling lies again and again. And I do not want to insult the professionals who presented us with this jobs report. BUT...my 80 year old intuition is cautious about the real meaning of the numbers. And couple this with my deep concern about our environment and the addition of endlessly purchased more "stuff", I prefer to share in the "good news" pluses of the report, while regrettably remaining skeptical of most anything that happens under the current US President's umbrella.
11
@AJAH
Yes. I would not be surprised if Trump is somehow manipulating the data. It would be in character, right?
3
See. I told you so!! Trumps the best president in history except maybe the first one. He’s actually a really nice guy in person to. I met him at a rally and he noticed I didn’t have a hat. Guess what he did then? He gave me one for free. That will get my vote every time. It’s too bad Sanders or Warren doesn’t look out for the little guy like that.
10
@RS A free hat for your vote. Wow. You sold your vote for about $1.00 in Chinese currency.
3
@RS I can't believe something as important as your vote could be had so cheaply.
I can tell you are very proud.
How do the number of jobs translate into disposable income that measures the actual quality of these jobs?
I may have a job, but does that mean I cover my expenses after taxes?
What is the real takeaway from these numbers?
8
@New Senior In NYC, your take home after taxes will be 0 no matter what! Welcome to the socialist paradise, where you work so there people don't have to!
3
Why does no one talk about $1 trillion deficit? And based on CBO Jan-May numbers, could be worse. Borrow enough money and it’s easy to pile on growth...
12
Spending. The deficit always has and will be a spending problem.
4
@Once From Rome you are wrong by definition. deficit=revenue - spending, so it's obviously dependent both on the size of revenues and the size of spending. i get that you'd prefer to see the deficit reduced by reducing spending, but this is just your political preference, not some deep truth about the deficit.
4
@Shawn
Tell the Dems in the House to stop spending. Too easy.
The headline is misleading. If you compare this to the job growth under the Obama administration, this falls short by about a million ("Over 29 months Obama added almost 1 million more jobs than Trump" Forbes magazine). That is not taking into consideration what types of jobs that are created or what types of benefits these workers have in said jobs. The jobs "created" by Trump are as, I understand it, menial jobs( which are still very important jobs) but with lousy to none benefits and minimum or less pay. So stop giving him credit.
13
@Christian Hagen - “The jobs "created" by Trump are as, I understand it, menial jobs..”
As opposed to “shovel ready”?
1
I am not certain the writers' comment that there are no signs the economy is heading towards a slump is accurate. There are several other variables that reflect economic health. First I would suggest we are seeing increasing volatility in the markets and that is beginning to impact business spending. Second we need to look no further than to Canada to see impacts of the trade wars with China. China ships a significant portion of their materials and parts to Canada for final processing and shipment to the United States with reduced tariffs under our agreements with Canada, Today Canada reported a upwards bump in unemployment. I believe this resulted from heavy shipments from China over the past 2-3 months and now the inventories have been depleted the supply shipments are significantly reduced resulting in less work for the Canadian workers. To further complicate our ability to interpret the status of the world and US economies our current models may be outdated. So its a brave new world and we may need to adjust our perceptions of what constitutes changes in trends. Forecasting where we the economy is going while looking in the 20th century rear view mirror doesn't work.
3
@ek perrow
Yes, we need to adjust our model to include the fact that the wealth of average Americans has decreased by $1Trillion over the last 20 years while those in the top 0.1% has increased by over $20 Trillion. Need a loan? Well sure if you pay enough interest. Need job with decent pay, health benefits, retirement accounts, and enough to save and not just subsist? Well, go take a hike.
3
The Unemployment rate started its decline long before Trump. If you look carefully, you can see it continued to drop under Trump. And then... late 2017 it's beginning to look like it's leveling off. Wonder what that means?
5
The last 5 months have seen dismal job growth, including 2 of the worst months since the Obama recovery began in 2010
3
@Marion Grace Merriweather Absolutely not true. May 2016 was a month with only 16,000 new jobs added. January 2011 only added 20,000 jobs. 2010 included five months with job losses - very poor considering the National Bureau of Economic Research declared the recession to be over in June 2009.
As Reagan once said, it's not that progressive friends are ignorant, it's just that so much of what you know isn't so. With all due respect, if you're going to criticize this month's jobs data, you should better understand the historical data.
16
@Once From Rome compared to the last two and a half years of Obama's presidency, employment data under Trump is pretty much the same (perhaps a bit worse). can we agree then that Obama was not a socialist bent on destroying the American economy, and that Trump's policies are not making the economy better than it was under Obama?
8
Both job growth for US as a whole and job growth amongst blacks and Hispanics grew at a much stronger rate during Trump’s first two years compared to Obama’s last two years. Importantly, income growth level has been at a higher rate for those two categories than national average since Trump took over.
5
This "established" way of reporting on "jobs" obscures the whole picture of how more and more people are having to work jobs without the traditional full-time benefits of healthcare and retirement--even 2 and 3 jobs, to bring income equivalent to what full-time employment meant in our society for many decades.
These "U.S. Jobs Reports" will only begin to show the truth about our system and our establishment when they begin to clarify just what these numbers are bringing to peoples' lives, and not just what these numbers mean to people investing in Wall Street, et al.
16
Promises to create jobs cannot be easily kept but since Trump did that and things have happened as promised, I would applaud this. Most people are not happy with a job that does not pay what they would like but it may have good benefits and one has to look at it as a package. Some prefer flexi hours and big paycheck with a stressful job may not be appropriate for many. With unemployment so low there is a lot of choice to get a job that suits you the most. Money is not everything but money does make the mare go.
5
@Girish Kotwal
He promised 25 million jobs
He is about 22.5 million jobs short of his goal
That is NOT a promise kept, that's a failure
17
@Marion Grace Merriweather I don't know whether you got the numbers of 25 million jobs promised and the jobs since his election approach 10 million as far as I know. Your numbers need to be fact checked. Ultimately each individual will determine whether they have the job they were looking for and vote accordingly. I don't think Trump anticipated that there will millions of migrants taking up jobs unaccounted for by those who thrive on cheap labor.
4
while the difference is not correct, Trump DID promise to create 25 million jobs over a decade.
that, unto itself, was a scary promise.
2
If our Fearless Leader is right, this must be fake news.
7
I’ve had good jobs, I’ve had bad jobs, and I’ve had no job. What I can say without reservation is that having a job is a lot better than not having one. A big and hearty round of applause for this jobs president! I know some will point out that Obama “created” even more jobs while conveniently ignoring that the vast majority of those were merely people returning to work who’d been recently laid off (recessions always eventually end irrespective of who’s president). This jobs story is really something. Really hard to keep having jobs growth at a borderline blistering pace while we’ve been at full employment for years now. Congratulations President Trump on your recent successes and future reelection!
14
@Bob
Interesting.
So when people "merely" return to work under a Democratic president, it's not because he bailed us out from under the Bush 43 economy?
Whom is "conveniently ignoring" what, here?
Recent figures show that we have 7.1 million unfilled jobs, or 900,000 more than the unemployment figure as of October 2018, according to Market Watch and Business Insider. Cited were job opening in government, construction, and health services.
Economics is not a solid science, and I am not an economist, but it is clear to me that any real improvement in the US economy in the past three years is this administration riding on the coattails of the Obama administrations thankless work.
12
@Bob Most of Trump era stats, are following the Obama trend lines, some are below it.
A good economy can keep a President in power. You should be thanking Obama.
6
@Skeexix:
What about our national debt since Obama was president?
Who gets credit for that increase?
1
“Right now it is really about speed,” he said. “When you’re ready to hire, you’ve got to hire. Because in 48 hours those people may not be there.”
Unless you are an I worker in their 60s, then there are no jobs. Those hard to fill jobs go to off shore imported contractors, green card holder or those on H1B visas.
9
@Nick Metrowsky outsourcing and offshoring is only to save money and not pay benefits. Has nothing to do with jobs being hard to fill. There are many talented people wanting to work but can’t due to the influx of H1-B visa holders. Ageism is also a big problem that no administration including the current one wants to tackle.
3
If the economy is such in good shape. Why it does not show
on inflation numbers?.....
Only health and education are going up and up.
4
@Thomas Good point
Any job is a good job? Not in this country. Many people are working multiple jobs with no benefits just to make ends meet. Many folks are working in gig economy jobs like Uber and Amazon Flex. How many people are living off of credit because income is not enough to meet expenses? How many people make the same as they 15 or 20 years ago? I know we've been backsliding employment quality since 2001 and this trend of globalization by shipping jobs overseas by both Republicans and Democrats isn't going to end. The next shock is going to be the automation of jobs. This will be huge! The slower development of AI is a joke in the US. Don't be relieved that Uber can't replace its drivers yet. Make no mistake automation is coming. China has huge armies of workers teaching AI how to spot things on the road, in the kitchen for food safety violations, and general mass surveillance. Once the computers learn how to replace our jobs, we're going to be backsliding a lot more. Don't be surprised if you made more in 2030 than in 2000 even though you made more in 2000 than in 2019.
6
@FrankM; eventually either we'll have a reasonable administration that will start even "thinking" about the Universal Basic Income (or similar measures) or we'll just all join the rest of the homeless on the streets while the 0.01% owns everything.
4
Funny how important this statistic is now to Trump when is was completely false and misleading when it pertained to Obama.
15
I haven’t seen Liberals this irrational since the 4th of July and the million+ Trump supporters on the Mall.
12
@Dr. John; whereas I see Conservatives being irrational all the time. In fact I yet to have to see a rational Conservative.
14
@Lagrange
Trump and his supporters are not Conservatives.
4
Trumps fault?????? Lets see...….. How will the left spin this? It is still Obama's economy? (Nope. Too late for that.)
Federal Reserve propping up economy????(Nope. That is too implausible) Oh, here is their plan. Lets call him a misogynistic racist again. Lets find someone to accuse him of some impropriety from 25 years ago. (Oops, they just tried that).
At the end of the day, facts don't lie. Democrats have a problem with those pesky facts.
18
@Duane Mathias; that's a projection; Democrats are always ready to accept fact unlike Republicans and Conservatives. Now you're going to start paying down the piling national debt, correct?
11
Great June jobs report, lowest African American and Hispanic unemployment in US history, most number of women employed. All of this great news yet the liberal media can't enjoy it because it is Trump's booming economy.
19
@P McGrath
So with all of this fantastic news about Trump's booming economy, why is Trump crying incessantly about the need for the Fed to cut rates? Perhaps you can explain this glaring inconsistency P McGrath?
14
Thank you Barack Obama!!!!!!!!
14
@Troutwhisperer; Amen!
3
Trump deregulation working
11
@Joe Yo
Working to create fewer jobs with more debt than under Obama
2
I've been freelance for two decades now, and toward my retirement age paying for healthcare got pretty dicey. As the economy switches over to more and more so-called "freelance" jobs, you're going to see a lot more people going broke, while the unemployment figures continue to paint a rosy picture!
16
The democrat owned mainstream media keep saying the economy is showing signs of slowing down but it doesn't happen. I thought the tax reform was a "sugar high"?
Clearly Trump's policies are much more effective then Obama's Globalist agenda of shedding good American jobs for his Corporate bosses.
The economy has never been this good in my life. I made the mistake of not voting for Trump last time. To much unknown. I voted for Obama and realize how uniformed I was . Obama only president in the history of the USA to not have a GDP over 3 percent ( measured year over year). His last year in office he had a GDP of 1.6 percent. He said it's the "new normal" and to be happy wages are rising in the third world. Gee thanks.And of course the mainstream media never questioned anything to do with Obama. They attack Trump over his personality. Americans care about Jobs, security and the border. And he's A plus on all those.
16
@Ari; you might want to inform yourself yet more. When Obama became the president we were in a deep recession and he bounced back the country whereas Trump is still riding on the corrections that were made. That's the problem when people have no long term memory.
13
@Ari Obama became President when the US economy was on the verge of a depression. Under the policies that his administration and the Federal Reserve implemented, the economy recovered, as the charts in the article show. Trump and the country are benefiting from those policies but Trump and his supporters claim that all the improvements resulting from the Obama years are the result of Trump. If the country falls into recession next year, Trump will blame Obama and the Federal Reserve. His supporters will agree because Trump is Making America Great Again!
11
@Ari
Trump inherited a growing job market from Obama.
Obama inherited a financial collapse from Bush, and two wars. Trump trade traiff are bad deal for most people.
We need also a president who is honst, and that is not
Trump's strength.
13
NYT today: Only lately have the gains extended to black and Hispanic workers, the less-educated, and those facing discrimination or other barriers to employment.
What about the impact of immigration?
George Borjas*, economist , explains: "problem with the current immigration debate: Neither side is revealing the whole picture.... the influx of immigrants can potentially be a net good for the nation, increasing the total wealth of the population....(but) not everyone benefits.... For many Americans, the influx of immigrants hurts their prospects significantly.
This second message might be hard for many Americans to process, but anyone who tells you that immigration doesn’t have any negative effects doesn’t understand how it really works. When the supply of workers goes up, the price that firms have to pay to hire workers goes down.
...because a disproportionate percentage of immigrants have few skills, it is low-skilled American workers, including many blacks and Hispanics, who have suffered most.... The typical high school dropout earns about $25,000 annually.... immigrants admitted in the past two decades lacking a high school diploma have increased the size of the low-skilled workforce by roughly 25 percent. As a result, the earnings of this particularly vulnerable group dropped by between $800 and $1,500 each year.
*Book: We Wanted Workers (2015)
12
Unemployment is a lagging indicator. The leading indicators still suggest the FED should cut rates.
3
The Trump “roaring” economy is not so hot when you juxtapose his 29-month record he’s been in office with the final 29 months of Barack Obama’s tenure.
Obama left office in January 2017 with an unemployment rate of 4.8%, down by almost 6% from over 10% where it was when he came into office in January 2009.
June's unemployment rate ticked up to 3.7% while a meager 224,000 jobs were added according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS.gov).
During Trump’s 29 months in office 5,613,000 jobs were added versus 6,423,000 in Obama’s final 29 months in office, over 800,000 fewer jobs.
The Labor Force Participation Rate stands at 62.9%. That has not budged from where it was when Obama left office in January 2017.
It should be far higher when you consider that the U.S. population has grown from 323 million in 2016 to over 329 million today.
Hourly wage growth remains mostly stagnant, increasing by only 6-cents while the Wall Street casino operators and mouse-clicking brokers and trader hustlers are bequeathing themselves whopping bonuses, buying up their own company shares inflating their worth.
The $1.5 trillion tax cut giveaway to the wealthiest 1% not only failed to pay for itself in increased federal revenues but ballooned the 2018 budget deficit by $300 billion and added $3 trillion to the national debt. Trumpynomics is as risible and phony as the MAGA flimflam man in the Oval Office.
41
Thank you for pointing this out. It should be a Times Pick.
9
@Richard
Thanks for the data analysis, i was going through a similar analysis to compare the figures of the current administration with the similar time period of the previous administration. Nothing like adding some context to perceive what is actually happening.
Moreover, most of the world economy is in a positive economic cycle for some time now and so everyone is faring relatively well. The big unknown is what will happen when a negative economic cycle returns and no budgetary cushion will exist because it has been recklessly used during a positive economic cycle.
7
@Richard; All that considering Obama inherited a recession and had to bounce back this country from a very scary place where as Trump has been getting a free ride on the corrections that Obama put in place.
12
Noted that the previous quarter's bad news on job creation was revised downward - allowing the administration to move those jobs that were previously claimed into this quarter's tally, inflating the current numbers. What else was done to fudge the numbers? Who doubts that Trump puts his thumb on the scale of reporting statistics?
15
@Pete
Monthly employment number estimates are always revised twice to factor in more complete information.
Revisions predate Trump, Obama, Bush, Clinton, etc.
In fact, the BLS provides a full history of revisions going back to 1979 on its website.
On the small chance that you might be interested to learn more, here is a link to the BLS:
https://www.bls.gov/ces/cesrevinfo.htm
2
My opinion is that no report on the economy and the number of jobs is complete without a deep look at how many of those jobs allow a family to survive on that paycheck. To say there are thousands of jobs, and even if like in my sister's case the hourly wage went up 50 cents, the first increase in 3 years at her workplace, without looking at whether hard working people can live and support a family on what they earn, to me makes the rest of a "good economic report" meaningless. And I found it discouraging that only in the very last sentence is there an acknowledgement that overall, employers are reluctant to increase wages in a truly meaningful way. I have to assume this reflects the priorities of the writer and of the paper. I wish it did not reflect the priorities of my beloved country.
23
Good economic news: Thanks Obama. Krugman to write about moochers in middle America.
Bad economic news: Trump stinks. Krugman to talk about why Trump stinks.
15
A Tale of Two Economies
Trump’s policies are helping workers more than Obama’s did. WSJ
19
Sad sad news for Paul Krugman.
Very sad.
23
A lot sadder for Trump’s little uniformed “alt-right” and fascist punks who are running out of excuses for being unemployed and living in mommy & daddy’s basement well into their late 20s and 30s.
8
How many of these jobs are second or third minimum wage and or contingent jobs. Most summer jobs are temporary and part-time jobs. Yet these all get counted as "jobs".
"there are lies, damned lies and then there are statistics"--Samuel Clemons
12
Compare this to Europe, where the economy is barely plodding along. Compared to the cost of of living, my friend in French academia makes 1/2 to 1/3 of the wages here. They have to get through the sweltering summer without AC, unaffordable there.
For younger people, employment opportunities are dismal by comparison to here.
No wonder that the people there took to the streets...
14
We should be happy to have a better jobs report than the last quarter. We should credit the Fed with success in the achieving their dual mandate - controlling inflation and maintaining jobs growth. Better still, this report means they continue to have justification for ignoring Donald Trump's pressure to cut interest rates. And maybe we can even see his latest rumored choice for the Fed Board of Governors - Judy Shelton - get retracted.
Now...about the deficit.
9
@ mike Íker What about the deficit? If you voted Republican you are the problem.
1
We had a nice slow expansion after the collapse of our economy at the end of the Bush administration. The expansion while long had very muted growth. One of the huge constraints on growth was the Republicans refused to expand government spending fast enough and a sequester was forced as a compromise.
That sequester was broken when Republicans controlled all 3 branches of government, when Trump was elected. Not only was spending increased, taxes were lowered, public lands were given away to private interests and regulations were reduced which also happens to increase potential liability.
People are employed by the private sector through corporations and self employment or through the public sector. The public sector is spending more money primarily giving it to the private sector. They are also giving away public lands below cost to private enterprise.
People get up and go to work. When there are jobs more of them go to work. There are more jobs because there is more money including future expenditures being spent today.
The question is when confidence finally fades will the money spent and borrowed today restrain us tomorrow?
I have always been a progressive leaning toward the Democrats. I have always thought the restraint on spending that Republicans supported was needed to restrain future debt which would restrain growth. It appears that Republicans and Democrats no longer think that debt matters. I'm not sure how this doesn't end badly?
11
@HL; me neither.
3
Any idea why these "224,000 added jobs" are rarely named? Are these jobs specialized/blue collar, as in manufacturing, or are they white collar, as in corporate? I'm a self-employed, self-insured writer and haven't seen a "gain" in my salary or profession EVER. Ageism is always gaining, FYI.
7
@Anne
The jobs are all at Taco Bell, Wendy’s and 7/11 which is why they never mention the exact “job titles”.
15
Hmm, how are experts explaining such a big swift in employment report? In Feb only 20K jobs were created, in March and April it was back to 200k a month, then it was 75k in May, and now back to 224K . What is behind such changes?
4
@yulia After the 1970's both parties found out it was easier to lie about numbers - unemployment, inflation and gdp - than tell the truth.
9
@cynicalskeptic Couldn't they lie more consistently?
So, when 99.99% of the U.S. population has minimum wage jobs and the wealthiest have 99.99% of the assets, we will have a truly "robust" economy and we can quit being concerned about it.
Perhaps, we need a more helpful description of of a "robust" economy.
24
@Henry; an excellent point!
2
I don't seem to have a magnifying glass strong enough to see the promised MAGA spike. I guess I'm just thankful this administration and political accomplishes haven't derailed the economy...YET! Luck does run out, sooner or later.
8
What a bunch of bitter losers!
10
@victor
Funny you should say that . . .
4
Do an Internet search on "Rupert Murdoch Trump idiot" to see what Murdoch thinks of Trump.
Is it just me or does anybody else not trust the labor, commerce or treasury departments?
17
@Chris
No, it's not just you, Chris. To be fair, the problem does not lie in the raw data. Most modern western economies produce reliable raw economic labour data.
The primary problem lies in the interpretation of the data by economically illiterate reporters in the mainstream media who report on unemployment levels without bothering to define their terms.
To meet the definition of being employed one has to pass over a very low bar.
The internationally agreed definition of an employed person is any person who is engaged in economic activity for one hour or more in the week prior to the reporting period, thus:
'Employment is defined broadly in the international guidelines as all persons engaged in one or more hours of work during the reference period, as well as some persons temporarily absent from work.'
https://www.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/[email protected]/7d12b0f6763c78caca257061001cc588/47bfb611a97c91f2ca25710e007321c6!OpenDocument
7
@Colenso
Again all constructed by design.
"The primary problem lies in the interpretation of the data by economically illiterate reporters in the mainstream media who report on unemployment levels without bothering to define their terms"
Bags the question, why are networks hiring these economically ignorant people in the 1st. place.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/05/upshot/jobs-report-analysis.html
1
Disliking Trump is very understandable. Yet, the far-left are treading a fine line of seeming to pray that USA and its citizens economic harm. Moreover, I suspect that any foreign policy mishap that reflects badly on Trump will excite the far-left base. It will not play well. Do not think for a moment that ordinary liberal voters do not know unfairness when they see it. Wishing harm on the working poor and middle-class will backfire on the democrats if they go down that road. In other words, do not be too unpatriotic? Tulsi G has the correct balance!
12
I heard a little voice say "we need a tremendous jobs report this month".
7
@Christian Y'all are completely delusional. Please continue for another year and some months.
1
Let's agree. The economy is much better. Hating Trump is not a reason to not have a job.
13
Of course the bump wasn't cooked in.
1
We have seen this movie before.
The Republican (Bush I) trashes the economy and hands a derailed train to the Democrat.
The Democrat (Clinton) fixes the economy, and hands a train with a full head of steam to the Republican. While the Democrat is doing this, the Republicans engage in bad faith screaming about the deficit.
The Republican (Bush II) trashes the economy and hands a derailed train on fire to the Democrat. The deficit is not a concern to the Repubs during this time.
The Democrat (Obama) fixes the economy, and hands a train with a full head of steam to the Republican. While the Democrat is doing this, the Republicans engage in bad faith screaming about the deficit.
The Republican (Trump) trashes the economy. The deficit is exploded with a tax cut to the parasites. The train hasn't derailed yet, but the movie formula says it will.
180
@whaddoino
The problem is that the economy crashed in Bush II's SECOND term. It just takes too long for bad policies to show up in the economy.
12
The economy had already started to recover by the end of Bush the Elder’s presidency, and Clinton reaped the benefit, which is not to say that he was a bad steward of the economy.
3
@whaddoino I don't understand why you say Trump is trashing the economy. This article says the complete opposite. What data are you basing your view on?
2
Yet another triumph for a triumphant Trump! More people, 157,005,000, were employed ever in the nation’s history in June; a result of having a leader who epitomizes and extols the virtues of hard work! In total, 162,981,000 participated in the labor force, the most ever in the nation's history, by either holding a job or actively seeking one. The number of Americans not in the labor force, meaning they did not have a job and were not looking for one, dropped by 158,000 last month to 96,057,000. Some say this is due to Baby Boomer retirements, but we all know much of it is due to some still bamboozled by the lure of Marxist Socialist promise of something for nothing. For them, I say get a job! Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (3.3 percent), adult women (3.3 percent), teenagers (12.7 percent), Whites (3.3 percent), Blacks (6.0 percent), Asians (2.1 percent), and Hispanics (4.3 percent). In short, the nation’s economy has never been better; there has never been a better time than now to be an American in the Age of Trump. Thank you.
20
The bit about Trump and hard work is comedy gold.
26
@Southern Boy
One hour of employment in the week prior to the reporting period, even it's only for a dollar an hour, meets the definition of being employed.
7
Half of Americans do not have enough money to pay a $400 bill. If that is the best economy ever, your country is in really really bad shape.
2
To state the obvious, job reports are not really indicators of anything that goes on in the real economy. Scratch the surface and you will find underemployed people everywhere, killing themselves to pay for basic necessities and often using credit to subsidize their incomes, sinking deeper into debt just to live, etc. It's time for us to stop thinking of the job report as some sort of gold standard for the overall economy and more as a yardstick for the same people who are affected by the DOW...that is, people who live and operate in the financial economy.
13
@Jeffrey Gillespie Underemployed w/o tangible benefits THX
4
OK so the economy is doing great but what about the stories of folks who cannot afford to buy a home, send children to college now or in the future, buy groceries, have WIFI in their homes or PC's, reliable cell phones, cable service, a new car, more education for self, go out for special occasions and below some money, go to Vegas for vacation, get w clothes. Must I go on? The politicians always assume that everyone has gigantic needs and wants but these are pretty basic for the greatest country in the universe. So go back and talk to some real people and then write another column.
6
@Betsy Herring
How would an increase in unemployment or a decrease in the average wages help with that?
6
@novoad
Straightforward strawman argument. At no point does Betsey suggest decreasing employment or lowering wages.
2
@Betsy Herring
Get a job. That will help. Quit spending money you don't have. That will help.
2
Numbers can always say anything you want them to.With this administration, I feel less inclined to believe anything as truth. How many Americans lives are actually better off than they were last month; last year?
5
And in other news, Trump said that “troops took over the airports during the Revolutionary War” in a speech he delivered yesterday. Please.These numbers are a possible indicator of how the economy looks when you gift all the collective resources of the country to the plutocracy. They add a few jobs because their purse strings feel a bit looser and productivity returns good profits— to them. How is the rust belt doing? The opioid crisis in the Midwest? The rosy prospects for a kid with a liberal arts diploma and 25 years of college loans to pay back ahead on their Starbucks salary? Shoring up Social Security and Medicare for us with this great economy. Infrastructure? What are you doing with automation that will eventually take back all those jobs added? How’s the water in Flint?
12
@Mickey "The rosy prospects for a kid with a liberal arts diploma and 25 years of college loans to pay back ahead on their Starbucks salary?"
Maybe he should have studied history if he knew he was the great one. The one who would write the million dollar book with a new perspective on history?
@novoad
Or maybe they should be Jared or Ivanka.
6
Trump LIES.
Trump administration constantly LIES about economic figures, always forced to correct in subsequent months’ data.
8
@Hopeful
Revisions predate this administration and the previous one. It is just part of the process of estimating employment numbers. The BLS doesn’t lie because it adjusts its estimates.
2
@Hopeful Actually, desperate.
When the crazy people on the far right made the same allegations about the Obama Administration’s data they were rightfully condemned. Don’t be a hypocrite now.
1
And in two weeks they'll revise the numbers downward like they have every single month. But it's all good since the only thing the rubes will remember is the initial numbers. Wash, rinse, repeat.
6
What have we become as a country is not the right question to ask.
Rather...
What have we always been...reading some comments here, I'm thinking how many times did we observe these numbers euphoria, when nothing else is really matters, the country that always place the profits over moral values, the country that always divided and constantly fighting.
Vicious cycle that doomed to play out over & over again.
I never really learned American history since I came from former Soviet Union, but I'm learning plenty now, with more authentic networks highlighting amazing historic documentary, films, actors, writers and really deep conversations on the subject of the Soul of America.
Who are we as a country???
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/21/books/review/jon-meacham-soul-of-america.html
This is a good article to read as well...
https://www.commondreams.org/views/2018/06/21/what-have-we-become-what-we-have-always-been
3
Take aways eh?
Well, credit goes first to Obama.
But really, this is a war economy. Rich got their loot and treasure, trillions! Middle class got... shafted! A war on middle class and the poor who now have plenty of jobs, two or three just to pay rent, but not to fix the car if it breaks down and costs more that 400 dollars.
3,7%?, wow! And the roads and bridges are crumbling, many die and go bankrupt by inconvenient illness - just like in third world countries!
Kentucky gets 50 billions from the feds and vote with Mitch, billions in handouts to farmers for idiotic tariffs, reckoning is coming. Yeah, the takeaways!
10
@jaco Obama pulled us out of the 2008 Recession the GOP caused. There are plenty of jobs now. Low pay; no benefits; no money in the bank. Trump Administration will revise these numbers down later. Everything coming from Trump Admin is suspect; they lie; just like Trump. The rich get richer; middle class is now gone. Thank you 1%; GOP; Russia and Trump.
10
@Ray Sipe Real wages rise at the bottom after many decades of stagnation. Even after all the revisions.
Look around yourself and you'll see lots of hire signs. Even Subway sandwiches has a signing bonus now...
1
This metric of economic growth, the monthly added "job" market, is antiquated and out of touch with our society today. We need to overhaul this number to accurately account for those families able to secure meaningful employment (benefits, health, living wage). Reporting this misinformation in it's current form allows those in power false claims of success while benefitting no one outside of that circle.
6
@Mark Woah, you're really scraping the barrel trying to find negatives to a positive position. Isn't it true that had this economy occurred on your political favorites watch you would have found loads time to laud it?
2
# of jobs is meaningless. % employed is meaningless. Jobs that do not pay net wages 2.5-3x average housing cost in that zip code are not progress. Nothing under $20 an hour should count at all in any case.
3
@Ian So your plan is to enable everyone below $20/hr to buy a home 2.5x that income? Fed law for businesses to pay $20 minimum wage? Tax increases to pay for it?
2
@Ian
Those things count for the many who get under $20/hour. Every extra dollar counts.
Unfortunately for you, everyone gets to vote...
Trump got elected with the votes of the forgotten ones. NYT readers are by and large the ones who do the forgetting, and Trump couldn't care less about them.
Which explains the political disconnect.
2
Oh, please. Who has these jobs? Not the men hanging out and horsing around all day in Flatbush.
Not the men walking aimlessly on the roads of New England.
5
Rate cuts shouldn’t be needed in the “greatest economy of all time”. Merely serves to placate the markets and blow more asset bubbles in the process. Doesn’t do as much for the real economy. Remember that?
For those who complain about the definitions, measurements and methodology used to generate these reports - nothing has changed since Obama was president, they are measured by the same ruler.
8
@Brando Flex According to Trump during the campaign, the measures used under Obama were "fake".
7
It was a great economy under Obama according to liberals. Now we’re a third world slum according to the same liberals. Go figure.
17
The faux economy is looking good on the back of cheap money, govt deficits, individual deficit spending and low wage jobs. Like GDP and inflation metrics, the labor growth numbers hid the real underlying issues.
Key drivers to the economic rebound from the 2008-2010 are not wide spread "morning in America" factors.
Just ask most young people. Just ask people in middle America. Just ask most people about inflation. The situation isn't as rosy as the "numbers" suggest.
We all live better when we are shooting junk or borrowing money that we don't have to immediately repay. Cold turkey happens when we can't continue to binge on debt. Ask the Greeks. The illusion of prosperity (housing appreciation and equity market explosion) looks good. It looked great in the few years before the Great Depression. Reality and the Dream differ.
The explosive growth of individual and govt debt, both at the federal and state level, is a reality. Like climate change, the warning signs are evident, but many turn away with denial and happy talk. Prosperity is not built on a mountain of debt.
Americans, and most humans, are short term focused. We look at today and assume that the road we are on goes on straight for miles. But the reality is that we are driving by looking in the rear view mirror. When we crash, all the pundits will say that they knew it all along. Our leaders and media are as blind, naive, gullible and foolish as we are.
13
@Paul That's a dire view, but i would say if you look at things from a long term perspective, you will see our continued prosperity. We're always going to have economic peaks and valleys, but over a longer view, things generally tend to improve. I'm more concerned with how we're now positioning everyone to be considered a victim...that is a giant unmeasurable negative that today's politicians seem intent on exploiting. Let's move forward as a society.
3
@Paul Great exaggeration. The US had a Debt-to-GDP ratio of 4.17% in 2015 and 105.4% in 2017. In 1946 the ratio was 121.7% and in 1974 31.7%. And you’re worried about today’s debt ratio of 105%? The ratio strongly matches the economy: Poor, up it goes. Great, down it goes. If the US was to enact Dem candidate promises the ratio would rise to 110%-112%. Really.
2
@ Paul. True. Just look at that fool Alan Greenspan publicly stating that he would never have dreamed that corporate greed would hurt the economy.
3
For all those people who want a rate cut consider this:
If the rates go down, the cost of pensions and retirement rise and fewer people will retire. That means fewer openings for the next generation of workers.
On top of that, the people with the money (retirees) will cut their spending. Consumer spending accounts for 70% of GDP.
If all of you are smart and think long term, the rates should stay right where they are.
1
This is very good news. Low to no inflation, full employment and growing wages is all good news.
I'm confounded that the President this morning is calling for a lower dollar. Full employment with a high dollar actually improves the buying power people who get paid in USD. American workers.
The idea of lowering the dollar is to stimulate purchases of US goods abroad at the expense of the value of US workers pay checks. While this would improve the profit of US corporations abroad, it would come at the expense of US workers.
Now if unemployment was going up we may want a lower dollar and it would happen magically through something called the free market.
4
While I'm no fan of the idiot in the WH, you cannot rationally make any argument against the economy's performance in the last two years. It has been growing more rapidly and wages are growing more rapidly, with unemployment at the lowest levels in a very, very long time. This is one of the dems weakest hands--not one candidate has any ideas on the economy that will grow the economy, only to further re-distribute income which by definition will weaken growth and jobs. Face it folks the economy is very good, better than it has been. Too bad dems running don't seem to realize that millions of people are going to start to realize that they don't want a return to slower growth...Where is the dem plan for growth--it does not exist.
16
@Richard At the same time, can you point to a single Trump policy that has impacted the economy in a positive way? The tariffs? The Ryan tax cut is really the only thing I see that might have moved the needle.
There were decisions by Bush and Obama that likely saved us from a prolonged depression. But those were drastic, last-ditch measures. I haven't seen anything from Trump's team on that scale. I feel like Trump is enjoying the benefits of momentum more than anything.
What is Trump's plan for growth? What is his plan for anything?
3
I am sure the rain of lies, "It's all Obama's policies", will be as hollowly echoed to the public by the self-serving DNC, their puppet candidate representatives and media drones as 2020 election canards.
With any luck the voting citizens of the US have awakened to the socialist/elitist ploy.
13
@Dr. Mysterious Opinion is different than facts. The fact is that GDP, employment, the stock market, etc. are all linear from the Obama recovery (re: Forbes, hardly a bastion of liberal thought). Trump just hasn't screwed it up yet. He is with his self-defeating trade wars trying to do so.
6
So, let's see ... the current statistics agree that there were about 130 million people currently employed in May 2019. If you divide 224,000 by 130,000,000 that comes out to .001723. I want to be clear here, are you saying that a less than 2 tenths of even 1 percent change is a robust rebound? I've studied and have degrees in both mathematics and political science ... we never referred to figures like these as being robust. I would ask you to print a retraction to something more like "less than modest".
6
Did you Read the part where they were they were comparing June versus May? That would be robust. Or compare it to expectations, that would be robust.
3
And there lies the problem. You've studied. What have you contributed. Do you do anything that produces anything or just sit back and minimalize accomplishments. Wow I think this is not a minimal thing to the 225,000 new job holders. But I guess that's just to small a number for someone who's "studied".
We have about 11 million undocumented people in this country. Thousands are trying to get in every month. But yet the economy keeps humming along. There are millions of jobs left unfilled. Employers can't find qualified workers. Most of the undocumented work. They do the tough jobs like landscaping, hospitality, roofing, heavy construction that no one else will do.
At the same time, Trump claims we have the greatest economy the world has ever known. At the same time, Trump tells the left behind that you are the victims of immigration and globalization. At the same time, Trump blames the immigrants for all of our problems.
So which is it? How can we have the greatest economy the world has ever known and at the same time have our economy being torn asunder by immigrants, legal or otherwise? And by the way, who left who behind?
12
@Bruce Rozenblit
I agree but immigrants need to come in legally. Also most illegal immigrants aren’t qualified for highly skilled jobs. We need a merit based system to speed up the process for highly skilled immigrants trying to come legally. The DNC trying to import new voters on welfare is ridiculous. Should be considered traitorous.
4
@Doug
Except:
Conservatives have done everything they can to destroy unions and collective bargaining. Only about 7% of the private workforce is now unionized. When the unions were smashed, that opened the door to low cost labor which big business gobbled up.
As far as higher pay is concerned. I have talked to many contractors who have really tried to hire white, native born Americans. They can't find any who will do the hard work even for more money. Construction is backbreaking work and very few people will do it, at any wage.
1
These kinds of economic analyses completely ignore the big picture. Do folks really not understand that our economic system exists in a global context in a physically finite world and an infinite continuum of time?
So we have stable employment rates for a few years based on maintaining unsustainable life styles of consumption and petroleum dependence. The Trump administration's denial of climate change gives those who can't see beyond the tips of their noses a false sense of security.
Which of these "jobs" will save us when farmers can no longer grow food because we have thoroughly depleted and scorched the earth and destroyed the balance of all of nature's processes?
7
@lifecyle
Are you under the (predicted) multimeter water rises?
The only difference between the climate and the religious end of the world predictors is that the religious ones gave up after their predictions went wrong.
3
Accomplishments of Republicans:
1) Support of a corrupt, narcissistic president who lies, cheats, and takes delight in Russian interference
2) Will do everything possible to suppress votes of black and brown citizens
3) Gaslight democratic values of lawful immigration and welcoming values inherent in our constitution by incorrectly stating that dems are for open borders
4) Promote policies to destroy safe communities for everyone with threats of immigration raids and denying systemic racism
5) Promoting violence towards the press, people of color, and anyone who doesn't agree with them
Which of these helps job numbers? Thanks to Obama for getting us out of the recession and making this growth possible. But when everything falls apart because of the unbalanced benefits going to the wealthy and the greatest numbers getting left behind, that's when you can blame the Republicans. And by the way, time to let in more immigrants, we need the help.
5
@Pat Hermanowicz
Was that the Obama who said you needed a "magic wand" to get the manufacturing jobs back?
3
@Pat Hermanowicz
What matters is a President working laser focused on the economy, while his predecessor and counter candidate mounted a coup for two and a half years against him.
The time for reckoning has (almost) come though. This will be a politically interesting summer.
3
job participation up is the key here
3
@james alan Job participation rate hasn’t been this low since the late 70’s and has been flat since 2015.
2
It is advisable to be skeptical of printed "news." (This I've learned living under socialist regimes which regaled me with stories of abundance while I waited in line for bread.)
So go ahead and doubt away. But how about trusting your own ("lying" ?) eyes? Even with MD, I detect silver-ish specks: Constructions and "Hiring" signs even in this sleepy Midwestern burg; non-WASPs pushing shopping carts piled high with chips, soft drinks and gadgets; blue-collar neighbors buying $ 1,000 Apple trinkets for high-school darlings; and my friend's employees refusing overtime even at time-and-a half or double pay.
Sure, life has become dearer: The $2 haircut is now $ 20, and a handshake from my physician costs about $ 300.
But still. Warts and all, today's US remains the land to which millions try to get, and not many try to leave.
2
Stores closing. News tip NYT, JC Penney, Walmart and Starbucks are all closing stores across the US. Oh yes, feel so much better about the economy now. #sad
5
So are they the kind of jobs where you need another job to make ends meet or are they the kind of jobs where its most significant effect is towards making the company ever wealthier and you don't participate in the rewards of success and are held as replaceable for someone who's desperate enough to accept less money and add to the bonuses and compensation of administrations and shareholders? "Truth is a liquid, not a solid"/ Follow the money, all the way to the laps it actually comes to rest in.
3
"It's the economy, stupid."
- Some guy running some other guy's campaign
It’s fair enough to say that Trump’s economy shows some good things. It’s also fair enough to say that most of what looks good continues a trend established under Obama, to note that there are some warning signs, and to ask what the real price tag is going to be for such things as chopping the regulations that protect us all.
What’s fairly nuts is to bellow at folks because you disagree with them, to ignore simple realities, to trust this Administration’s numbers after years of screaming that you couldn’t trust an Administration’s numbers, and to fire off such lunacies as how Trump, “Extols and expresses the virtues of hard work.”
Now THAT looks like Trump Derangement Syndrome to me. I wonder why Trumpists need to throw such stuff at the wall, if everything’s so nifty.
3
Economists have been predicting a downturn for years now. Years. My take away is.. none of them know what's going to happen, and their attempts to forecast where we're headed are just as reliable as meteorologists predicting the hurricane season in February.
6
@Mario
I feel like many economists are instinctively pessimistic. Predict a downturn that never happens and no one cares because things are still good. Predict robust growth just before a crash, and you're considered a clueless laughing stock.
A downturn will come. They always come. It's predicting the timing that's hard.
1
Here is the view from Queens New York. I voted Democrat all my life. In 2020 I will be voting a straight Republican ticket. The reason? Democrats have become the party of managing failure instead of fostering success. The perfect example? Amazon was going to bring 25k jobs *itself* to my long struggling borough, not to mention the tens of thousands of additional jobs that would have been generated through multiplier effects. Populist demagogues said no thanks, we would rather tax the middle class residents here even more, than broaden the tax base with high paying jobs.
Then, the state legislature, after 70 years of failed meddling in the real estate market, decide to double down on insanity and effectively appropriate private property to continue their fail policies. Overnight wiping billions in property value and corresponding property tax reciepts. They also effectively removed any incentive for LLs to maintain their properties. Keep in mind these are *private properties*. NYCHA anyone?
Then, the same demagogues tell me that because certain groups greatly underperform their collegues in an exam of mathematics, reading comprehension and logic that is required for admission to the Cities most competitive highschools that the fault actually lies with the exam and politically expendable groups that game the system by studying! They can't stand the fact that the exams reveal failure, instead of hides them.
Sorry, I am done with the Democratic party.
31
I’m with you all the way. The leftward push of the dems has made them unpalatable to me. I will be voting republican this next election as well.
6
@B
Indeed, sadly, I made a back of the envelope computation, and found that AOC can eliminate middle class jobs faster than Maduro.
7
@B The landlords, giant corporations, and exams prepped to the exclusion of creativity and values by "expendable groups" perpetuate a status quo of certain wealthy groups maintaining dominion over certain poor and middle class groups. Economic policies that promote bottom up advancement lifts everyone, including those at the top. The crumps from trickle down are actually specks that often do not make it down. The Democratic party is the party of the working man and woman, the poor and middle classes. If your allegiance is to the top only, then you were never a Democrat and will not be missed if you leave.
2
The numbers tell a story. The long term indicators illustrate the major trends in the US economy and markets, they show the ups and downs affecting our lives and well-being.
Study the one hundred year and fifty year histories of the stock market indexes, annual rates of inflation, annual national debt and cumulative national deficits, in addition to the unemployment rate, job gains, and annual wage changes that Mr. Casselman presents in this article. Try searching on usa.gov
Then compare which political party is holding the White House, and has majorities in either the Senate or the House. The shorter term is particularly interesting.
Democrats perform particularly better than republicans in office interns of bringing economic benefits to the working class. The republicans talk and act asymmetrically while the democrats tend to act the way they talk.
1
The reason wages have risen, slightly, is that blue states have raised their minimum wages. Obviously, Trump had nothing to do with that. The people of the Trump belt are still hurting.
5
Fellow progressives: traditional economy figures such as GDP and employment are looking good, but we all know this does not translate into working families being able to prosper, as we should. At best, we are surviving, barely one paycheck away from financial instability.
We need to frame the discussion in terms of: 'You work full-time - great. Is that enough to provide for your family?"
11
And yet the Trump administration only a very few days ago was lobbying for a cut in interest rates to further juice the economy.... ummm what do they know that the rest of the market is trying to figure out?
1
Question...when somebody is working 3 minimum wage, no benefit jobs, are they counted as three separate workers for statistical purposes?
10
@JRB
Of course no jobs or 3 McJobs were ok under Obama.
7
@antonio gomezLet’s see, pay attention...who’s the president NOW? Take your time...
2
Not an economist here nor an expert on what all these statistics really mean. Just a curious retiree with half a brain.
In our gig economy what is the real meaning of the job report?
New workers added to the job market? Does it account - or discount for that matter - existing workers having found a second or third part-time gig to make ends meet?
With age, I have become more skeptical of all these government statistics and more convinced that the old adage about statistics is truer than ever. Statistics are like bikinis. What they show is obvious. What they conceal is essential.
7
People see people working. That’s all voters will care about. Dems parsing stats will not convince voters.
9
@Becky
Agree, when you see help wanted signs and can't get a contractor to show up because they are too busy ... the truth is obvious.
4
cool. join the kids in cages, climate change denying, alternative facts party.
The biggest company in the US, Walmart, has to rely on welfare to make up the difference between what its employees make and what they need to live. Yet I suppose all 1.5 million Walmart employees in America are considered gainfully employed for the purpose of Trump's statistics? And the vast increase in wealth by the owners of Walmart is considered a great thing?
11
The paradox that results from the idea that selfishness leads to the highest social good. That nonsense was very popular amongst conservatives with Reagan’s success. It was their attempt to convince people that governmental and collective social endeavors were unnatural.
2
@Observer
I think you are misrepresenting the Walmart scenario where 1) a lot of entry level employees are able to gain work experience and start careers, and 2) a lot of semi-retired still productive employees are able to supplement their retirement income.
5
@SSS
More than 100 U.S. jobs were displaced for every actual or promised job created through Walmart's Investing in American Jobs initiative.
Chinese suppliers make up 70-80 percent of Walmart's merchandise.
Walmart’s financial records show it collected $3.9 trillion in net sales between 2005 and 2014. In 2013, the company committed to purchasing $250 billion in American-made goods by 2023 – just 6 percent of its net sales over the past decade (4% in 2017).
If Walmart continues to grow at the same rate, in 2023 the company will spend just 3.2 percent on American-made goods.
Walmart is part of the problem.
6
I give credit to the presidential debates by Democratic candidates and the SCOTUS decision on census.
One look at the twenty plus wannabes, the people on welfare rolls said that we better start working or we end up having one of these Thanksgiving treats take us for a ride.
All the non-citizens decided to work too. Since the economy is humming, these folks were hired in droves in Sanctuary States.
They were all counted in the latest unemployment figures, a whopping 3.7%.
2
@Appu Nair
Actually, most illegals are hired by agriculture, meat packing, construction, and restaurants.
And those doing the hiring in agriculture, meat packing, and construction mostly vote Republican.
They like the cheap labor.
Maybe if we start locking up the employers, that would reduce illegals?
4
@Independent
The laws to do that already exists with E-verify.
Instead of mass deportations, detaining children in pens and walls, just use the existing laws.
Isn't that what we always hear about gun laws whenever there is a mass shooting?
" No need to ban guns" , they cry out. "Just implement existing laws!
If the economy is all that mattered then Hillary (as a continuation of President Obama) would have won in 2016. It is only one part of the equation.
5
What I fear, is that with these numbers which I believe are happening despite Trump, not because of him, will result in his re-election by the "I got mine" crowd, of which there are too many.
8
Yet one major healthcare issue and every person rich or poor, insurance or not can be wiped out. Once companies don't have to be burdened with covering health insurance too many may come back or offer better wages. And yes Medicare is cheaper than private insurance
Seriously fix that one issue and the US would be a pretty awesome place to live.
6
There is only one meaningful indicator of Trump's presidency, and that measure won't be taken until the 2020 election.
Accomplishments of Democrats since they were elected in 2018:
1) Witch Hunt
2) Never ending protests
3) Blocking immigration reform
4) Sanctuary cities
5) Encouraging violence against fellow Americans wearing red hats
Which of these has helped these jobs numbers?
Sorry but Trump and the GOP get all the credit for this one (and a tiny bit Obama for not raising taxes for 99% of Americans).
33
@Jerome House Dems have passed a multitude of reform legislation. McConnell will not give any of that legislation a vote in the Senate. So before you attack Dems maybe you need to really research what is going on.
BTW, dozens of Trumps witches have been charged. Some doing serious prison time. Mueller speaks this month. More will be heading to prison; likely including Trump eventaully. Congress has a duty of oversight whether you like it or not.
23
Congratulations, it has been more than ten years since the republicans have destroyed the economy.
5
Maybe you should read what Bill Clinton said after the economic crash. He said that if Democrats had agreed to put in place the laws and regulations that Republicans had wanted, the crash would not have happened or would have been mild. Of course he was immediately criticized by liberals and Democrats in Congress.
2
So when the economy crashes, what is Powell going to do, cut rates to zero and start "qualitative easing?" Give me a break! He's got little to zero to cut and unless they start forgiving debt when they get down to zero interest rate (which would never happen in a "capitalist" economy) the middle and "working" (as if most of us don't work in one way or another!) classes will take the hit for the fat cat takers who receive massive Socialism from US, the actual taxpayers and the workers who produce their wealth for them. Gee, such a deal!
3
... no matter how you slice it.. good news for Trump..
15
I remember how strong the economy felt in 2007. Of course, it was not. Personally, I am treading lightly before the inevitable shoe drops. Maybe it will be the growing deficit, maybe the climate crisis, maybe the student loan debt burden or maybe unknowns about which I am unaware that will topple the house of cards. I'm not an economist, so I can't tell you the whys. All I can say that in my 66 years on earth, several shoes have dropped and I expect more to follow.
13
Fundamentally speaking you don't lower interest rates in a good economy, you raise them. If interest rates are lowered the Fed will have no power to combat a recession when it arrives, and it will. Rather, the Fed should not listen to Trump or the Street and do the right thing, which is to hold or to raise.
Trump's tax cut for corporations took money out of the economy in the form of stock buybacks and dividends for the rich who own most of the stocks. One third of the tax cut went directly to foreigners who own U.S. stocks so we will never see that again. Think of it, US taxpayers gave one third of our potential revenue to foreigners. It is sickening to think about. We need to get Trump, Republicans, corporations out of our government. We need healthy interest rates. A Fed Funds rate of 2.5% is not healthy. It leaves investors only one choice, the stock market. We need balance. Hopefully we will find that in 2020.
13
Wow this has to be devastating for the Democrats. It’s difficult to preach doom and gloom when everything seems to be going so well. I wonder how they will spin it? Here are some options: it’s all because of Obama, these are meaningless jobs, wage growth is not keeping up with inflation. Unfortunately none of this is true and even the trade war with China is not impacting business growth due to the deregulation and lower corporate taxes. What oh what are they going to do? Oh yes just blindly rage and yell.
20
@Paul it’s already begun
6
Good luck, my friend. Exactly which action by Trump caused this? The military parade? The trips to Mara Lago? The lies about the Mueller Report? The tariffs and the threats? I’ll eagerly read your response.
5
@Angelus Ravenscroft
business deregulation
Energy development (oh wait Obama actually encouraged Fracking too)
Lower corporate taxes
Tariffs on China to play fair and protect American intellectual property
Tariffs on EU to play fair
Renegotiation of NAFTA
Jawboning the fed to loosen rates when there is no indication of inflation
Lower capital gains rates to boost investment
Higher growth policies to boost employment
Need more? Just let me know
10
Welcome to the Trump economy as seen through the eyes of NYT readers. Growth and reduced unemployment are no longer positive but are to be belittled and dismissed. Optimism must not allowed. Essentially, a miserable place to be.
21
@AACNY I think you just read out CNN's talking points :)
8
All those employed people who can only hope not to lose out to low inflation rates regarding what they are earning should scare you. Sure a few are making a lot but the many who buy the products and services from which that wealth comes are not able to get ahead, and that will limit future growth. Money is not God’s reward for living virtuously, it’s the result of everyone getting ahead. Selfishness results in social decline.
6
Um, this article actually doesn’t discuss economic growth except to note that there are some warning signs, the unemployment rate is up slightly (though as the writer point out, doesn’t really matter much), and the job creation rate is down by about a third since last year.
4
Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris surely unhappy at the news and will mischaracterized it. Truth is beauty and beauty, truth.
12
Wondering how many of these "manufacturing" jobs are for manufacturing guns, assault rifles, and ammo that MAGAs are buying with their savings? Or for manufacturing more insulin and other diabetes meds, hypertension pills, and chemo to treat an increasingly sick, fat populace? Or making new types of vaping devices for cigarette smokers and recreational marijuana users to use? Yes, there is much "good news" to cheer for US manufacturing.
1
Nonsense.
America is not a business. America is a nation state. Thus the U.S. didn't add any private sector jobs.
The President of the United States is not a businessman. The President of the United States is the head of government and state.
Donald Trump inherited 295 streams of income from his daddy. That insulated and protected him from the consequences of being the single worst losing businessman in America over a decade.
Thus Donald Trump's red MAGA hat is an appropriate metaphor for his penchant for business scarlet colored ink.
Along with Trump's blooming blossoming bromance with Russia's Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin.
Will Vlad become the third - Czech vana and Slovenian Melania-ethnic Slavic communist atheist gold digger model for Trump?
9
Time to define these "jobs" in detail. Not hard to do in this day and age of computers everywhere.
Are these "jobs" toilet bowl cleaner, mop the floor, take out the garbage?
Can these "jobs" sustain a family or even one person?
Washington DC is a joke.
21
Living wage full-time jobs with health insurance, or McJobs? Uh huh...
10
Believe nothing from the Trump Labor Dept:
“And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became truth. 'Who controls the past' ran the Party slogan, 'controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.”
― George Orwell, 1984
7
Mad these are terrible news for them Democrats.
The economy is doing great.
Oh lord, how can they crash the economy so they can be proven right?
Sorry guys, the economy is doing wonderful. You loose.
10
And Liberals are sad.
The Trump economy roars on.
And Americans now can get real jobs with increasing wages.
8
@Dr. John
Ya. Real, minimum wage, no benefits jobs. Booming, that.
2
@S James
You have Trump mixed up with Obama’s bartender jobs.
1
It's sad to see progressives cry "fake news" when reality refuses to conform to their gloom and doom pronouncements.
Trump is a fool, but the Democrats and their endless socialist schemes to "save" us truly frighten me.
10
Real unemployment rate (U6) is 7.2%. Majority of Americans do not have 400$ in case of emergency.
Would say the economy is not doing well for way too many.
Off subject, but why do reporters always interview Trump next to Marine One? Not that Trump talks any softer or more intelligently when he isn't trying to yell above chopper noise but it is so annoying.
5
@A You sound like Kamala Harris
3
Prosperity now must be sky-high. Representative Occasionally Correct refused to allow Amazon to bring 25,000 jobs averaging $100,00+/year to Long Island City, and none of you criticize her. Your candidates for president propose multi-trillion dollar giveaways of public money (free college, free health care, wages for no work, free everything) without even a question from you.
There is no "ten-year recovery." Obama had 8 years of less than 3% annual economic growth, the only time in our history that the economy was that bad. Growth in 2010 - his first "post-recession" year, was 1.6%. Growth in 2016, his last, was 1.6%. He had no economic recovery.
It is under Trump that the economy has boomed to almost 4% a year. African-American unemployment is at an all-time low. Hispanic unemployment is at an all-time low. Women's unemployment is at an all-time low. And our shipment of hundreds of billions of dollars a year to China has been stopped.
Real facts are so much nicer to use than political propaganda.
7
@Diogenes Were local residents AOC represents likely to get those jobs, or were the jobs going to go to people who would move in and price AOC's constituents out of the neighborhood? Was it her job to represent the people who elected her, or to represent potential future residents who might not?
6
Paraphrasing Edmund Burke: AOC owes her constituents her judgment, even if it does not agree with her constituents’ desires. Turning away jobs was idiotic, but so is she. Dems willlose this winnable election. 23 or more scattered candidates proves there is no Dem party. We all lose.
3
We all know that this WH fabricates statistics. Are people keeping tabs on what comes out of this WH regarding job numbers, salaries, you name it. Not long ago, we read that job numbers were up in red states. What does that mean? Does it mean that corporate America which got a 21% tax break fabricated jobs at $7.50 an hour with no benefits? Do we really care about those type jobs? They bring down the standard of living which is already substandard in most red states.
8
How can people be bothered with these unimportant numbers when the President of the United States was accused of rape by incredibly credible accusations by a long-time fighter for women's rights?
4
@areader. Yes, credibly incredible accusations
5
areader,
Trump has also been named "Individual-1" in an indictment against his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who is currently doing time in prison for the crimes they committed.
2
@Brewster Millions,
How can you insult this woman of the deepest decency and highest morals?
2
If the labor statistics are correct why do so many high school graduates not have jobs? In my community you see fathers walking to school to pick up their small children in the middle of the day. In the spring many of the small children walk to school wearing adult flip flops. Maybe a pittance you cannot live on, or even buy a car if you are living in someone's basement we should stop calling a salary or a job. Does Walmart and other companies continue to only hire parttimers to avoid paying benenfits...some of which the public picks up as Mediciaid for their employees?
j
46
@Harriet Katz This is the first time in American history in which there are measured more job openings than the total number of people who are unemployed and state they are seeking employment. Companies are desperate to hire employees at all levels of skills, with unskilled labors being in the shortest supply. Company sponsored training programs abound, even for felons. If you see people not working, it most likely that they so choose.
It seems that with job numbers like these there would be a competition for workers. That would drive up wages. That is the most noticeable fact, with a boom economy wages should go up with company profits.
4
Most of the Job numbers for June are temporary summer employment jobs -seasonal at best and low paying. The tell will be September / Octobers job numbers- heading into election year! If seasonal Jobs don't pick up for the next event (Christmas)-if Trump hasn't resolved his tariff war against China, the U.S economy could start to show the results with consumers buying less on high ticket items. One can only assume the U.S economy will have downturn! If Trump's Tariff war fails he can only blame himself -which he won't -I guess Trump could just walk away and tell the American people "Sue me!"
2
The numbers on Wall Street in no way reflect the health of the economy.
McJobs and summer jobs are counted as if they are a living wage. As Trump's disgusting comments on 'getting the homeless out of sight because it's offensive' demonstrates' - the numbers don't tell a thing! Numbers don't include people who have dropped OUT of the job market because the jobs have been off-shored. Tell Indiana. Tell Michigan. The job numbers are great!!
8
The economy is stronger than the democrats have feared. This does not bode well for the socialist democrats, who will now turn their attention to non substantive issues.
7
Great! But how many of those employed are working multiple jobs? Have health care benefits? Are making more than minimum wage? Are living in poverty? Will be retiring with a pension? When there are so many employed workers struggling paycheck to paycheck, is the unemployment rate as a single-metric representation of the strength of our economy still as valuable as it was decades ago? It seems to me it is not and we should headline some other important indicators, as well.
10
Why dont they ever share the average yearly salary for these jobs. If 100,000 of these jobs only pay $30000 a year...is that considered a win? These numbers are meaningless unless you know the salaries.
8
Some jobs numbers:
2011 2.09 million
2012 2.14 million
2013 2.30 million
2014 3.00 million
2015 2.71 million
2016 2.24 million
2017 2.06 million
2018 2.60 million
Obama did it without "tax cuts for the job creators."
Obama got us through the worst recession since the Great Depression.
W Bush gave Obama a whopping $1.4 Trillion deficit. Obama cut that by almost 2/3 to $550 Billion.
And that was with the "jobs killing" Obama-care and 20 Million people got healthcare.
The Ryan / McConnell / Trump tax bill will increase the deficit from $600 Billion to $1 Trillion.
The projected ten year increase to the debt is $12 Trillion which is $80,000 per taxpayer.
All to be paid for by ourselves, our children, and grandchildren.
24
@Independent
Those are the numbers after Republicans took back Congress.
2
@SSS
Which is to say, Obama did those things in spite of all the Republican obstruction.
When it's bad, you give Obama the blame.
When it's good, you give Republicans the credit.
But this last tax bill was after 8 years of Republicans relentlessly railing against the debt under Obama.
Every Republican senator voted for it.
Not one Democratic senator voted for it.
All to be paid by ourselves, our children, and grandchildren.
Go look at the history. Deficits went up under Reagan, W Bush, and now Trump. Deficits came down under Clinton and Obama.
And Clinton got almost 50% more jobs than Reagan. And Obama got almost 400% more jobs than W Bush.
This is serious, not a game of your side vs. our side.
7
@Independent
Spending, and where it is spent is of more concern. Where did the Obama stimulus package get spent? Where did the Trump stimulus get spent ? One has to decide what is the better means to promote the economy, government (bureacratic) spending or private sector (business) spending. Arguably each has it's time and place.
1
"Employment growth has averaged 172,000 per month thus far this year, compared with an average monthly gain of 223,000 in 2018. In June, notable job gains occurred in professional and business services, in health care, and in
transportation and warehousing."
No mention of whether or not any of these jobs are full- or part-time jobs; permanent or temporary jobs; minimum wage jobs; or jobs that provide healthcare and/or a pension. The statistics provided by BLS are useless.
9
Wages are stagnant! Yes, employment is high, but it's not a metric with meaning as lower and middle class people continue to struggle massively to simply make it through the month. This is bipartisan bad, only the wealthy, as they are wont, beat the drum of a strong economy when so many are suffering.
7
@Rickibobbi Who says wages are stagnant ?
1
@Rickibobbi
Props on the Talledega Nights reference :-).
The sad thing is you're getting a raise, but most of it is being eaten by the healthcare premiums you and your employer sneakily pay.
2
A true indicator of the employment rate is the number of Americans who are holding down 2 or 3 jobs to keep their heads above water.
11
@John Adams Not exactly.....I have multiple jobs but have never done better financially. I am not struggling to keep my head above water. I am using this ability to have multiple side gigs to build a really great nest egg!
3
Lots of people are working two or three jobs, because employers don't want to hire full time employees due to healthcare costs.
What kind of jobs are we talking about in these reports? As Kamala Harris said in the Democratic debate, people should be able to have one job and make a decent living.
This is an issue tied to healthcare that the Democrats should continue to talk about.
14
Those of you who are questioning the veracity of the BLS's numbers are going down the wrong alley. To sound like conspiracy theorists only plays into the hands of those who support this administration. What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.
As others have commented, the Democrat candidates, as much as I support them and their many good ideas, need to come up with credible economic policies with broad appeal.
2
@day owl: They can do precisely as Pres. Trump has done- which is to do precisely as Pres. Obama had done (minus a trillion dollar tax cut for billionaires and the lifting of business restrictions that have polluted our air and water and overturned the rights of consumers).
4
Playing the partisan game is fun for the feeble minded. What matters most is that the US has been steadily recovering for 10 years. After the depths of the recession, once things began to improve, they continued improving for the longest time ever.
Climate change marches on, the government has been at an impasse, the state of the world economy has fluctuated, and predictions of recession have not been uncommon. And yet there is economic growth month after month.
What I take from this is that the US has a remarkably strong economy. And it gives us reason for optimism when all the fools in DC are busy dofoolish things. We are good at making widgets, so good that the economy has grown for about 120 straight months.
We may not be at the top of our political game. But we are at the top of our economic game. And that is an amazing thing.
7
Economies are not made by the will of the people through their elected representatives. They are determined by how everyone actually does live. Taxes and tariffs and monetary policy and unemployment rates are things that make small differences in the economic decisions people make. There are hundreds of millions of people dealing with billions of people in our economy. They are deciding how our economy does, not bankers, nor financial professionals, nor politicians, nor economists.
1
@michjas If these numbers represent mostly $15 an hour jobs, they are pretty meaningless.
Texas hires many workers at low wages....is that really impressive? If most of these jobs are under 30-40k a year...is that good?
2
Canadians thank you, Mr. Trump, for making our largest market strong. That, and your underwriting of our national defense, allows us to have "free" health care and lecture you about how immoral you are. Much appreciated.
9
@mike
The long plan is to annex Canada.
1
If employment doesn't jump in summer months, you have a problem. Knowing what positions were filled would be helpful in determining the overall prosperity these jobs bring to a person or community versus jobs that just keep one afloat (dog walker, food delivery, ride share driver.)
1
@pealass
When I was in high school, most of us got 'summer jobs'. I'd imagine that's still the case. Now that I'm a working stiff, the company I work for hires college students as 'summer interns'. I'm guessing we're not the only ones doing that. Hardly surprising to see a bump in hiring in June. So yeah, seeing exactly what kinds of jobs are being filled would be interesting.
1
Every month, the Trump Government releases the Jobs Report and the Unemployment Rate.
And every month, the world accepts the numbers that the Trump Government puts out, as accurate.
Everyone believes that if the Government says that 224,000 jobs were added, then that is Gospel Truth, carved in stone.
"It's the Labor Department that releases these statistics, not Trump. That means that they're indisputable."
Really?
Trump appointee Alex Acosta, is the head of the Labor Department.
"Oh, Acosta is a man of high morals and values. He would never do anything unethical."
Really?
Let's see what Jeffrey Epstein's victims, have to say about that.
"Besides, there's so many people at the Labor Department, that it would be impossible for them to lie about such a thing."
Yeah, you're absolutely right.
The numbers must be exactly, what the Trump Government says they are.
3
@John Doe
Really? You believed EVERYTHING Bill and HIllary Clinton told you. Especially about Bill's dealings with Jeffrey Epstein.
4
Every day that the stock market drops -- as it is doing today -- is a good day for being optimistic about the future of this country.
2
@A. Stan only if you are looking for this great country of ours to take a trip down the socialist path, which has prove disastrous for every other country that has embarked on that journey.
3
Yes “socialism” has proven disastrous...except of course for almost every nation in Western Europe, where it hasn’t.
1
@Karl G That's exactly the point. We are not Western Europe. Americans think their way is good for everyone. Its the same mistake when we think that what's good for Western Europe is good for us. Totally different dynamic, geography and situation.
2
Everything seems to revolve around stock market gamblers and their purchasing and selling habits. Newspaper reporters euphemistically call these stock market gamblers "investors." When those with multi million and billion betting dollars stop gambling all of sudden, the market makes a downturn and everyone gets excited. Letting economic predictions revolve around the betting behaviors of stock market gamblers does not see to be a good way of running and predicting economic ups and downs of the economy. I think that the profit motive is not a good way to run a country, nor allowing the betting behaviors of stock market gamblers to be a prediction of the U.S. economy.
4
@Peter The stock market is not the economy but it does hold most American retirements either in a 401k or a pension plan. And that is a big deal. It is what drives WS.
If the economy is doing so well, why is there no such thing as a full-time job anymore? Why do millennials accept it as normal that no job they take will ever last more than a year or two at most? Why am I constantly offered contracts instead of positions? Why does the company that doesn't even consider me an employee expect me to spend over a thousand dollars on equipment out of pocket before they say they can give me more work? And after that, they still won't guarantee me any hours or any pay? Why does the first line of every contract I'm offered always say "By signing this contract, you agree that ____________ reserves the right to terminate your position at any time, with or without notice, for any reason or no reason at all"? If unemployment is at a record low, why am I having such trouble finding work that pays more than a pittance? Why are Trump supporters bragging about how great the stock market is doing when I have no money to invest in stocks?
29
Natural selection. Slow economies select business practices that result in profits. Labor is an unavoidable cost but one that can be managed to produce good enough margins to make adequate profits for owners.
3
@Vexations
True, very true comment.
Whether working several part time jobs or carried as a consultant/temp gig worker for what used to be a full time with benefits position, the type of employment has changed over the decades n
On the other hand, while these aggregate employment reports don’t quantify the earnings for them, it is much better to have a relatively stable income than none at all. With a paycheck, you have options and choices, without income you don’t.
1
@Vexations
I don't know about you, but I have one and so do the 20-somethings I work with.
If you are having problems finding a job, have you considered a call center? Spectrum, insurance companies and state subcontractors are hiring. It's not easy, but you seem to be a strong, smart person (unless you aren't) so try INDEED.
1
If the US economy was so good in the past 20 years, why did corporations have to outsource American jobs to low-wage countries? Was it just to increase their profitability and to thus please the bettors on Wall Street?
It's ironic that when wages go down, companies' stock values go up. It seems to be an adversarial relationship now between labor and capital. And that's why corporations don't pay a decent living wage to workers -- simply to enhance their profitability. Workers are in such dire straits because in the past 40 years their wages haven't kept up with inflation while the CEOs' pay and the stock market profits have soared. Also, corporations don't want to pay a fair tax to the government for the prosperity of the whole country.
Unions must re-enter the scene and a progressive tax code that includes the highest tax rates for corporations and their CEOs must be reinstated. This country prospered when CEOs' pay was under 50 times the wage of the average worker. Now this ratio is upwards of 350 to 1000 times the workers' pay. Just maybe that's the reason that companies don't want to pay workers a decent living wage.
17
@Underdog Since Trump became president over 5 million new jobs were created. That's a lot of people now cashing a pay check rather than an unemployment check. Not all of them may have $500 to pay monthly car payments as someone suggested here in comments today but they are still glad to have a job. They aren't sitting around complaining that the CEO of GM makes more money than they do. The overall unemployment rate is the lowest in half a century. For African Americans, Hispanics and women, the lowest ever. Job creation for the handicapped was going down before, Trump are up 7 - 11 %. The stock market has gone up more consecutive months than in history. For those who hate Trump, nothing is good.
The end will come the only question is when.
It took 10 yrs, for the economy to implode after the two greatest economy disasters in modern history the 29 and 08 crashes.
It could be tomorrow or seven yrs from now after the Trump faux bubble if history is a guide.
5
If they reported how many of these were full time employment with benefits we would likely see that these jobs are low paying, no benefits, part time and are what is replacing real jobs. Hey America, your job is being converted to contract labor.
I think it is imperative that young people get involved in organized labor and democratic politics so that they can replace the leadership of these feckless organizations.
26
The Federal Government can not be trusted with these constantly revised job numbers because of the current occupant of the White House.
I've seen revisions up to 50 % months later.
As long as Trump is President, No Numbers From the Federal Government should be trusted.
Manufacturing down three straight months and jobs increased?
These are Uber Lyft and Grubhub jobs taken by newly graduated debtors.
8
@Kenneth And Trump said we couldn’t trust the Obama Administrations numbers. We certainly can’t trust these numbers from the Liar in Chief
2
@Kenneth Sigh. We hear this under every President, that he is messing with the Labor Department statistics to make the economy look better than it is. No, the Bureau of Labor Statistics is run -- even under Trump -- by hard-working bureaucrats dedicated to accuracy. To say otherwise is to unfairly defame our nonpolitical government workers who tirelessly are doing the best to just give us the facts without fear or favor.
There's only one valid metric by which to judge the health of the economy -- the median hourly wage. We keep hearing about wage growth (6 cents in a month! Oh my! I may faint! Where are my smelling salts?) but it's important to remember context -- the American worker has a 40-year deficit to make up. Over those four decades our productivity skyrocketed but all of the wealth created by our productivity went into someone else's pocket. Instead we got decades of stagnant wages and now we're supposed to jump for joy over 6 cents? I think not...
Jobs, jobs, jobs are meaningless if it takes four of them to survive.
23
Where was all this doubt when Obama was in office? For him, you guys all raved at 5% unemployment. This Admin has NOT changed the formula to determine unemployment. Trump doesn't do the calculations or have control over the data.
So if it isn't real today, it was also not real during Obama's time and office.....and far, far worse since unemployment is now 3.7%.
Get over it. The economy is roaring like a run away freight train due to Trump's policies. There are those who will never benefit from any economy at any time due to a variety of factors. In fact Economists used to say that 5% was full employment because of those variety of factors.
It is sad that you want to talk down such a tremendous economy and jobs increase (and btw, fewer people applying for food stamps and unemployment). And some of the Dem Presidential candidates are just flat out lying about it. But, what else are they going to do? They have no idea how to run an economy.
32
@Rocky
I think history will show that Dems repair Repub-run economies and their delusion-based policies. Yes, you are right: Trump doesn't control the numbers; Trump and Repub tax policies have goosed an already perfect economy. It gives me a little comfort that after you gloat about your stocks during the 10% meltup (next 3 months?) you will see them decline 50% and no Fed response less than a 2.5% reduction will bring them back quickly. Better get out now or at least put in your stop-loss orders.
5
@Rocky "The economy is roaring like a run away freight train due to Trump's policies"
actually if you look at monthly jobs added, Obama's last few years look a little bit better than Trump's. the economy is doing well, i agree, but not due to Trump's policies (since it was doing a bit better under Obama).
5
@Rocky I never saw a jobs report during the Obama administration that was not immediately questioned and called unreal.
4
The report taken on it's own @ 171M / month for '19 indicates a strong economy. 2% fed funds is hardly impeding growth. Who is clamoring for a rate cut? Besides Trump, Wall St. They know that MM rates are 2.25% or so and that's a safe return for many, especially moderate to wealthy retirees to avoid the equity market and diversion of inflows is their concern. The rate cut has little to do with main street or the real economy it's about the continuation of a 30 year trend embraced by both parties to asset inflation.
2
When apple can raise the price of a phone to $1000 and consumers stand in line to upgrade ... we don't have a wage growth problem or a discretionary spending constraint.
8
@SSS, and yet here I am - employed full time - with a Galaxy S6 worrying about helping my kids through college.
Why are the number of jobs increasing but the wages are not increasing more than they have been? We started out in a deep hole ten years ago. At that time businesses were making good profits on slow sales by controlling costs. They still are controlling costs, how much they are paying for labor, it seems. It’s also not making them expand in anticipation of better sales than they have been able to achieve.
What it looks like is that our economy is now based upon a small proportion of our people earning a lot while the vast majority are just getting by but not getting ahead. The wage increase and inflation rates are nearly tied. What you see is what there is. That is the status quo, and there is nothing that is going to change it, for now.
All those people who think that Trump ever managed a business are going to understand that he has no clue about managing complicated endeavors by many people. He looks after himself, that’s all that he’s ever done. Those tax cuts added a trillion or two to our debt, they did not kick start a booming economy. His trade wars are headline makers but they causing others to negotiate deals that really are not likely to change much. The countries who are negotiating are doing so to save their businesses not to create new business activity. In the end, the goal is not to create new wealth just to redistribute the wealth already be created. That seems to mean Americans will pay more for the same stuff and will not be able to buy more.
16
When it's broken down, three jobs can be reported for one person: Uber driver, Door Dash delivery and electric scooter recharging. And, still not making enough money to live on.
74
@Speedo Yep!
2
Those aren't real jobs. None of them.
2
There is a huge gulf between these economic statistics and what people actually experience. Economists ought to ask themselves whether they're really measuring the right things. These statistics don't account, for instance, for people who have given up on finding a job or the quality of jobs. They also don't account for part-time jobs or freelancers. And they say nothing at all about the problem of gross inequality.
39
Why did nobody on the left ask about this big gulf in statistics when Obama was in office?
3
I never thought I would be regretful about our robust economy.
My hope for a Democratic President is shattered. This robust economy, will surely give Trump an advantage in 2020.We need a miracle, like a moderate Republic that arises like Christ, and beats trump in a runoff for the nominee for President, while Harris & Biden are still arguing about Busing.
9
It’s not robust. It’s balanced but it’s not helping enough people get ahead to be robust.
1
@Independent1776
To regret a good economy is like saying.....'slavery is bad...but I do missing the singing'.
1
@Raz
Please don't take me literally.of course, I welcome a strong Economy, even if it means another 4 years of Trump.
1
“Average earnings rose 6 cents an hour from May, and are up 3.1 percent over the past year.”
I don’t know about the rest of America, but if I turn my kitchen faucet on and the water “trickles” out... I call the landlord.
13
@Anna Why are you such a pessimist? 3.1% wage growth is fantastic news, the first time in many years that average Americans are getting bigger paychecks.
Your hatred of Trump blinds you on how he is really helping American workers.
34
@Jon Galt Cost of everything has risen far more than 3.1% because of Trumps tariffs and many Americans are paying higher taxes because of Trumps tax cuts for the wealthy.
8
Six cents an hour pay increase - that’s $2.40 / week extra. Democrats, this is an issue that you need to be talking about.
21
If this economy is so great, why are 4 in 10 americans a crisis away from bankruptcy? Oh, and the unemployment rate is terrific only if you don't count all the people who's unemployment have tun out
13
People have emergencies that they can’t budget because they just barely have enough to get by.
4
@jaco, Manage their money? Hum, let's see, I have to pay for OOP medical ~$10K/year, not counting the premium; save for my kids college; save for our retirement and put food on the table and clothes on our backs. No matter how much "managing" it still ain't cutting it. Hip, hip hurray to you to be so well compensated.
20
Time to live on rice and beans and to make our own clothes? Perhaps, but your stock prices would tank if all those who are struggling to balance their budgets did that.
3
Welcome to Burger World, may I take your order?
17
I think that the traditional relationships between the unemployment rate, interest rates, and the inflation rate no longer hold because the bureau of labor statistics has, over the last 30 years, implemented changes to the measure of information so that it now produces lower numbers than it did when those relationships were first identified.
3
Most people do noy know that when unemployment ins. runs out, the people are no longer counted, evenif they do not have a job.
1
Economists fear lots of jobs - might have to start paying people something instead of it all going to the rich.
Can't have that.
10
The glass is always half full, economists argue about the impact of current events. Some say the tax cut provided a temporary lift, others none at all. The same is true about tariffs, resorting to anecdotal evidence of a quote from a small company in Florida. While I want to paint Trump as a disaster, he has had a benign effect on the long economic expansion. So far the economic engine continues to roar ahead. The benefits of the expansion are accruing to the few, but the masses have bread on the table and a place to go 5 days a week. That is something we should be happy about, and something that seems to have little to do with our current president. At least with economists never agreeing on anything, there will always be jobs for them to argue with each other.
4
@Ben P
Sorry Ben, the economic engine has not been roaring ahead. It's under-carbuerated, and has been gasping along at maybe 2.5% with 1% inflation for some time.
This is the weakest economic recovery of the last 5...that'd take us back to the 1960's.
All it will take for us to turn into recession again will be a downturn among one of our major trading partners. And you know who is diddling with our international trade....
Tariff-man!
We are in what as far as I know is an unprecedented situation of:
1) a record high stock market
2) strong new job figures
3) an inverted yield curve (a classic harbinger of recession) and
4) a relentless, continuing bite on the general spending power of middle and lower income Americans with low-wage employment, ridiculously high education and health costs, and major new, required expenditures from the electronic revolution (cell phone and internet service).
What this means for the stock market is anyone's guess. For now, I am staying in cash.
21
How many of these jobs have health benefits ? How many are full time or just seasonal? Before we rejoice in the data we need to understand what jobs have been filled and the context.
121
@Maureen
Right. And we need to understand the unemployment figure, too. That's people receiving UI payments. It doesn't count the very large percentage who have used up those benefits, or who have found part time work without benefits. Some reports put the aggregate figure for un and under employed people at over 7%.
8
@Maureen: "How many of these jobs have...."
The NYT and its OP-ED writers have been pointing to the increase in employment since the recovery from the last recession.
We've had an increasingly gig economy. No need to start asking those questions now.
1
I think the 7.1% number that includes people knocked out of the workforce and part-timers is more realistic. and as stated - the reason for the higher number is lack of viable candidates.
The US needs a training and apprenticeship program more than collage debt relief. Qualified trades people will make MUCH more and contribute MUCH more than some of these collage majors.
The Right rather have low-wage/low-skill labour - preferably off-shore, and the Left has a elitist problem that looks down at the Trades.
10
Sanders advocates free community college and vocational training. Nobody is ignoring trades.
8
Trade and technical job training institutions are abundant.
Most of them are for profit federal loan harvesting scams. They promise people educations in good careers, take their money, leave them deeply in debt, and leave them uneducated.
Besides, the businesses which offer those jobs went overseas decades, ago. The new high tech jobs require four year degrees full of mathematics and science, which Americans think is for nerds, not cool people.
We need to drop the conservative nonsense that Reagan made popular. To get ahead is hard work that requires helping everyone to participate to benefit from cooperative efforts by all. That conservative blather that selfishness and magical self regulating markets bringing real prosperity for all creates a few wealthy and everyone else stuck with no place to go.
5
@Tom
President Trump has very actively promoted job training. Unfortunately, these positive moves rarely receive the NYT's attention. Consider how little attention his landmark prison reform received. If that had been passed by Obama, it would have had people crying tears of joy. African-American leaders would have been commending him.
Instead, progressives claim he accomplished "nothing". Tell that to the inmates and their families.
3
Meanwhile, 40% of American families still struggle to pay the bills every month. Jobs are good, but jobs that pay a living wage are much better. Apparently, there aren't nearly enough "living wage" jobs being created, despite all the "good" economic news.
52
@Raindog63 Why are they struggling? Maybe they have overspent their earnings and gone into debt.
5
@MCH There are always some people who are poor managers of their money. But when you are talking about something like 100 million Americans, the problem is obviously systemic.
It is easy to "overspend your earnings" when your earnings won't cover the basic monthly bills.
5
It's kinda amazing the two services reporting on the employment picture diverse so widely from one another. ADP report was dismal and this was is very good. Should be interesting to see which one got it right.
1
I would appreciate more than a passing reference to “anemic” wages and a 6 cents per hour average hourly increase. If we talk about a “robust” economy that is “roaring back”, let’s see some real world wage numbers. In what wage categories are the added jobs? How many jobs are people working to survive?
Is the wage gap growing or lessening?
66
@Michael Dorey
How long is the lag between increased demand for workers and wage increases? We need to give it time to let the worker shortages have their effect on wages.
@Michael Dorey
If you made 20.00 an hour a year ago, and your wage rose 3.1% in the year, you'd now make 20.62 an hour.
About 1289.00 per year increase.
(20.62/hr x40 hours x 52 weeks=$42889. or+$1289.00 INCREASE YOY. for the year........(opposed to 20.00/hr x 40 hours x 52 weeks=$41,600.00).
1289.00 a year is about right for a average wage increase on the US average Joe Lunchbox wage isn't it? Not gonna make you a millionaire, but better than a sharp stick in the eye....
Average wage in US is now 23.43 per hour in June...about 1500. a year if wages increased another 3.1%.
3
@Ignatz You neglect to mention that Joe Lunchbox, who got a 3% raise also got a notice that his rent is going up 3%, utilities are going up 2%, staples at the supermarket are going up, car insurance is going up, etc. So yeah, while the 3% raise might sound nice, it's not so great when your monthly outlay for necessaries goes up 8% or more. Since these increases are typically yearly, it means Joe Lunchbox is moving backward, not forward.
7
Let‘s stop talking about irrelevant numbers like this, when for starters we can‘t even know if they are believable and secondly they they do not explain what constitutes a real job with a living wage.
19
A "job" should count as an indication of economic health only if it is a full-time job with a livable salary and benefits—health insurance, disability insurance, 401K, all of it. Anything less that requires a person to work for two or more employers to survive should be counted only proportionally or not at all.
177
@Mike Thank you, Mike... well said!
7
@Mike
Yes. The old economic indicators no longer apply in a gig economy of side hustles and warehouses with no bathroom breaks.
Most Americans do not have the means to deal with any emergency over four hundred dollars. Inequality. New age of robber baronry.
8
@Mike
Agreed. However, by your definition roughly one million or so Wal-Mart workers, not to mention quite a few Amazon wage slaves, would be considered to not have a job.
Yet we keep subsidizing Bezos and the Walton Clan with our taxpayer dollars.
7
This article does not mention the wage growth figures but even at 4 percent annual rate it is still only slightly better than inflation and the figures still say nothing about those working 2 or 3 jobs to make ends meet. Also Trump declared that he would bring back manufacturing jobs, but that sector is still weak and will remain so due to his punishing to US jobs and business tariff wars. Some figures make good headlines, but are far from telling the whole story, something that many will ignore in the glow of false or incomplete numbers. I
n the end who is making all this cash? It is still corporate fat cats and investors who rake it in while those with no money to invest, depend on wages or social security barely keep their heads above water.
11
Good news for the 4th desire the media's daily apocalyptic view of the country. God bless Donald Trump and the American working class. They have held steady and persevered through everything including a failed, utterly corrupt govermnent, an disastrously failed education and University system, failed churches, astronomical taxes and the daily lies and distortions of our corporate media and the conformists who believe them.
10
@antonio gomez Trump has done little to nothing for the working class. He heavily favors corporations over workers, appoints judges who heavily favor corporations over workers, and is the single most corrupt president in modern history who has appointed or nominated a steady stream of corrupt opportunists to government positions. BTW, taxes are lower than most competitor countries, not at all "disastrously high".
13
@John Griswold
" BTW, taxes are lower than most competitor countries, not at all "disastrously high". "
This is not true, IF we look at corporate taxes, which is clearly what gomez referred to.
1
@boroka There's a significant difference between nominal taxes and actual effective taxes. Our effective corporate tax rates are often so low as to approach zero.
1
This is when we should put aside our political differences and be grateful we live in the United States.
We have a political system built on fairness and representation, and we have the world’s strongest economy.
Despite our flaws and challenges, people from around the world want to come here and be a part of the American Experiment in representative government and personal freedom.
21
@MR The Supreme Court just recently ruled that they will do nothing to prevent state legislatures from gerrymandering significant portions of their populations into political irrelevancy.
So much for fairness and representation.
28
The only first world nation on earth that does not provide free health care to all citizens. The only nation on earth where people go bankrupt, lose savings, homes, and start GoFundMes and beg for money to pay medical bills.
The only first world nation on earth where students graduate college with onerous high interest debt that takes a life to discharge.
The only first world nation on earth that does not provide guaranteed family leave, sick time, vacation days.
People from first world nations are not flocking to come here.
13
@Zejee Please explain how health care will be free? Nobody is going to pay for it? Doctors will work for 40% less? Will you take a 40% pay cut? No, more likely you will get a 40% tax hike.
3
News organizations, including the Times, need to stop using the U3 unemployment rate number without explanation as it doesn't paint a fuller picture. The more accurate number is the U6 since it counts discouraged workers as well. It went up last month to 7.2% for the record. We should have been using the U6 under the Obama administration as well.
Lastly, all unemployment stories need to mention a few other things at the same time, namely the labor participation rate, which dropped quite a bit in '09 and has stagnated since, and the reality that more than 60% of Americans say that they can't afford a $500 car bill, much less a visit to the emergency room (even if insured).
95
@WRosenthal, they should use total payroll (sum of all wages) because that would account for the QUALITY and not just quantity of jobs created.
10
A much appreciated and well informed comment. Bravo!
2
One of the stats we could really use as a measure of health is the shift from government jobs at the mandatory expense of tax payers to private sector jobs at the voluntary expense of consumers.
3
Voluntary spending means spending surplus earnings. If people are not saving money and are just meeting their expenses, the have no voluntary spending.
4
Those government employees also pay taxes and spend money in the economy
4
@Zejee
SpaceX employees pay more taxes and spend more money in the economy than their NASA peers.
Am I wrong to be concerned about the perceived disappearance of the middle class? So many of our higher paying manufacturing jobs seem to have been replaced with lower paying service industry jobs. Then there are so many comparison pricing applications that seem to be driving away profits that supported both employees & companies. Short term profits vs. long term gains? With more people having equal or less income, is discretionary spending reduced? What happens to our economy then?
I hear the economy is doing well but I'm still concerned. Maybe wrongly so?
9
@Bruce Anderson
new home construction and sales seem to indicate a growing middle class and healthy economy. unlike the housing boom fueled by easy credit in the late 90's, this one seems to be a more fiscally conservative credit environment.
7
So the Fed will raise interest rates now, right?
Depends on how you define a job. If you are on your own or have a family to support, 20 hours a week is not a job. I no longer trust statistics like those in this article. Good jobs that can support an individual or a family are few and far-between. And those wage increase? Please. Wages have gone up but they are not at a level to enable people to pay the bills and maintain a sense of dignity or satisfaction about what they do for a living.
221
@Susan
The Bureau of Labor Statistics defines an “Employed Person” as any
“Persons 16 years and over in the civilian noninstitutional population who,
during the reference week,
did any work at all (at least 1 hour) as paid employees".
. . . ( https://www.bls.gov/bls/glossary.htm#E )
So if you worked for 1 hour for pay you are considered “employed" for govt. statistical purposes.
We need a new metric for measuring how the economy is doing.
20
@Susan We also need a new measure that includes jobs with real benefits ... not just "gig economy" jobs with none.
13
@Susan absolutely. I know a few people personally who have at least 2 jobs because of the max of 20hrs a week given to them by one employer. Employers dont have to pay out for health insurance and other benefits because they are part time. Its the ugly underbelly of the business world and most of Americas work force has no idea.
9
Don't worry folks, the recession will arrive in January 2021--right on schedule.
Will there be a soft or hard landing?
7
@Sendero Caribe - regardless of who is president, there are always 7 years of good, seven years of bad. I have heards this said from top economists. 2008 was the start of bad, 2015 we rebounded, 2022 we'll crash again.
1
@C--You are correct about who sits in the White House--seem readers really believe that it matters significantly. It doesn't. The reality is that the economy is so big and complex that very few single actions can make the difference between expansion and contraction. What we do know is that contractions follow expansions. We are due.
1
I guess this huge improvement in jobs is grounds for further bashing of President Trump. Figures.
28
@Mon Ray I think it's funny how Trump loves to take credit for good news that occurs under his watch but loves to blame others, especially Obama and democrats, when the news turns bad. That says a lot about his character and those who blindly support him.
6
@Mon Ray Nope... the list is already long enough...
3
Analysts like Krugman are never wrong. Eventually the economy is bound to do what they forecast. Then they can tell everyone that they called it correctly.
19
@Richard Winchester
What is the saying, "A broken clock is right twice a day." ?
5
I no longer believe this government or any of its agencies.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics is supposed to be—or was—a politically independent entity. Now that the president has coerced the DOJ and the DOD and the Senate, why should he—a proven liar—(10K and counting) be believed?
These statistics are nothing more than red meat for his carnivorous supporters. Who in government will now call him out? The wholly-owned (by the president) business and industrial moguls will parrot everything and anything he says.
We’re totally ruined.
132
@Red Sox, ‘04, ‘07, ‘13, ‘18
I have had similar concerns, but the voters will tell us what the true is in the 2020 election. Its a shame we have to wait that long.
Looking at the dynamics in the numbers, they still appear to at best represent continued strong growth that the Obama administration brought us too. If anything, the rate of unemployment decline and rate of wage growth appear stunted when you look at the data.
14
This is a baseless accusation. There is no evidence the BLS manipulates its numbers.
Trump supporters claimed that Obama inflated the BLS employment numbers at the end of his presidency to help Hillary. It was completely bogus.
I understand the deep distrust of Trump. There is enough to be outraged about without making stuff up.
There are many good government employees that work to compile this important data. Let’s not attack their reputation without any evidence.
32
@Red Sox, ‘04, ‘07, ‘13, ’18
Yes, this is end result of government abuse of the simple truth. All the various wars since WWII come to mind, all based on some cooked up reason. Or, how about buying some tripple-A rated mortgage bonds in 2007? Or, a huge airliner approved by the FAA, falling out of the sky. Or, just Trump himself, in a daily broadcast of spinning and lying about crowd size. Government, has lost all credibility. Even after the facts are known, no one goes to jail, or even loses their pension. There is no downside to lying, so people in power simply abandon the truth. Paul Ryan, said he ran a three hour marathon, (It was over four hours). Was he mortified by this revelation? No. I had a nun in Catholic school who would have dragged him out of his chair, (by his ear or hair), to the front of the class to be humilieated for ten minutes. The books are cooked, there is no truth. Trump, is just coming into his own, realizing the power he has. He’s just getting started.
12
Thank you President Obama for saving our economy and putting it on a solid path.
294
When the economy faltered a few months back I read that it was all Trump’s fault. I guess Trump only gets blamed but doesn’t get credit. Either way, Democrats need to sabotage the economy soon. If things are still going well next year, those persons who are not liberal elites may vote for Trump because they think that his administration is the cause of prosperity.
43
@Richard Winchester This is an economy that is great for the conservative elites. The investor class. Shareholders and board members.
For the rest of the U.S., everything is extremely fragile. The average car loan is three months behind. Many new jobs are gig jobs without benefits. Wages are in no way keeping pace with inflation.
Job numbers alone and stock markets are not a full or accurate picture -- as much as Trump and the right would love for us to believe. The rest of us aren't that gullible. Look at the precariousness of most Americans' financial lives, unable to absorb minor emergencies, much less major ones.
Prosperity in this country is concentrated at the very top. Everyone else is scraping by.
But by all means, defend the billionaires, hoarding capital while infrastructure and education crumble around us.
118
@Richard Winchester
Of course. Trump could show up tomorrow with a pill that cures cancer, and most of the commenters would say the pill is too white and difficult to swallow.
19
Humanity is an economic figure too, and that remains in a freefall under the loser's regime.
These figures from the regime are meaningless when they lie about everything. The unemployment rate and wage growth, of course, already were, thanks to smashed regulations, busted unions, and the rigged economy—and between those and the employer-health insurance cartel, workers are forced to Shut Up And Work instead of fight for basic rights, which makes the situation slide ever faster into vile-GOP crazy.
The covfefeans, of course, have already resolved to lie to themselves about their own prospects and our country's. That's the high, overblown optimism seen in Alabama.
23
Capitalism works. There is no better country to live in on this planet. It's actually shocking to me that liberals tout Cuba, China, Venezuela style socialism as superior to ours. We have the fastest growing economy, the best health care (yes, the best) and the highest standard of living.
Low taxes, a reasonable amount of regulations and limited social programs are the key to prosperity. That part is extremely clear. Even Obama and Biden signed most of the George W. Bush tax cuts into permanent law.
Obama and Biden were way more conservative than the new breed of extreme progressive liberals. I hope we send those socialists packing in 2020. Only Trump and to some degree Biden understand basic, freshman economics.
59
I missed the Cuba and Venezuela part. I believe they were referring to some socialized programs for child care and health care like in Norway or France.
66
@Jerome NO, we have never touted Cuba, China - or Venezuela. Trump understands economic? Trump is so smart that he has had to suppress anyone learning how well he did in school (grades/transcripts) or how well he did in business. Right, and I have a tower in Manhattan to sell you. Didn't you learn that he had over 1 billion dollar in losses during a ten year period? He was/is ripe for manipulation for foreign influence. I heard that if he is a good boy, Putin will give him a hotel in Moscow when he leaves office.
59
@Jerome
Seriously, Venezuela, China, Cuba... Exactly which Democrat candidates have been touting these countries as their “gold standard”. I must have missed that in their campaign stump speeches and on the debate stage.
I have however heard discussions on universal healthcare in the fashion of Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Scandinavian, most of continental Europe, Japan etc. I understand that these are all prosperous, democratic, market driven societies, which are happier and healthier that the USA.
Saying the “best healthcare” doesn’t make in true... I think you meant to say the “best healthcare for the wealthy”.
Conservatives label everything they don’t like socialism for political convenience. Some wealthy don’t like the threat to the hierarchy and then there are others who don’t know any better. Voters would do well to look at the facts and determine if the policy has merit. Universal healthcare has merit socially, economically and politically for all Americans.
48
One of the smartest statements ever made by a very different Republican President was Ronald Reagan’s: “Trust, but verify.”
I don’t trust these new job numbers because they come out of our current president’s Labor Department.
How do we know these new numbers are legitimate ? Can this data be independently verified ?
86
@John Adams Ingram Thank you. I’ve been saying this for 2 1/2 years. I don’t believe a word about anything from this administration.
26
@John Adams Ingram That's the end of democracy, right there. When the people no longer believe in the legitimacy of their institutions, game over. That's the real danger of the path the Republicans set us on years ago.
36
Yes they can check the data. There are thousands of liberal economists who pick apart any economic news, good or bad, from the Trump Administration. Search the web for their revealing analyses.
11
We heard at least twenty Democrats at the recent debates talk about how the economy is only working for 'the rich'. And yet current economic & labor statistics show this assertion to be pure fantasy. We have record low minority unemployment and the best wage growth in more than a decade. Last year, nearly 50% of all new businesses were launched by women and 64% of the women were minorities - so much for the war on women too.
Democrats held much more power & control in Washington DC from 2009-2016 and their policies came no where close to helping support gains like these. Jobs put food on tables, not politician's empty promises. Democrats need to find something better to run on than dismantling the economic progress of the past two years. Devolving closer to the third world status of major cities like Los Angeles & San Francisco will not be a winning platform.
50
@Once From Rome. If you bothered to look at the statistics, instead of repeating talking points from Trump’s Twitter account, you would see that the economic gains of the past two and a half years are a continuation of those under Obama. As for the absurd Trumpian story line that LA and San Francisco are becoming third world cities, explain how California is the fifth largest economy in the world if that is true.
170
@Once From Rome
Umm...LA and San Francisco are economic powerhouses, what on Earth are you talking about?
20
@Renee Margolin The economy has been improving for over 110 months.
Trump has only been president for 30 months. Do the math. If you don't trust the media let your fingers do the walking & look up gov. statistics. They tell a different story than the one Trump & Fox News are putting out
10
Powell knows he will need all the rate reduction possible when the time comes, and it is coming harder and longer than 2008. Company debt and tapped consumers. Watch car loan defaults. Powell needs to hold tight and not let Trump dictate for political reasons. That will give investors confidence in the long run.
11
OK, Democrats, THIS is your competition for the election. We can talk about Trump's personality, his being a lout, on and on, but people vote their pocketbooks and he has been very good to them. We must convince the American people that we can do just as well, without the drama. I am waiting for us to generate a consensus plan that will inspire me and the rest of the people. Don't take too long. . . .
115
@Bruce1253
Democrats are trying to convince voters that they don't need a job, just a basic income from the government with free healthcare.
48
@Bruce1253. Trump has not been very good to voters, the conomic trend of more than ten years has been. No Democratic consensus plan can overcome the campaign of lies, fear and hate that Trump, Moscow and the Republican Party used to dupe voters in 2016 and are repeating for 2020. Only education, real information and critical thought on the part of the majority of those who vote can.
34
So far Trump and his policies are costing me. Don’t start believing that everyone is all hunky-dory. And there doesn’t seem to be a measure for living wage employment, so what does all this really mean. Plus we are not even discussing Trump’s propensity for manipulating everything that is coming out of every government agency.
56