How did December’s employment report pan out? Is the job market still improving? Why does the American Job Shortage Number, or AJSN, tell us we can quickly fill 16.3 million more positions? All that is at http://worksnewage.blogspot.com/2018/01/decembers-ajsn-up-113000-to-163-....
How did December’s employment report pan out? Is the job market still improving? Why does the American Job Shortage Number, or AJSN, tell us we can quickly fill 16.3 million more positions? All that is at http://worksnewage.blogspot.com/2018/01/decembers-ajsn-up-113000-to-163-....
1
RETAIL JOBS GOING TO AMAZON AND SHIPPING COMPANIES
Does the loss of retail jobs in the statistics properly account for the shift of store-retail jobs to internet-retail jobs and added shipping?
If not, the classification of "retail" might need to be changed.....
I look forward to Trump going on a braggadocios Twitter rampage taking all of the credit for this, when the charts in this article clearly underscore that this trend has been the normal since the early days of the Obama presidency.
It's annoyingly similar to listening to him take credit for "defeating ISIS," completely ignoring the severely crippled state of ISIS when he took office and actually convincing himself that their defeat is based on the Trump Doctrine of abandoning global allies, propping up dictators and fascists, taunting North Korea about nuclear war on Twitter, and installing an unqualified son-in-law as head of Middle East strategy.
It's par for the course for a man born halfway between third base and home plate who has spent his entire life conning people into believing he just hit a grand slam.
2
Job gains during Holidays do not have a lot of weight, nor do the paltry increases that most people have been given help them much. Too many people are still unemployed. I learned a long time ago that economists and the Government do not report accurately. For the most part most gains are over-estimated because it counts seasonal employees and the unemployment rate is under-estimated because people have stopped looking for work. A safer bet is to double the unemployment rate from what is published and to divide by 2 the job gains that are reported.
The U.S. Job Market is still lagging in well paying and secure employment.
And between the Corporations and our illustrious Congress and Senate this will continue. This can be proven by the fact all of the Cabinet Departments are being greatly diminished and more outsourcing is happening, not less.
It is not the Immigrant coming into this country that is effecting our economy, but those Corporations who continue to outsource jobs to other countries that is hurting our citizens. And a Government who could do something about it by fixing our infrastructure, thereby creating millions of good paying jobs. Too bad our leaders do not care to fix problems that are necessary for everyone's well-being.
Not as good as the same eleven months under Obama, of course.
Most of those months were significantly affected by hurricanes. For a couple of months after a big hurricane, jobs numbers will be significantly higher as tens of thousands of workers clean up and rebuild. This is not to say that hurricanes are good economically - they destroy homes, factories, infrastructure and other forms of capital. In the case of Puerto Rico, this has gone on longer than usual, with the hurricane related jobs counting as increased US employment and the lost PR jobs not being included in these figures at all.
Also, my rule of thumb s to not give a President credit or blame regarding the economy until we are considering numbers from at least a full year after inauguration.
2
Cheer for the 'crumbs' that workers are getting? Nonsense! We have tremendous wealth disparity. The current libertarian ideology that reigns supreme is horrid for wage growth.
3
I am wondering why Ms. Kitroeff did not mention that Afro-American unemployment is now at it's lowest point since 1972, when tracking of this started?
6
1. black unemployment at all the low
2. latino unemployment at all time low
3. overall unemployment at 17 year low
4. stock market returned 25 percent in 2017 and sits are all time high
5. businesses expanding and hiring at faster clip in many years
Trump may be a buffoon but it would be very hard to argue that his massive de-regulation campaign, huge corporate tax cut and overall pro business policies have nothing to do with this very very strong economy
5
I thought the blue collar people were supposed to be suffering, and that's why they voted for Trump.
3
My former accounting teacher in high school, Mr. Lewis (RIP), said it best: "figures don't lie but liars can figure." That comment has stayed with me for my entire life.
2
Been watching gushing reports about the economy all day that look pretty much like yours. Absent from all of them are any statistics on workforce participation. It's got to still be low compared to 2006, since a month with ~140K jobs created is sufficient to hold the economy at 4.1% unemployment, which only measures short term out of work anyway.
Before 2006, to maintain an unemployment rate, it required ~221K. For any New York Times business reporters with some math background, or really just anyone who passed Junior High School algebra, the economy is still damaged. What happened? People were shoved out of the economy altogether and never let back in.
The NYTimes was a champion of that during 2009, editorializing that boomers should get out of the workforce to make room for the cherished age group of the media everywhere.
Trump's economy serves the people Trump hangs out with and no one else, just like all the rest of what the mortally corrupt Republican party does.
We'll know you are willing to correctly report the economy when you report that Republicans where pencil stripes, have a bulge under one shoulder, and pay in exact change. They are wise guys and fraudsters. And there are worse words about their conduct recently, stemming from the 1930s in Europe. Taxes only on their opponents, investigating their political opponents, calling for criminal charges against their political liabilities. Next we'll probably have a Trump-Kabila ticket in 2020.
The the die hard Obama defenders want to believe that Obama was responsible for making everything great. The reality is that the two programs mostly responsible for ending the financial panic and putting the US on the road to recovery were Fed inspired; TARP and QE. Obama had nothing to do with either. TARP was authorized by Congress during the waning days of Bush, and QE was the brainchild of Bernanke, a Bush appointee. All Obama did was put roadblocks in the way of recovery, leading to the weakest recovery in postwar history.
Oh, and he deserves credit for the Syrian redline, Crimea, and the Arabspring, but those were part of his foreign affairs legacy, not his economic one.
3
148,000 jobs in a country of 360 million?
5
Quite a few employers are giving bonuses which is much less expensive for them than raising their employees wages.
4
Under Obama, 148,000 jobs added was considered "dismal", now it is "strong" ??
Please.
5
Yes, The Machine God on Wallstreet speaks in green words, thus nothing else matters. Pay no heed to about half the country being low income or in poverty. Their lives and comforts are a noble sacrifice to our mechanical master and his "paper faith" that lines our wallets.
All praise and glory to him!
1
Canada is 10% of the US's size in terms of population and added 79,000 jobs in December. This is not a good jobs report for you guys.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/statistics-canada-jobs-december-1.4474326
Trump was the beneficiary of Obama's management of the economy. Now he'll have to own the lame levels of growth his policies are causing. Trumponomics is a reverse Robin Hood scam.
3
1. How much is due to many states increasing their local minimum wages?
2. As the article mentions, small raises after years of no raises. The companies are finally being squeezed. Or shamed into raises after all the bad press.
3. Off topic, workers in all other industrialized countries get paid vacation by law. 4 weeks paid vacation by law in most of Europe. American companies, from the European point of view, work 2 weeks for free for their America masters.
1
When the bubble bursts there will be an explosion heard round the world. It will be interesting to see who Trump blames.
1
US and global economy is based on wider economy. Not US centered. By looking at the graph without knowledge of statistics, it looks like the median is between 100's and 200's. No politics.
1
Yes, people are being hired in my area, but with no substantial wage or benefits.
2
The reality on the ground is that good-paying career jobs with retirement, health benefits, getting paid while being trained, etc, are going begging. In the San Francisco Bay Area, if you can figure out which end of a screwdriver, wrench, or hammer to grab ahold of, you can get into a (real) union apprenticeship "right now." They will pay you while you're training, on the job and in the classroom, and you'll start building retirement from day one. I was union, my brothers are union, these jobs are as good now as ever, and paid to raise our families and send our kids to college.
And the job market is booming!
I have sympathy for people who insist on going to college and looking for a "management" job, but that's your choice.
PS: Yes, I'm an undergraduate in college now because I need something to do in my retirement. And thanks to my union career, I can afford it.
1
The national media dramatically underestimated Trump's chances of winning in 2016 and they continue to dramatically underestimate his chance of being re-elected in 2020; as well as performing well in this year's mid terms
If enough voters can ignore his inane tweets and general buffoonery (as they've already shown they're perfectly willing to do), he could have some very tangible accomplishments to run on:
1. Vanquishing ISIS
2. Unemployment at 17 year low
3. Perhaps North Korea negotiating an Iran type deal
4. Stock market at all time high
5. Biggest year over year drop in illegal immigration in decades
6. A supreme court pick so qualified that the Democrats barely offered criticism.
The Democrats underestimate Trump at their own peril
4
When monthly jobs numbers were in the mid 100K range during the Obama years, they were viewed as disappointing.
Given the New York Times’ perspective, I am very surprised that this article failed to mention that unemployment for African-Americans is down to 6.8 percent, the lowest in the 45 years that this data has been tracked. My source for this news is the CNBC website, which draws data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, so all my critics can look it up for themselves. Also Hannity noted this fact last night. Black unemployment reached its highest mark, about 25% in the mid-1980s, the next highest peak, 16-17%, came under Obama. Should we be surprised? President Trump campaigned on a promise to put Americans back to work; he especially reached out to the African Americans. He has delivered. Whereas the Democrats promised more opportunity for federal assistance, Donald Trump promised the opportunity to work. In terms of individual pride and self-esteem a job is more satisfying than government assistance. This fact is part of the bigger picture of an American economy booming under a President who has an appreciation and respect for work like no one before him. Donald J. Trump has been good for America. It's truly a shame to see much is being done to bring him down, thankfully its not working. I support the President. I support Trump. Thank you.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/05/black-unemployment-rate-falls-to-record-...
3
Wow, look how many more jobs were being added in 2015 and 16. Over 300,000 jobs in May of 2015 alone. We know who started this longest sustained job growth and it wasn't Mr. Trump.
Jobs loses over the next couple months will be in the hundred of thousands as temporary holiday workers are let go, this along with the announcements of many large corporations saying they will layoff thousands, Macy's alone just to name one announced 5,000 jobs will be cut. ATT&T who just gave bonuses will layoff up to 4000. In 2018 it will be the year of the down turn and market crash.
As evidence that wages are failing to keep up with the rising costs of housing, not to mention other increasing costs of living, a growing percentage of people are sharing households with roommates, according to "As Rents Rise, More Renters Turn to Doubling Up", published on December 14, 2017 by Zillow. In most cases, these people are sharing households not by choice, but due to financial necessity because their incomes are insufficient to live by themselves. This "doubling up" rate has been increasing since 2005 across all age groups, and many of these workers have high educational levels. This is a significant, objective economic indicator which refutes optimistic claims which imply that incomes are rising at a respectable rate.
A 4% increase in wages sounds great, but if you’re making $10.00 an hour that’s less than fifty cents. The problem with the economy today for so many workers is that it just doesn’t work for them. So many people are working two or three jobs because the jobs that traditionally paid well enough to grab the American Dream are few and far between. Part of this stems from us moving to a service based economy back in the 1980’s. When American corporations began moving jobs to Mexico, remember, GM began this in 1986. Then add in automation and better designs that require less workers to produce more product with fewer workers. Coal mining is a good example, today a crew of 9 or 10 miners using machinery can cut more coal than 30 workers did back in the 1960’s. Mine operators aren’t going to abandon new technology to save jobs. So many of those jobs are gone forever. Now the largest employer in some states is Walmart, which offers part time jobs that don’t cover the costs of living. This is going to be a bigger problem as advancement in automation and robotics gets better. Soon there may be even less jobs, and we know when the job market gets tighter, wages fall. Welcome to the future.
3
Then the telecom industry has started sending out pink slips, right after announcing their $1,000 bonuses. Granted that technology induced obsolescence is unavoidable. What if they use the windfall to retrain the people?
2
Does it follow from these fact that, after $4 trillion (or something) disappeared from Wall Street in 2008, we have "kept the lid on inflation" by keeping wages even lower than that low rate of inflation? While Capital refreshed its reserves by collecting fees in the process of finding only millionaires qualified for loans? That would explain why Janet Yellen needs to retire as Paul Ryan fuels the bond markets at the expense of the Federal Funds rate, and $2000 for individual taxpayers will keep them searching for second and third jobs in order to make ends meet, this story goes.
2
No increases in pay is hardly showing of a strong economy.
4
Increases in pay are generated by market forces: Competition in ones industry - how much can I charge without risking the loss of a customer; what skills are required to perform the job duties; how many applicants possess these skills and can the position be automated and at what cost?
How much of the growth is in low wage low skilled jobs? Most employers know that if the job demands a high skill level blue or white collar that they will be competing with others for the applicant - skills drive wages up - robust economy drives the need for increased servicesw by lower skilled employees.
If we want to increase wages Econ 101 dictates we need to increase skill levels.
1
Wages have been stagnant related to productivity since the 1970s, which corresponds to the historical trend. That means that investments in constant capital (machinery, know how, ancillary materials) tend to increase in relation to variable capital (labor power). The article says it clearly despite the nominal increases, wages struggle to keep up with inflation (even though it is low). Since the 1970s we have seen this trend, which on occasions reverses (relatively) but that in general observes this absolute quality (increasing ratio of machinery to human living labor)
Only fools or crazy people will attribute increase in wages or employment to a president. The market is autonomous in this regard, which is nothing to be proud of either. It just means that our own autonomy and so called personal freedom is more limited than claimed.
8
The decisions Americans have made, promoted by corporations, think tank money, and mostly Republicans, to do without unions and depend on the largesse of employers and the impact of the business cycle continues to impact pay (and working conditions) of US workers.
9
For those apprehensive of a Republican electoral sweep this year due to positive employment data, take heed. Political leaning is not obsequious to employment rates. Employment levels dropped to 4.7% on the eve of the 2016 elections from double digits in 2010 and 7.5% in 2012.
Rather, people's view on their standard of living and their relative economic positions seem to be the metric which informed America's vote last year. Dozens of interviews and editorials have revealed, along with 'Hillbilly Elegy', the rural poor's feeling of dis-enfranchised, dis-connected, their voice marginalized, as the keystone political climate. As economists pour into the unemployment data, even the hardest stricken states of WV (5.3%), OH (4.8%) have competitive labor markets.
Given Trump's administration's 1 year tenancy, his economic policy probably has not come to realize meaningful impact. Nonetheless, as we saw during the last election, economics alone do not win seats. Rather, as Ignatieff notes - how do we, through policy and its institutions, cultivate a society where 'ordinary virtues' are shared and practiced locally, rather than cloistered in higher echelons of DC and NYC. Progressives want to lift up the rural poor, how do we celebrate this at the local level - nuancing the effort, inviting local input, through partnerships than edicts. Working with those with opposing views, there are still shared ordinary American values, those will 'Make America Great Again'.
Time to start moving some money from equities to bonds. What the GOP has done is bring the next recession closer. But hey, recession favors the rich. It is only the working classes who suffer.
4
Considering that inlation was about 2.2% last year, and that wages have been stagnating for the last two decades, 2.5% growth isn’t much to brag about...
11
No mention that the "under-employed rate" went up: 8.1.
Canada posted some big numbers yesterday: lowest unemployment rate since 1976; 77,900 jobs, 94% of jobs in 2017 were full-time. I mention this because you are our #1 trading partner, and we are your #2: NAFTA negotiations will begin again in a few weeks and the general consensus among our "pundits" is that Team Trump's positions are, and I quote, "NUTS". It's being said we'll walk away and let Trump unilaterally withdraw from NAFTA and then Congress can deal with him: not conducive to stability, continued growth.
8
Yet the costs of rent, heating fuel, electricity, internet, food, services and other necessities have risen. 6 of one, half dozen of the other.
14
The article uses nominal wages, which appear to be rising. Real wages, adjusted for the rising cost of living, remain stagnant or in decline.
12
I'm pretty confused since the information in these articles seems to conflict directly with the realities on the ground.
I'm a 34 year old career ops professional who has been looking for work for the last 2 months, applied to 220 positions from retail to manufacturing to fast food with 12 years of progressive management experience supervising a total of 98 people. I've run entire manufacturing plants, handled $6,000,000 / year in direct material, MRO, and capital project expenditures and can implement, maintain, and administer ERP systems in my sleep. I've personally performed and managed and trained others to perform and manage nearly every function in a modern manufacturing environment. I haven't gotten a single phone call for anything. I can't find work anywhere, even temp labor. And I don't seem to be the only person with this problem in my area at least.
What planet is this author on exactly?
28
I am happy to hire you. Be prepared to work.
You're too young to appreciate how many computers have eroded any further need for managers (or shall we call them "Apprentices"?) during the same period that degrees in "Business" were supposed to make your education lucrative for tyrants but meaningless for citizens. Also, notice how your skills might interfere with the challenge of programming those computers for embezzlement, tax evasion, or money laundering. This is called "entrepreneurship" in the Republican lexicon.
1
Industrial & construction cannot find enough labor intensive workers. And hi-tech industry cannot find enough skilled workers to fill the job vacancies. What do these all suggest? It means that we have an imbalanced wage system that high-pay workers got more than they deserve and low-pay workers got less than they deserve. While the government put enough capital into the hi-tech industry including defense to continue pumping the growth and also the salary, the low tech in the meantime suffer from lack of workers & capital investment because no one wants to work there. Adjustment to salary, not just higher minimum pay per hour, and benefits will be necessary.
5
Low income wages are increasing because of the increase in minimum wages voted into effect in many blue states. These rising minimum wages raises the average for those receiving the minimum. In the absence of government intervention, wages and salaries remain flat.
16
Trump made this argument en passant during the campaign but I've been making it here since before the election. If you create the conditions that support explosive economic growth, competition among employers for skills and bodies will drive up wages, in particular among those whose employment has suffered for years as employers held off on replenishing inventories and making other investments awaiting a better regulatory and tax environment.
Those employers now HAVE a far better regulatory and tax environment and, even more decisively, are now convinced that they won’t be hit anytime soon with MORE strangling regulation. This is only good news about income-inequality in America.
Break out the champers!
7
One of the most regulated economies, China, grew at 6.5% last year, which is the exception to the rule. And most of the growth came from State Owned Enterprises! The rest of the developed world grew at much lower rates than historical standards (less than 3%). The us economy grew faster in 2016 than 2017. Politicians have nothing to do with it. The important ratio is that of constant to variable capital, which keeps increasing. Therefore, the trend to wages to decrease.
2
Does “strangling regulations”!include reporting the amount of pollutants emitted, the restrictions on greenhouse gases and pollutants emissions or the rollback of safety measures on offshore rigs? The latter saves the gazillion dollar industry about two million a year. A drop in the ocean some would say, compared to another Deep Water disaster.
I think you're wrong and we're about to see serious inflationary pressure. Interest rates have been low for too long and the Fed is going to start a series of quarter point increases under the new guy. Other inflationary pressure will come from increases in Energy costs (are you enjoying this winter) and oil is already beginning to rise. End result will be the real value of workers wages will fall. Other factors will arise to depress the economy in the coming year or two. The tax law will depress the economies of NY, NJ and California which are 20 % of the economy. Friends tell me real estate in NY is already taking a serious hit. The loss of the individual mandate means health insurance premiums are going to rise which will be inflationary while smaller predominantly rural hospitals, which are big employers in red states will take a hit and some have already begun to close. Health care is 1/6 of the economy. The next recession might not hit by 2018 but probably will by 2020. I wonder if little Donnie dumb dumb will take credit for it.
2
What happened to the "fake numbers, more like 40%"? Do the math, the number of jobs created over the last year wouldn't come close to a 36% reduction. Are these all coal miners?
4
I would like to see some serious work done on the millions of working-age white males that remain out of the work force. How many of them, I wonder, are getting along just fine with working wives, working children, savings, and other forms of income? Isn't it time we faced the fact that we have what the French call a rentier class in this country? My guess is that many of these are the same people who provide Donald Trump with his "base."
6
"job growth for the year was slightly less robust than in 2016, under President Barack Obama."....Well even if Trump hasn't been great for jobs and the economy, the the corporate tax cut give away has been great for the stock market.
2
twenty, even thirty, years ago, 148,000 jobs would be a sign of an impending recession. This economy is weak, and it's weak because the jobs being created are low-wage and the wages themselves are stagnant. Just look at inflation. No sign of it. What this should tell everyone is that the economy can't be sustained anymore by robust consumer spending. It needs low interest rates that feed asset bubbles and an overvalued stock market. Economics reporters at the Times and elsewhere fail their readers by not hammering this home.
37
That’s right, Dave. Until wages and benefits rise for Main Street, these warehouse jobs being created now aren’t going to change things much for anyone other than the rich investment class who profit off of a small workforce and low wages.
13
This may look nice, but really counts is wages. Although all indicators show a robust economy, wages are still flat. This is because of the GOP's war against unions. Without union support, wages will stay flat and the 1% will get richer. Sad!
16
US private sector added 250,000 jobs in Dec, vs estimate of 190,000: ADP
Do these numbers represent seasonally adjusted, underemployed, people who are unemployed due to age discrimination, or contingent staffed (contract) Jobs? Be careful drinking too much propaganda.
8
Memo to Wall Street -
I'm 77 years old --- try to keep it going until my account gets to at least a hundred thousand --- I think I may last just a few more years --- and I could get a new tennis racquet as well.
All Best --- Socket
p.s. I'm so happy you guys on Wall Street don't read or listen to the Trump.
1
Only a fair economy, much more is to come as more opportunities means more employees and less welfare. Not to mention more participation.
2
Job Growth and Reality (Wonkish)
Let’s start here:
“What’s curious is why employers who are screaming that they can’t find people to hire aren’t pulling those people back in,”
The simplest answer is that the jobs offered are unattractive. Reflected in the labour participation rate, the fraction of Americans of working age who work. In 2000 it was 67.3%. In December 2017 62.7 % .
Had we the rate of 2000, 10 million more Americans would be at work. So, there is a pool of out of work folks. To get them back one needs to offer higher paying jobs. But those were eliminated when companies moved them to Mexico and China.
Second, the unemployment is 9.6%.
Finally, the rosy scenario painted here leaves out that job creation needs to keep up with population growth. The US grow by 243 000 people in December. They need jobs. You can argue that the source I cited is on the high end (my own best estimate is 160 000 new jobs are required to keep up). This is a complex problem as it involves the age distribution of the current population, the age distribution of immigration and the reproduction rate of immigrants vs US born. But it is not a small effect. In 2015, 19.6% of the US working population consisted of immigrants, 6.4% US born to immigrant parents, 74% US born to US born parents .
But no matter how you slice it, those 148 000 are at most keeping up, and NOT generating new jobs for previously unemployed.
9
The better answer to why some can't find employees is two fold. First they actually don't "need them" and second they are unwilling to train them.
7
Right, articles like this fail to mention that labor participation force tends to decrease despite unemployment rates going down. Also the jobs mentioned here are related to changes in transportation, which reflects changes in the new digital economy (Amazon hiring at very low wages, Uber, etc).
1
Paul Krugman said this in the NYT just after Trump was elected: "So we are very probably looking at a global recession, with no end in sight. I suppose we could get lucky somehow. But on economics, as on everything else, a terrible thing has just happened."
I'm guessing he's not returning calls today.
21
Because PK believes that creating demand via stimulus fosters growth. That is the Keynesian approach. However, labor participation is not increasing despite this news. Profitability is a variable that mainstream economists neglect. They attribute magic powers to capital and connect it formally to labor, which is the only source of value and surplus value. Profits are derived from surplus value, which nowadays mostly comes from the 2 billion labor force created in the third world during the last 3 decades (globalization).
1
Guess again. Trump can only get so rich before he discovers the effects of too many factions in his partisan crusade against nothing he doesn't understand. Another terrible thing: a tax bill that extends the correlation between national debt and inflation in order to maintain control of our government among the world's 1%, unlike the GDP. Bannon just returned this call by forgetting about the "globalist conspiracy" against us which has inspired the DOJ to attack California law in defense of the Controlled Substance list, for example, and the Republican Party to advocate an $18 billion wall against a more compliant work force.
Asked and answered. About six times.
Response to Jonathan of Oronoque.
I doubt you care about black male unemployment . According to Pew Research most of those jobs by illegal immigrants are in the farming and construction industry, in places where the black population is reality low. Rather than give tax cuts to corporations and rich people, It makes more sense to invest in job training for all Americans, if you hope to change unemployment for blacks, hispanics and whites who are still in that 4.1-8 percent unemployed category. If you want to stop illegal immigration put the people who hire them in jail for a year or 2 and I guarantee it will stop.
8
What the Trump bashers don't recognize is that Wall Street was stagnant for 2 years prior to the election. The market reflects expectations for future growth, and Obama's "No We Can't" 1-2% GDP growth strategy, easy money and massive regulations called for an anemic business cycle about to end. If Hillary had won, do you think the market and jobs would be as strong as they are? Based on what policy? Trump challenged the Obama 1-2% narrative and we are seeing strong growth, investment and jobs come back - even as interest rates (Obama's crutch) are increasing. The stock market did well under Obama because the Fed dropped rates to zero and forced investors out on the risk curve to buy stocks. The market didn't do well because growth and the outlook was promising, it did well because savers were starved for returns. Well now we have growth and rates up. The market isn't up because rates are zero, it's up on better growth prospects. If the quality of rally matters, then Obama's was low quality and Trump's is high quality.
11
Reply to TL: In early 2009, the S&P 500 traded below 700. By the time Obama left office in Jan. 2017, the S&P was trading above 2200, more than a 300% return, not including dividends. That doesn't sound like low quality to me. Also, Obama inherited 800,000 lost jobs per month in 2009, and by the end of his term the economy had added over 14 million jobs. Yes, the Fed had a zero interest rate policy - an appropriate response following the near meltdown under GW Bush. Guess what? Rates are going to go higher. Good luck and try to stick to reality.
20
Growth prospects that have nothing to do with wage growth, middle class prosperity or equality. Lots of high stock market numbers just mean that a lot executives are paying themselves more, because they don't have to worry about preserving the environment, or supporting their employees. In the meantime, people are taking on more debt, valuations are nonsensically high, and the bust will come, probably sooner than any of us anticipate.
Absolutely NOTHING about Trump speaks to high quality.
13
Trump has 0 impact on the market. It was growing when he passed 0 bills or reforms for most of this year, and it continues to grow. It would have even if the tax bill didnt pass either.
5
OK But the Trump economy is now about to take hold.
Car Sales are down each manufacturing job has 4 others dependant on it.
Unsupported Heathcare will flounder as we "save money".
A frontal assault on the Solar/Wind& Pot businesses.
The most successful new economic frontiers stifled, need I say more?
I'm already tired of winning.
39
Of course car sales are down, at some point those who want and can afford a new vehicle have one, not to mention I see many new commercial vehicles which also have a limit.
2
We'd buy each of our 2 children new cars, but we waste so much money on health insurance premiums ($2K a month for a family of 4!!) because our insurance has to be compliant with Obamacare mandates. Our friends are in the same boat.
But once the boot of the excessive mandates is off our throats, we and millions of others will be able to replace broken and aging cars and appliances.
Citing the average hourly wage is misleading.
6
Wages will remain depressed so long as millions of unskilled workers are allowed to remain in the country in contravention of federal law. The laws of supply and demand are simple--increase the supply of workers and its price (wages) will fall.
13
How many foreign workers do we have on work visas or any visa in general. Millions. The ones who hold visas without the right to work go ahead and do it under the table anyhow. During the summer there are millions who come on visitor visas to work for relatives or friends here in the country illegally too.
1
Companies love undocumented workers as they keep wages down. The ICE has been a dumping ground for political hacks for decades. Non-union construction would collapse if 'real' competitive wages were paid and inflation would kill the overpriced housing industry.
1
The average can be skewed by a few high salaries. The more useful figure would be the median hourly wage, showing the dividing line for half the salaries.
14
An example would be if Bill Gates entered a room full of blue collar workers. The average would be much higher than the average salary of the workers. A median hourly wage would give a much better picture of what we earn.
10
It is a little better but without data on the spread it is almost worthless.
1
This is the perfect time to raise the minimum wage and also to reduce the deficit. What a wasted opportunity.
26
This article is poor. You still have a lot of people who are out of work and not captured in the unemployment rate. You have to look at the workforce participation rate to understand this issue. The US is not really at full employment. It is creating jobs but there is some room to continue to grow. That is why earnings are not rising.
11
Trump personally made sure that there were no deaths in the airline industry as well as turning around Obama's failing economy ;>)
10
He also flew all the planes and made sure the sun came up every morning. Thank you Glorious Leader!
15
The song coming out the White House should be THANK YOU President Obama for getting us out of the mess the last republican President put us in and handing over a great economy to the next administration. However; that TRUTH is not compatible with the lies and racism that fooled just enough people to elect this clown.
Just imagine if Trump had to face what Obama faced when he took office.
76
Economic growth never topped 3% under President Obama. The recession ended a few months after President Obama took office and before his policies could have any effect. It's not a coincidence that the economy reached a higher level of economic growth under President Trump despite having much less time in the job. Cutting regulations and cutting taxes encouraged the better "animal spirits" of the economy more than telling hardworking Americans that they "did not build that," of that wealth needs to be "spread around."
3
I am still waiting for the effect of cutting regulations. Are we going to have more injuries at the workplace? Is our food going to be less safe? How is this going to help our economy except bring more business to doctors and hospitals. BTW, if you don't believe that wealth needs to be spread around you should read about the French revolution.
11
Hoxworth--Unfortunately, your claims don't jibe with the facts. Economic growth (GDP) exceeded 3% during several quarters in the Obama years (it exceeded 4.5% during the second and third quarters of 2014 before dipping to 2% and 3% for the third and fourth quarters). We gained 1.9 million jobs in 2017. That's the lowest number since 2010; in 2014, we added 3 million jobs, 2.7 million in 2015 and 2.2 million in 2016.
Stock prices are soaring--however, this year's market gains simply match those in Germany, Britain and Japan (Japan actually saw the biggest percentage gain). It's also worth noting that the stock market grew over 200% under President Obama.
It's fascinating that the right wing claims 8 years of Obama's policies--and his appointees to run the Fed--really had no impact on the economy, but a year of the same Fed leadership and policies, and no change to U.S. fiscal policy until Christmas 2017, allows Trump to take credit for the booming economy.
After incredible economic growth under Clinton in the 1990s. W managed to erase projected federal surpluses in two years and ultimately crashed our economy. President Obama and the Democrats rescued us from a second Great Depression. I expect that Trump and the GOP will provide the same stewardship--and bring the same results--as the last time the Republicans were in charge.
The rooster doesn't get to claim credit for the sunrise. And by the way, zero deaths in commercial aviation isn't due to Trump either.
14
Nobody is becoming an institution yet.
That sure is a lot of jobs flipping burgers!
12
Trump is so lucky he was preceded by 8 years of Obama.
29
His push to dismantle regulations on businesses seems to have emboldened corporations to start pouring more money into machines and plants, which is the kind of spending that drives broad growth."
Sure, even if it means polluting the earth MORE Take away the regulations and all hell will break loose. Drill,baby DRILL in US waters will ONLY harm the environment. More coal draglines will only hurt the planet more so I guess if you think that kind of spending is good, you may very well be a MINORITY reporter on the subject.
9
Here's the thing about this: if the job numbers and economy were in decline, many of the commenters here and in the media would singularly blame Trump. But because the job numbers and economy are doing well, the same commenters will give Trump no credit, and, instead, credit the former president who left office, essentially in November 2016. This is the divisive world we live in. No one, on either side of the aisle, can be honest about anything with respect to politics and public policy. That is, dishonesty rules.
19
I would give Trump credit if there were something specific he did that could be traced to this result, something more than fairies and pixie dust.
I would blame Trump for a decline if there were something specific he did that could be traced to the decline, something more than fairies and pixie dust.
If he broke auto supply chains through NAFTA changes which resulted in employment losses, I would blame him. I would credit him if the NAFTA changes increased employment or wages.
Given his chaotic, scattershot, pronouncements and inability to reason out complex policies, I'm not sure there will be a lot of credit to deliver.
16
I don't remember Obama, or anyone in his administration, claiming singular responsibility for anything good that happened on their watch, unlike the current narcissist, who even recently claimed credit for no major airline accidents. Give me a break on the idea that each side shares equal culpability.
7
It takes time for policies to take affect and then have an affect on the economy. Instantaneous results do not happen. The gamblers on the stock market may get excited the tax cuts but they guessing about the future. They are not always right. Real economic change takes time. The tax cuts haven't even taken effect. Obama got the economy back on track. Trump hasn't been in long enough to affect anything. The result here in this article, as I read them, are that wages recently rose a minute amount more than inflation. In fact, I would say wages they rose insignificantly relative to real dollar value. To be fair though, that is not new. Expect slow growth based on population growth (which will slow with Trumps policies on immigration and the increased hate of brown people by Trump emboldened racists), and a few innovations (which will slow because Trump and the GOP hate science). Then, when Trumps policies have been fully implemented there will be a steady decline. You need to give Trump and the GOP a little time.
Fascinating that the trucking firm hadn't given out raises the last two years because of shipper resistance to price hikes. Are too may corporations too large and thus can squeeze wage growth?
22
Notwithstanding President Trump's penchant for taking credit for everything good, or even not bad, that happens national or globally, he hasn't been in-office for 87 months.
Thank you, President Obama, for the lion's share of job growth.
26
He hasn't even been in office for twelve months. Don't we have to wait another quarter to see an actual Trump year?
4
I agree that presidents taking credit for the economy is bunk. In spite of Bill Clinton taking credit for the 90s, when in fact it was Bill Gates, and the internet explosion that was a shot to the economy. Obama pushed for college as a way to get jobs. This resulted in a generation saddled with student debt, and unmarketable degrees. We need to do what the Germans have done and teach vocational and technical skills to compete and produce tangible results in skills that can not easily be outsourced.
16
The generation saddled with student debt is a result of cuts to student aid and budgets for state education by Republicans. Almost every job requires college now, and if we were talking about people who couldn't find jobs, you'd be blaming them for not going to college.
Presidents have influence over the economy, and when you see the economy tank some time the next couple of years, remember who did "tax reform" and slashed regulation.
A market without regulation is just a mugging.
14
If unemployment goes up that is Trump's fault too right?
9
It will be in a few years from now.
1
The key words here are the 87th consecutive month of job growth. Mr. Trump has been in, God help us, office for 12 of those. To avid supporters of this man, please do the math. The sum of 75 months belongs to President Obama...a little over 6 years. Yes, Wall Street is booming. But let's not overlook the fact that it is not Main Street. My bet is that profits will not only be kept by CEO's but also seen in the dividend checks received by share holders. Not "trickled down."
So let's not bow down to this so-called president. Hold your applause. Let's not have such short memories. There are more of us than on Wall Street. And there are too many still waiting for gainful employment with a livable minimum wage.
20
" But let's not overlook the fact that it is not Main Street...."
which according to YESTERDAY'S news is closing MORE stores across the nation for lack of people buying their goods. UPS is said to have returned 1.4 MILLION packages of purchases that were UNWANTED by the buyer. Wasted time and effort all around. Much less frequent when you actually shop in a store in person.
11
Yes people try to save pennies by shopping on line or in big box stores,, put their own main street out of business, than blame someone else when their culture is deteriorating. Main Street, with its colorful characters, was the culture. Now every town is a parking lot surrounded by the same ten corporations.
Small business people keep backing global corporations over their own interests, because they are all convinced they'll be the next Trump. Trump is a global corporation that doesn't even pay his small business contractors. Nearly all of the funders of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce are global corporations. That massive tax cut was for global corporations.
Until small businesses realize the Republicans only care about billionaire owned corporations you will continue to put yourselves out of business.
6
Ever wondered why we have such low unemployment and yet wages never rise?
When are we going to see some coverage from the New York Times around what is really happening to the American worker?
Politico just published:
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/01/04/future-work-independe...
which exposes the inexorable juggernaut of formerly decent jobs which are being converted to "third-party employment." In other words, employers who are off-loading their employees to specialized companies who pay LESS and reduce benefits. SAME job, LESS PAY and benefits. Pretty soon America will have only the gig economy and the Kelly Services economy. Guess what--people don't like this and they're angry about it. But business keeps whining that they can't get people to take their garbage jobs.
#America's cry for help
72
Yes, since 1980 the average productivity of the American worker has increased forty percent, while wages have been essentially flat. All of that extra money was taken as profits by the global 1% who didn't invest it in jobs, but play the global derivatives casino, ad's buy politicians to get tax cuts on their winnings.
Since workers don't have more money, they can't increase demand, and that is why growth is half of what it was I the 1950s when the top individual rate was 90% and the corporate rate was 50% and dent from WWII was more than double the GDP , and we were rebuilding Europe and Japan, and the interstate highway system, sendingGIs to college, and most State Colleges were free, and one income could support an entire family.
We have been robbed, and they are accelerating the looting with global billionaires president who is against the constitution.
13
The ‘commoditization’ of America continues.
When everyone becomes a consultant and assumes the risk of ...well, being human, companies will jump for joy at their ‘supply chain’ mentality for HR.
Big business, in collusion with our government, has completely dismantled every worker benefit and protection developed in the 20th century.
Center stage? The absence of Organized Labor Unions.
10
I just love the comments here Trying to discredit the President. This from a crowd that has tried to give Obama credit for every good thing and hide him from the bad he has done (Created ISIS, supported Iran and Hezbollah, Used the IRS against opponents, actually tried to criminalized reporters he did not agree with, the scam that was Shovel ready etc). Trumps changes in his policies directly result in a healthy economy. The recovery during Obamas administration was very tame compared to previous recoveries after a crash. Please, Obama was the worse thing to happen to the US. Most of the job growth since 2012 has happened in the energy sector particularly oil and gas, that trump is quietly reviving and making america much more energy independent so it can develop the next generation of clean energy. The Paris Accord is just another social program on a global scale. Unemployment is at its lowest especially among the black and hispanic population. Now you you hypocrites who where crying that the Stock market and the economy was going to crash with Trump are now saying that "Most economists agree that presidents have little or no effect on the economy". Who exactly are you fooling? And even blaming Trump when he points out the hypocrisy. The truth is that Any idiot is going to do better than Obama because his policies were anti economy and anti business and Trump is proving this. Lets see if you will be saying the same thing in a few years.
9
'... to discredit the President..."
TRUMP has done that to himself at least 1600 times in the past year, and the NYTimes has kept track of each and every time. Just search for it if you don't believe it.
6
I can't argue about hypocrites -- since there are plenty on both sides of the aisle, it's true -- but I wonder about the glib conclusion that Obama was anti-business and anti-economy because it seems a little short-sighted; keeping the environment safe from greedy capitalists, socialists, communists -- choose your demon incarnation from whomever you fancy -- is definitely not anti-economy; economies don't just exist in the short-term Present but have to sustain all of us into the next generation, and the one after that, ad infinitum. Same goes true for keeping people healthy and alive -- or how can they be productive citizens, never mind innovators and entrepreneurs?
For someone living on an island surrounded by rising ocean tides, I do wonder if you have considered the long game?
Furthermore, where's the challenge to the human mind and spirit under a guy like Trump, who is simply ready to eject science or material and human consequences from the economic analysis (i.e., jettison the EPA and burdensome ethical concerns) -- can we not be creative enough to be intelligent and compassionate at the same time while we participate in the economic life of America? What is 'conservative' about having absolutely no thoughts or worries for the future?
7
By any measure, Bush was worst so far. He managed to get the country with robust economy and low unemployment and left the country in war and in deep economic crisis. Obama, on the other hand, took the country in deep economic crisis and left it with robust economy and low unemployment. Even compare to the year of Trump, Obama look pretty good. After all job growth in
2016 (under Obama) was slightly higher than in 2017 (under Trump). How that could be worst? And on persecution we should not even start. Tax bill that punished Democratic states, bogus investigation in 'voter fraud', obstruction of justice in Russian investigations, calls to fire journalists who angered him, threat of sue the publisher of the book about him. Hmm... and it is only one year on.
4
Obviously, no matter your politics, this is good news. Wage growth and job perks should continue to increase as workers become more scarce and unemployment continues to decline.
I do think more hiring would take place if possible. But with ~4% unemployment and an under-reported number of individuals working on a cash/under the table basis, soon we will find not enough workers to do all the work desired. This is especially interesting in the age of automation creating pressure on the workforce.
2
A general a generally thorough, unbiased analysis of the data. Thank you for that, as the NYT seems to be generally unhinged when it comes to reporting anything involving Trump.
There were a couple of items overlooked though, thatIthink are significant. First, the unemployment rate for blacks hit a record low of 6.8%. A record. And for Hispanics, it was 4.9%, up slightly from the record 4.8% of the past couple of months.
Can you imagine that? Disadvantaged minorities are doing better under Trump than under Democrats or moderate Republicans. And the expectation is that the rates will continue to decline. There are a lot of things to dislike about Trump, but I believe that the economy will do better under him.
9
Black men with no college education were seriously impacted by illegal immigration. Employers would not hire them because illegal immigrants would do more work for less money.
Now, things are changing, and they might be able to find something.
4
Did you look at the graph of unemployment? It has been going down in a straight line since 2009. How does Trump get credit for that?
3
Another article in today's Times (on male nurses) states that over one fourth of adult males are not in the workforce. How does that factor into a 4% unemployment rate?
6
if you're not in the workforce, you don't count as unemployed.
The definition of adult is over 16 and under 65. Obviously, millions of high school and college students don't have jobs. Also, many men under 65 are in fact retired and able to live without working. So while that leaves a number of men who probably should be working, it is not as bad as you would think.
Some of the guys who are 'not working' would probably be able to be able to deliver firewood, paint your house, or give you a ride to the airport, just as long as you agree to pay in cash.
1
Unemployment measures people looking for work. That doesn't include retirees, or the military, or the prison population, or disability, etc.
2
Trump's life-long strategy is still working:
- inherit a fortune (in this case, a rolling economy);
- explain how this demonstrates his superior business skills.
13
In December of 2016 156,000 jobs were added. The Obama administration did this without rolling back environmental or financial regulations.
34
How many of the new jobs are from coal, automobile manufacturing, and pipelines?
14
Most of the jobs created since 2012 were in Energy particularly oil and gas. And they are really good paying jobs. There are plenty stats out there if you care to search it up. The average salary in the Energy Sector is over 100K.
6
Wrong. Oil and Energy were dead last. Professional services and health care have been the leading job creators.
Increased employment happens every year - near and during the Holiday Season. However, most of these jobs are for less than 40 hours per week and that means low wages, no benefits, and workers most always MUST find second jobs to just barely pay their bills. P.S. These lowly paid workers are NOT the ones helping to move upward Dow Jones averages; only the well-paid and rich do that!
17
These numbers are seasonally adjusted, which means they smooth the Christmas rush over the whole year.
2
These numbers don't tell the entire story. The average hourly wage is a complete con. If you take the wages from high-paying fields and the wages from very low paying fields of course the average will come out to a number that seems promising for wage growth. But when you consider the federal minimum wage has not increased since 2009 and the number of working homeless increases everyday it's clear that wages at the lower end are just not keeping up with the cost of living. Of course the u.s. is adding jobs because people have to work. But workers are not earning enough to pay rent and buy food in the areas where most of the jobs are. Also, retail jobs have come to be the most prevalent in our economy and they are on the decline as more retailers are shifting their operations to online sales. The true measure of positive economic growth should be what happens to displaced workers in the long run. Many people are not happy with the jobs or salaries they have in the post recession economy. And after 8 years, many feel hopeless that their economic situation will improve.
37
I believe the numbers as they are stated, but real change that is needed is with wages and wealth gap. It’s clear that greed is on the rise. This is all great news for the 1%, maybe even those of us with some money in 401k’s, etc. There is no point where these mega corporations say, “Yea, it’s about time to raise wages. We’ve made enough money.”
20
Does anything have to be about Trump (pro or con)? (I know he would like it to be, but that doesn't mean we have to make accommodate this.)
Forget Trump for a minute. We should be celebrating that we have a strong economy--near-full employment, rising incomes across the board (including a record median income), and record high stock market.
The American free enterprise economy works. And that's something to celebrate.
5
Neither the stock market nor the unemployment rate is a good indicator of the strength of the economy. The number of jobs added and the resulting unempliyment rate at the end of the year is especially suspect given the number of seasonal jobs that become available. The better barometer of the economy and its prospects lies in wage increases. Over the past 40+ yrears those increases have not kept up with inflation, such that most workers have no greater purchasing power now than they did in 1975. This remains true of wage increases last year when the inflatkion rate was approximately 2.5%. Until the growing economic inequality in the U.S. is addressed in a serious and comprehensive manner, by both the goivernment and the private sector, the middle class will continue to shrink and the economy will continue to suffer. The stock market measures corporate profits and little more. Greater corporate profits and increased employment which is temporary or which offers at best stagnant wage growth are not the measures of a healthy economy and do not bode well for the future.
47
Let us count the minutes it takes our Dear Leader to claim credit for this. He might be a little late as he is currently working on preventing aircraft mishaps, like he did for all of 2017.
What a dear and hardworking Dear Leader we are so lucky to have.
11
I'm not sure how long it will take Trump to talk about these great numbers.
I know with Obama the Fool it would take his administration seconds to claim credit for anemic numbers, as they led from behind.
1
When Obama took office we were in a great recession after eight years of Republican rule. The unemployment rate was 8.1 percent and rising. Republican controlled states were firing hundreds of thousands of police and teachers.
When Trump took office unemployment was down to 4.7%
Take responsibility the Great Recession before you take credit for 11 months of a continuing recovery.
4
So we explain to our grandchildren that we allowed a President to trash our environment, disregard the Constitution and push us closer to a nuclear war since the Cuban Missile Crisis so that we can improve our 401K plans. I'm sure they'll understand.
34
And when they ask why Trump, just say, "because we wanted Hillary."
5
you would also need to explain to the grand kids, the EPA was created under Nixon and the Cuban Missile Crisis was under Kennedy. As far as the constitution being trashed , I dont see many fiscally conservatives speakers being asked to talk at collages and universities. we agree on that point
Considering holiday sales demand usually adds more jobs, these numbers are horrendous. And holiday sales increased by about 4% over last year.
I say this is a bad sign for retail and our future.
14
I thought there would be more holiday hiring as well but.....I think as unemployment goes lower and lower (not meant as a political statement or giving credit to anyone), finding qualified workers is getting increasingly difficult.
With the retiring baby boomers and smaller numbers of people entering the workforce, this is a challenge.
3
Seasonally assured employment numbers spread the Christmas rush across the year.
So when the stock market nose dives, will Trump take credit for that as well?
66
Of course not. He'll blame that on the Democrats and the Russia investigation.
10
This is a fluff piece.
1) less job growth than in 2016 or 2015
2) working age population (15-64 age, monthly, not seasonally adjusted, census bureau) suddenly declined by 600,000 in January 2017 (I don't know why) and has not returned back to the Dec 2016 level, although it has increased by 400,000, accounting for 2 months of average job growth in 2017. Similar pattern for seasonally adjusted.
3) job growth has to keep up with working age population to keep the unemployment rate from rising.
11
"The report offers a picture of how the economy fared in President Trump’s first year in office. The numbers will be revised at least twice in the next months. But the data suggests that things have been going quite well."
The last 2 months of Trump's first year were great for our immediate and extended family financially and professionally. Finally. And once we no longer have to buy overly expensive health insurance that complies with Obamacare's excessive, expensive requirements, we will feel an even greater sense of relief. Finally.
Trump freed this country from the RINOs and the DINOs and an incestuous political class that was driving us to ruin while enriching themselves and hanging out with Hollywood celebrities.
Love him or hate him, it's been a good year and the sense of relief in the air is palpable.
5
@Honeybee: Once your health inevitably worsens you'll need the insurance that you presently feel free to scorn. And you may also wish that other, healthier folks were required to pay for it. As for The Donald freeing us of an incestuous political class why don't you deliver your thanks in person by visiting him at Mar-a-Loco? I'm certain that he'll be happy to see you there, provided that you can afford the membership fee.
48
Stu’s comment drips with scorn for the poster he’s responding to. I know it says here that the comments are moderated, but Stu is all but wishing for bad things to happen to the commenter above, just so Stu’s faith in big, expensive government safety nets can be vindicated.
Letting Stu’s comment through the moderation filter is akin to letting a religious homophobe respond to a gay person who was just married, and joyous over it, with “you won’t be so happy when God punishes you for an eternity or when you contract some disease!” It’s just absurd, mean, extremely condescending and presumptuous.
Unless this was the point. Comments like Stu’s show the real face of Progressive compassion and good sense, aka holier than thou derision, scorn, and presuming to know a person’s situation better than they do.
It’s why Trump won, and as long as this attitude is exposed for all to see, he’ll easily win again. Maybe that’s why Stu’s comment made it through the moderation filter.
4
Amen Butch! We both know that had the roles been reversed, Honeybee would never had been able to get a comment about Stu through.
2
Insufficient
The US population grows each each month by 234 00 people. As old people retire, new one enter the labour market.
That works out that on average 205,300 jobs need to be created every month to keep up with population growth
See
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-job-market-is-getting-worse-because-o...
11
Not true, Woof.
The article you cite omits the fact that a huge amount of our population gain is in the over 65 cohort. Almost 4,000,000 boomers a year are replacing a bit more than 2,500,000 "greatest, and silent generation" members who are dying each year.
If 60% of these boomers are retiring (and they are) then the number of jobs needed to keep pace with population growth drops to about 140,000/month.
5
Nope. But even accepting your ultra low number base on "IF", 148 000 new jobs are insufficient to " capping a year of increasing opportunities for American workers"
"IF" is not enough of an argument. You need numbers.
Paul '52 -
You're right, but understanding this requires someone to search beyond the first result Google returns and/or to read beyond the headline. (That's a lot to expect these days.)
1
Thank you President Obama for your steady leadership and slowly, gradually, legislating to dig us out of the economic hole many seem to have forgotten we were in nine years ago.
125
Everyone who is not a blindly loyal follower of any politician understands that when Obama came in, the economy was at rock bottom. Statistically, it had nowhere to go but up.
And his leadership caused it to take much, much longer than necessary to recover.
Not that it matters. He's gone and will not be president again.
And even the most diehard Trump haters have to admit that the sky certainly didn't fall under Trump as predicted. In fact, many of us are better off than we've been in 10 years.
7
@Honeybee: Nowhere to go but up? We had a Depression once that brought the entire nation to bankruptcy and were headed there again until our last popularly elected president did he needed to do to prevent its happening (the stimulus, shoring up the financial industry, the auto industry "bailout"). If you had a bank account in 2008 and still have it now you should thank Mr. Obama and the Democrats in Congress who provided the needed support. The sky hasn't fallen because not even Trump is stupid enough to toss out the policies that have worked over these past years. If, on the other hand, he discards NAFTA and other such trade deals, the sky (or, anyway, the roof) most assuredly will fall in.
28
Maybe Honeybee lives in Russia.
14
Our government 'cherry-picks' the numbers, discounting the long-term unemployed and giving almost no credence to the severely underemployed.
The actual number should no doubt be far closer to 20%.
Paraphrasing Ronald H. Coase, "If you torture statistics sufficiently, they will confess to anything."
36
How can 45 take credit for the job growth that is an extension of what has been going on for the last 80 or so months? Had the job growth been on a downward projectile and it turned around during his tenure, then that could have been credited to him. However, none of this had anything to do with t Rump. Even the deregulation that he has put into effect has not had time to cause any change in the numbers. More credit- hogging by the pig in office.
77
"It is easy to lie with statistics, but try not to lie to yourself." -Thorne
It's good to see that average wages are growing faster than inflation. The average wage of $26.83 per hour equates to an annual salary of over $55K per year. Not great, but shows real growth, something we haven't had much of in the past 30 years or so.
4
The average workweek is 34.4 hours, making the average yearly wage $48,000.
That includes our doctors, lawyers, the financial class and business executives.
The median is substantially lower.
45
Not that you'll care, but this was exactly the wage growth during the year or so before Trump took office.
17
Robert, I do care, and that's great news! It shows sustained average wage growth above inflation. That a very promising trend!
1
"Job growth totaled 2.1 million in 2017, compared with a gain of 2.2
million in 2016."
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jec.nr0.htm
64
Yes, but you know an over the top comment from Trump is coming.
7