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Mail
Magazine 24
Stall:
Unemployment Ticks Up to 7.9%
by Mike Flynn
The
Labor Department reported this
morning that the economy added 157,000 jobs in January, down sharply
from
November and December. Revised hiring figures show the economy added
247k and
196k jobs, respectively in the final two months of 2012. The apparent
slowdown
in hiring is consistent with this week's report that GDP contracted in
the 4th
Quarter.
January's
jobs number is about break-even with
population. The economy generally needs to add 150-200k jobs a month to
keep
pace with population growth. As a result, the unemployment rate moved
up to
7.9%.
The
rest of the job report shows general
stagnation in the economy. Average hourly earnings were up just 0.2%
for the
month, down from December's growth of 0.3%. Average workweek was
unchanged at
34.3 hours. Average manufacturing hours fell slightly.
The
big upward revisions in hiring for November
and December underscore the weak foundation of the economy. Hiring was
stronger
than originally estimated, yet the economy remained, at best, on pause,
with
GDP contracting 0.1% at the end of the year.
January's
hiring is far below the average
monthly gains in 2012, when the economy added 181k jobs, on average,
each
month. 2013 begins with a number of head-winds for the economy,
particularly
tax hikes and the looming implementation of ObamaCare.
Today's
report is not an auspicious start to
the year.
Source:
Breitbart
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