Dayton Business Journal
Chilly winds still blow on job market
Kent Hoover

The job market remained frozen in January: Employers added only 113,000 jobs last month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The unemployment rate, which is based on a survey of households, fell to 6.6 percent, however. That's the lowest rate in more than five years. That sounds good, but many Americans aren't even looking for work and therefore aren't counted when computing this statistic. Around 3.6 million Americans have been unemployed for more than six months.

If you want good news, look at construction, which added 48,000 jobs in January after cutting 22,000 jobs in December. Or manufacturing, which added 21,000 jobs, well above its monthly average of 7,000 jobs during 2013.

"Manufacturers have noted a pickup in demand and production over the past six months, which have led to an increase in hiring overall," notes Chad Moutray, chief economist for the National Association of Manufacturers.

Laggards this month included professional and business services, and leisure and hospitality, which posted below-average jobs gains. Health care was essentially unchanged for the second month in a row after adding an average of 17,000 jobs a month last year.

The federal government shed 12,000 employees, mostly at the U.S. Postal Service.

Those are the numbers; the question is to who's to blame for the job market's second consecutive lousy month?

You could blame Old Man Winter for putting a chill in hiring.

"I think we're going to get back on track as soon as the weather gets back on track," economist Mark Zandi told NBC News.

Or, if you're a politician, you could point fingers at the opposing party...

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