5 Answers

http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/01/5-answers-from-todays-jobs-report/?emc=eta1

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/02/business/economy/02jobs.html?emc=eta1

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"Any people anywhere, being inclined and having power, have the right to rise up, and shake off the existing government, and form a new one that suits them better. This is most valuable - a most sacred right - a right, which we hope and believe, is to liberate the world." (Abraham Lincoln from Craig Macaulay)

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It's always good to see a jobs report with a net plus of 216,000.

But, as David Leonhardt points out, wages did not grow at all in March and have trailed inflation over the last year. The workweek didn't get any longer and it typically does get longer before a boom in hiring. And, 216,000 is not exactly "blistering:" at that pace, the unemployment rate would not return to 5% for about five more years.

5 Answers:

(1) No, the latest "turmoil" (oil prices, state and local cutbacks) has not spooked employers. Job growth over the last 3 months has averaged 159,000, the highest number since the recession began in late 2007;
(2) Yes, it is possible the Labor Department might be under-counting job growth. According to another Labor Department survey (of households), the economy added 291,000 jobs last month;
(3) Absolutely nothing: the average hourly wage of all employees remained $22.87, unchanged from February and up only 1.7% over last year;
(4) No, existing employees are not working more hours - not a good sign since working more hours each month is an early sign of recoveries.
(5) No, there is no improvement in the numbers for the "underemployed" and the "hard-core unemployed"in March.

March was the 12th consecutive month of private sector job growth and that's a direction we all like but how MANY jobs is it growing? The current labor participation rate is 64.2% of adults either in the workforce or looking for a job - that's the lowest in the last 25 years.

So, better data but I wouldn't plan a parade.