243,000 and 8.3%

The Lehmann Letter (SM)

The headline on today’s letter appears similar to, but a little better than, last month’s employment report. If we have improvements such as these for the rest of the year, the economy is out of the woods

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported January’s unemployment rate fell to 8.3% and the economy created 243,000 new jobs:

http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm

The private sector was particularly strong, creating 257,000 positions. The work-week also lengthened, providing hourly workers with the opportunity to earn more overtime pay.

Job Growth
(Click on chart to enlarge)

(Recessions shaded)

You can see from the chart that periods of robust economic improvement, such as 2003 – 2007, typically average 250,000 more jobs month-after-month, year-after-year. Let’s keep hope alive!

(To be fully informed visit http://www.beyourowneconomist.com/)

© 2012 Michael B. Lehmann