This is good news, better than expected.
Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the U.S. economy added a better than expected 290,000 jobs last month. The BLS also revised the jobs number for both February and March upwards, putting both of those months into the black in terms of job creation. (Due to 805,00 discouraged workers “feeling better about their prospects” and resuming their search for work, the unemployment rate actually ticked up to 9.9 percent.)
The continued turnaround of the labor market is a strong sign that the economic stimulus package passed last year is doing what it is supposed to. But today’s report also refutes one of the favorite Republican talking points about the stimulus, which is that it only preserved government jobs:
– Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R-MN): These are mostly government jobs, you know…The idea that government grows the economy when all they really do is extract money from taxpayers, bring it into the bureaucracy and put it back out into the economy on a political agenda is not growth.
– Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) [Faux Noise delinked]: The stimulus bill has done “little or nothing” to stimulate the private sector. “It probably did save a lot of state government jobs.”
– Gov. Haley Barbour (R-MS) [Faux Noise delinked]: State government has benefited by the stimulus package, because it’s poured in billions of dollars. The problem is we need private sector jobs.
– Rep. John Boehner (R-OH): Most of the so-called jobs that have been saved or created are government jobs, even though the President promised that 90 percent of these jobs would be private sector jobs.
– Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA): We’ve got to begin focusing not just on jobs, but on private sector jobs.
So the GOP should be pleased to note that, of the 290,000 jobs created in April, 231,000 of them were in the private sector. The private sector has actually added 523,000 new jobs in 2010.
his includes 44,000 manufacturing jobs, which is the most manufacturing jobs added to the U.S. economy since August, 1998… [emphasis original]
Inserted from <Think Progress>
The GOP’s worst fears are being realized. The economy is improving. I have long contended that the GOP fiddled while America plunged. Knowing they were on their way out of power, they used the occasion to transfer as much wealth to the rich as possible. They figured that the bigger a mess they could leave for Obama, the better opportunity they would have to blame Democrats for the effects of the GOP’s own actions and use that a a springboard to return to power. But we’re still not out of the woods. Ed Schultz and economist, Peter Morici, explain:
Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy
While they did a great job, they could have explained the unemployment statistics better. Let me quote myself from April 3:
…Expect the GOP to harp on the high official unemployment rate. There is little likelihood of significant gains in that benchmark this year, but to cut through the propaganda, you need to understand the mechanism. The rate makes no distinction between full and part time positions. As the economy improves, it will be easier and less expensive for employers to upgrade part time employees to full time than to hire and train new employees. While this will improve the lots workers, that improvement will not be reflected in the unemployment rate. Also, the rate does not count so-called ‘discouraged workers’, whose unemployment have expired. Although not counted, there are millions still seeking employment. When these people find jobs, their employment does not improve the unemployment rate…
Yesterday, you got to see an example of “When I’m wrong, I say so”. When I’m right I say so too.
20 Responses to “Jobs Up!”
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TC, you’re always right. Yeah for the jobs numbers increasing – stick that dirty sock in your pipe and smoke it Repubs!
Lisa, if only that were true!
Just like Reagan’s tax cuts, the Bush tax cuts may have taken a decade or so to unleash their full effects, but check out that recovery!
Randal, ptuiffffffffphyyt!! 😉
the GOP is in full defensive mode – to say how bad this job creation stat is and that obama is still a muslim socialist —- everything EVERYTHING the gop does is to make obama look bad —- they are so predictable and transparent
and most of america is too dumb to see it
as always, great work
Thanks, DC. The reason is that half the MSM presents both opinions equally without regard for the facts. Another 40% (mostly Faux Noise) present the GOP side as absolute truth.
I suppose the Reich Wingers are going to have to start saying the Bureau of Labor Statistics is a socialist agency.
Shhhhhh! Don’t give them any ideas, Dave! 😉
Hi tom, have you left FB? you are no longer on my friends list. If so why????? I miss you on FV.
I had to, Monique. I explained on Thursday’s open thread.
Now to tackle the debt. And not by commitee!
….That can lead to more debt and bit salaries for the committe members. Parkinson’s Law?
Ivan, the distribution is far more problematic that the debt,
Looking good Bud! Yhep everything is going against their idiocy. If this holds and Obama saves the economy and gets us the hell out of Afghanistan he will get reelected as long as we come out again.
Hiya Jim! Wouldn’t that be great?
TC I like what you said about the GOP, “Knowing they were on their way out of power, they used the occasion to transfer as much wealth to the rich as possible. They figured that the bigger a mess they could leave for Obama, the better opportunity they would have to blame Democrats for the effects of the GOP’s own actions and use that as a springboard to return to power”
So true my friend. I hold out the hope Americans are much wiser and onto the games being played by the rethugs. Their antics have sunk our economy and it takes the dems to “fix” their wrongs. Always has been like that and sadly always will be like that.. Obama needs the full 8 years and beyond to begin the repair….
damn it TC, how do I erase my last paragraph!!! So dumb not to proof read!!!
I hope so too, Sue, but it’s up to us to keep the facts out front.
I erased it for you. 🙂
And I won’t tell everyone all the terrible things you said about them. 😉
YIKES!!
More solid proof that Obama’s Stimulus Plan is a failure—at least that’s John Boehner and Sarah Palin tell us. But, of course, to them the world is flat and the sun revolves around the earth…