A sharp improvement in the unemployment rate

[babylonsister]

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/sharp-improvement-the-unemployment-rate


A sharp improvement in the unemployment rate
07/03/14 09:35 AM—Updated 07/03/14 09:58 AM
By Steve Benen




The jobs news this morning was very encouraging – not just relative to where we were, but in actual terms. The nation is on track for its best year for job creation since the Clinton era and June broke the record for the most consecutive months of private-sector gains.

But as we’ve discussed before, as a matter of political rhetoric and public awareness, these aren’t the numbers most Americans pay attention to. Rather, what gets attention is the overall U.S. unemployment – people want to know whether it’s going up or down; how long it’s been above one plateau or another; etc.

Indeed, in the 2012 presidential campaign, Republicans were heavily invested in the talking about the jobless rate remaining about 8%, which they said mattered more than the fact than the economy was adding jobs. (When the rate finally dipped below 8% before Election Day, President Obama’s critics naturally turned to wild-eyed conspiracy theories.)

With this in mind, it’s worth noting that the unemployment rate has now dropped to 6.1%, its lowest point since September 2008, nearly six years ago. The rate has dropped more than a full point since last fall, and is down nearly four full points since its Great Recession high of 10%.

Sometimes the unemployment rate will go up for encouraging reasons – people re-enter the job market once it improves, increasing the number of folks looking for work, which may look statistically like bad news even though it’s good news. Conversely, sometimes the jobless rate will drop for discouraging reasons – people give up on a job market and no longer count towards the overall figure.

That said, today’s good news is, well, actual good news. The unemployment rate dropped because job creation was strong, even as the labor force grew. This is, in other words, how people rooting for the economy want to see the jobless rate drop.

Among politicians, we too often see a lazy game – pick the metric that tells you what you want to hear. When the total number of jobs created soars but the unemployment rate inches higher, Republicans ignore the former and shout about the latter. When job creation slows but the jobless rate falls, Democrats do the opposite. Consistency matters.

But with the latest data, there’s no point in cherry picking because all of the news is good.

[G_j]

1. WP: Economy adds 288k jobs in June; jobless rate falls to 6.1 percent

http://m.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2014/07/03/economy-adds-288k-jobs-in-june-jobless-rate-falls-to-6-1-percent/?hpid=z1

America’s hiring spree kicked into full gear in June as the economy added more than 200,000 jobs for the fifth month in a row, according to government data released Thursday.

The streak is the longest since the late 1990s and provides convincing evidence that the recovery has rebounded after unexpectedly shrinking during this year’s harsh winter. The Labor Department reported 288,000 net new jobs were created in June, and the unemployment rate dropped to 6.1 percent.

“We’re achieving escape velocity," said Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank. "It's all there for some real strength."

Markets jumped on the news Friday morning, with the Dow Jones average up 0.4 percent in early morning trading -- and breaking 17,00o for the first time. The Standard & Poor's index was up 0.3 percent.

The solid reading reinforced other encouraging data released this week suggesting the economy may finally be ready for liftoff. Auto sales -- a consistently bright spot in the recovery -- heated up even more in June. They clocked in at 17 million at an annualized rate for the best month in eight years. In addition, a closely watched private indicator of the labor market by human resources consulting firm ADP offered a similarly stellar prediction 0f 281,000 jobs added last month. The spike was driven in part by the construction industry, which created the most jobs since 2006.

..more..

[Fred Sanders]

2. This is too much good news for anyone to discuss, it makes Obama appear very successful and not the

worst President since the last World war, that is the media meme for the week.