White House: Jobs Report Shows Economy Is Healing
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(Image Credit: Rick Bowmer/AP Photo)
The latest jobs report is “further evidence that the economy is continuing to heal” but that faster growth is needed to put more Americans back to work, the White House says.
Reacting to this morning’s better-than-expected figures, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers Alan Krueger writes in a White House blog that “it is critical that we continue the economic policies that are helping us to dig our way out of the deep hole that was caused by the recession that began at the end of 2007.”
Krueger points to the need to extend the payroll tax cut through the end of the year and to adopt the agenda outlined by the president in his State of the Union address.
The unemployment rate in January fell 0.2 percentage point to 8.3 percent and the economy created 243,000 jobs, the Labor Department reported today. “Nonetheless, we need faster growth to put more Americans back to work,” Krueger writes.
The White House notes that unemployment numbers can be volatile and stresses that “it is important not to read too much into any one monthly report; nevertheless, the trend in job market indicators over recent months is an encouraging sign,” Krueger writes.
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The problem is when one Machine take”s takes away people”s lives and makes more profit and does not lower the price of product .They Regulate or lives But do not Regulate our work force and training. Technology has over surpassed Humanity . And What Makes you be the best you can be has a lot of pride to who you are. REGULATE Machines Not People ! Population is now Controlled with WARS !The LAWS should protect the People to Work and Greed be fought with LAWS !
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Posted by: Scott E Downer | February 3, 2012, 10:19 am 10:19 am
This is bad news for the republicans. Imagine where we could be if there were no tea party obstructionists in the House and John Boehner actually did his job as Speaker?
Posted by: tmferretti | February 3, 2012, 10:27 am 10:27 am
“Imagine where we could be if there were no tea party obstructionists in the House and John Boehner actually did his job as Speaker?”
I imagine we would be in southern Europe.
Posted by: foggy | February 3, 2012, 10:42 am 10:42 am
TMFERRETTI, I don’t think the bad news will bother the Republicans. They just claim that “actual” unemployment is a bajillion based on some secret numbers that they imagine exist. The fact that they produce these numbers PROVES they are being covered up. They have all their bases covered. If a Democrat cheats on his spouse, it’s a grave danger to the country. If a Republican does, it makes them a stronger person! If it snows too much, where’s the global warming? If it snows too little, well, why can’t we get more global warming? It never fails. They are getting high on their own moonshine.
Posted by: blip | February 3, 2012, 10:45 am 10:45 am
What would the unemployment rate have been if 1.2 million people had not left the workforce?
Posted by: Nephron | February 3, 2012, 10:47 am 10:47 am
Posted by: tmferretti | February 3, 2012, 10:27 am 10:27 am
Things are actually worse. Because Obama’s shills can’t do math and can’t read charts, they were fooled yet again by Obama’s barage of propaganda.
From Karl Denninger (who is NO friend of Republicans):
The total number of employed persons fell [last month]. A lot. To put a number on it, the total number of employed persons fell by 737,000 by actual count.
Now the cheerleaders will state that this is a common thing in January, and indeed it is. But the correct adjustment is to look at the population increase and subtract that back off as well. In other words, we take the loss of employment and add the population growth. When we do this we get a whopping 2.422 million in the wrong direction which was bested only by the -2.618 million in January of 2009 through the process of this downturn!
Posted by: Bill | February 3, 2012, 10:51 am 10:51 am
There is no doubt the economy has finally started to turn around, it’s obvious. There is no reason to celebrate, there’s still a long way to go. As President said “there are no silver bullets”, it takes work and compromise by all sides. His executive orders helped.
FDR had the same problem with the republicans in 1931 and 1932. They obstructed everything, and refused to admit the Hoover administration ever existed. Finally FDR got a Congress that was more concerned for the country instead of their political agenda.
The republicans are caught in a conundrum, if the economy continues to improve the President will win re-election easily, if they continue to obstruct, their “do nothing” attitude will turn off their voters.
If you look at the newspapers from 1931 and 1932 you couldn’t tell the difference between them and the news today. FDR was elected for four terms and the republicans were out of power for 80 years. Too bad President Obama is restricted to two terms.
Posted by: tmferretti | February 3, 2012, 11:10 am 11:10 am
Posted by: tmferretti | February 3, 2012, 11:10 am 11:10 am
The total number of employed people dropped.
Posted by: Sarah | February 3, 2012, 11:21 am 11:21 am
“Too bad President Obama is restricted to two terms.”
Based on the recovery thus far (3.2 million private sector jobs added in 23 straight months of private sector job growth, of the 8.75 million we lost under Bush and in his immediate wake) 4 more years ought to just about get the job done.
Posted by: RAVEN | February 3, 2012, 11:24 am 11:24 am
I imagine we would be in southern Europe
————————————–
The Republicans are going to take us to southern Europe even faster. They have yet to submit a plan that will not raise the debt at an even greater rate.
Posted by: jumbo shrimp | February 3, 2012, 11:24 am 11:24 am
SARAH: “The total number of employed people dropped.”
And yet we’ve ADDED over 3 million private sector jobs in the past 3 years. You can talk “total numbers of the employed” and “population growth” all you want, but that doesn’t alter the basic math or turn POSTIVE numbers into NEGATIVE ones.
Posted by: RAVEN | February 3, 2012, 11:27 am 11:27 am
Why did 1.2 million people leave the workforce?Why did revenues to the Federal government drop last month despite adding nearly a quarter of a million TAXPAYERS?
Posted by: Nephron | February 3, 2012, 11:39 am 11:39 am
I don’t understand why the Civilian labor force participation rate in January 2012 is at a 30 year of 63.7% is still at a 30 year low if things are improving! Someone is using statistical slight of hand!
Posted by: Common _ Sense | February 3, 2012, 11:50 am 11:50 am
he Republicans are going to take us to southern Europe even faster. They have yet to submit a plan that will not raise the debt at an even greater rate.
Posted by: jumbo shrimp
At least you admit the course we are on which could be step one in your road to recovery. Your comments about Republicans plans is asinine especially given the Democrats have illegally not passed a budget in Congress in over 1,000 days.
Posted by: foggy | February 3, 2012, 11:51 am 11:51 am
I fully understand why the rich and powerful vote republican, it’s smart and in their best interests. Those they elect will maintain their benefits and tax breaks. Maybe some will trickle down to us in the bottom 7/8s.
I don’t know why middle class republicans continue to support the 1/8 th. Is this class warfare? You bet your sweet ass it is.
The democrats know which class they grew up in and where they are now. The republicans have forgotten or never experienced where their fellow average middle class Americans have been.
Posted by: tmferretti | February 3, 2012, 12:38 pm 12:38 pm
“I fully understand why the rich and powerful vote republican”
Do Jon Corzine and John Kerry ride unicorns in your world?
Posted by: foggy | February 3, 2012, 12:45 pm 12:45 pm
tm…i hope the trend continues. but every month these reports come out the previous month gets restated and always down. it just goes to show what happens when republicans are in charge of the house. look at the job growth under the republicans its amazing. just look how bad it was under pelosi. numbers cut both ways dont they. you bet your sweet arse they do.
Posted by: catman | February 3, 2012, 12:49 pm 12:49 pm
Posted by: RAVEN | February 3, 2012, 11:27 am 11:27 am
If you earn $40,000 a year but your investments lose $10,000 each year, your net worth still drops $10,000 each year irrespective of your $40,000 income. After five years you’re still $50,000 poorer.
It doesn’t matter how many jobs are created if the total civilian labor force continues to shrink. The private sector is shrinking while the government grows. That means you have less and less money to fund the government while the country’s population continues to grow, requiring more and more resources. Fewer jobs and more deficit spending by the government means a skyrocketing national debt, which is exactly what we have now. It’s unsustainable.
Posted by: Sarah | February 3, 2012, 12:49 pm 12:49 pm
he Republicans are going to take us to southern Europe even faster. They have yet to submit a plan that will not raise the debt at an even greater rate.
Posted by: jumbo shrimp
Obviously, you don’t know anything about Ron Paul. If you really are concerned about our debt, you should read about Ron Paul’s economic policies.
Posted by: deanbob | February 3, 2012, 12:57 pm 12:57 pm
TM….. Where they grew up in????? Ever see a POOR democrat, I haven’t.
Posted by: Lizzie | February 3, 2012, 12:58 pm 12:58 pm
he Republicans are going to take us to southern Europe even faster. They have yet to submit a plan that will not raise the debt at an even greater rate.
Posted by: jumbo shrimp
At least you admit the course we are on which could be step one in your road to recovery. Your comments about Republicans plans is asinine especially given the Democrats have illegally not passed a budget in Congress in over 1,000 days.
Most sane Republicans will admit Bush (and many of his asssociates) have/had a spending problem. However, how many Democrats can you count who have been honest about their party/ideology?
Posted by: deanbob | February 3, 2012, 1:01 pm 1:01 pm
“I fully understand why the rich and powerful vote republican, it’s smart and in their best interests.”
Posted by: tmferretti | February 3, 2012, 12:38 pm 12:38 pm
Nancy Pelosi and George Soros both experienced huge increases in their personal net worths the past two years. Are you telling us they vote Republican? Are you also saying that Republicans don’t grow up poor or middle class? Do you just make up nonsense as you go along?
Posted by: Sarah | February 3, 2012, 1:05 pm 1:05 pm
The wealth of the middle class is shrinking, there’s no doubt about it. It’s shrinking because the middle class has lost its voice. The only entity that stood up for the middle class, the labor unions, are gone, thanks to the corporate brainwashing done on America.
Now there is only one voice that gets heard in our government, that’s the voice of the rich and richer who can buy the politicians.
The middle class will continue to shrink as long as we fall for the negative picture the corporations have pushed on the labor unions. They began years ago so they would have no interference with their goal of a cheap national labor force. It’s sad so many Americans fell for it.
Posted by: tmferretti | February 3, 2012, 1:05 pm 1:05 pm
It’s sad so many Americans fell for it.
Posted by: tmferretti | February 3, 2012, 1:05 pm 1:05 pm
The dumbed-down millions who fell for hope and change can thank their ignorance for the current erosion of the middle class, their wealth, and their liberties.
Posted by: Bill | February 3, 2012, 1:18 pm 1:18 pm
tm the middle class is shrinking because the smart folks moved up. unions have destroyed the middle class by pushing their jobs offshore. in california today the teachers union unfunded pension liability grew by billions because the lowered the investment return assumptions to reality. instead of taking a pay cut to fund their pension deficit they are going to put on the backs of thetaxpayers. get real
Posted by: catman | February 3, 2012, 1:23 pm 1:23 pm
Wow, I am so glad the republicans took over the House last January to bring us this recovery! The democrats had control since 2007, and look what they caused.
No way would I be foolish enough to trust them back in control of this nation’s purse strings. Not after what they caused and did.
Posted by: trish | February 3, 2012, 1:26 pm 1:26 pm
TMF,maybe I’m mistaken, but I thought that the corporations employed people.How many people do unions employ? Maybe union membership has been dropping because unions no longer benefit the workers that they are supposed to help. If the middle class is shrinking after 3 years of Barack Obama maybe we should give somebody else a chance,somebody who has actually run something besides a teleprompter on-off switch.
Posted by: Nephron | February 3, 2012, 1:29 pm 1:29 pm
There is no doubt the economy has finally started to turn around, it’s obvious.
Posted by: tmferretti | February 3, 2012, 11:10 am 11:10 am
A trip to any local soup kitchen, homeless shelter, or food pantry will quickly disabuse you of that notion.
Posted by: Don | February 3, 2012, 1:32 pm 1:32 pm
Excellent news. I’ll take the steady and substantial gains of President Obama over the hollow, promises of the Republicans any day. We saw the great business expertise of the Republicans last time around – huge deficits, huge debt, a phony war and a massive economic collapse. Get out of the way!
Posted by: Judd | February 3, 2012, 1:36 pm 1:36 pm
CATMAN
The labor unions kept wages at a reasonable rate compared to the cost of living and our standard of living high.
Tell those in foreclosure and without jobs and no job security how they moved up. Republicans look at a few people who have been fortunate then use that as an excuse to do nothing for average working Americans.
The unions didn’t push jobs offshore. The corporations saw a labor force overseas that would work for pennies on the dollar and work 24/7. We can get those jobs back if we’re willing to, by going back to the 1890s and use that as our benchmark standard of living.
Do honestly believe that the rest of us who haven’t moved up are stupid? I’ll bet you really don’t
Posted by: tmferretti | February 3, 2012, 1:38 pm 1:38 pm
500,000 private sector jobs added in the last two months. Sounds like the Republican Bush presidency only instead of losing twice that many jobs, we’re gaining jobs!
Posted by: Dana | February 3, 2012, 1:40 pm 1:40 pm
Posted by: Judd | February 3, 2012, 1:36 pm 1:36 pm
We have 50% more debt now. What are you smoking?
Posted by: Adrian | February 3, 2012, 1:44 pm 1:44 pm
Posted by: Dana | February 3, 2012, 1:40 pm 1:40 pm
1.2 million people dropped out of the work force between December and January. There are fewer people working now than two months ago. That’s a loss, not a gain.
Posted by: Sarah | February 3, 2012, 1:47 pm 1:47 pm
There are fewer people working now than two months ago.
Posted by: Sarah | February 3, 2012, 1:47 pm 1:47 pm
That’s a lie. You can see the figures at the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 500,000 new jobs came on stream in the past two months. The total number of jobs went up by 500,000.
Posted by: truth | February 3, 2012, 1:59 pm 1:59 pm
We have 50% more debt now. What are you smoking?
Posted by: Adrian | February 3, 2012, 1:44 pm 1:44 pm
Sure, but over $1.25 TRILLION of the current debt ‘attributed’ to Obama resulted from interest on the debt George W. Bush left. That’s just the interest on the debt Bush left, never mind the war commitments, the destroyed revenues due to the economic collapse on his watch, the unpaid for seniors drug plan, the huge deficits from his tax cuts, and on and on.
That’s just the facts.
Posted by: truth | February 3, 2012, 2:02 pm 2:02 pm
I don’t trust the math as the numbers are way too easily manipulated.
What I do trust. My situation. That is what I will base my vote on. Are things better now for me under Obama? The truthful answer to that is no.
Posted by: kate | February 3, 2012, 2:12 pm 2:12 pm
The truthful answer to that is no.
Posted by: kate | February 3, 2012, 2:12 pm 2:12 pm
The 3.7 million people who got jobs since Obama’s policies would disagree with you. So would anybody who has savings invested for their retirement.
Posted by: truth | February 3, 2012, 2:20 pm 2:20 pm
How many of those “3.7 million ” jobs are low-paying service jobs like flipping burgers? It seems just a few months ago the administration was crowing about McDonald’s hiring 50,000 people.I know of a friend who has gone through THREE of those wonderful jobs,each one of which paid less than the previous one.The monthly drop in federal tax revenues should tell you the quality of these jobs.
Posted by: Nephron | February 3, 2012, 3:01 pm 3:01 pm
How many of those “3.7 million ” jobs are low-paying service jobs like flipping burgers?
Posted by: Nephron | February 3, 2012, 3:01 pm 3:01 pm
All of this information is available through the Bureau of Labor Statistics web site. You could do the research if you cared.
Professional and business services continued to add jobs in January (+70,000). About half of the increase occurred in employment services (+33,000). Job gains also occurred in accounting and bookkeeping (+13,000) and in architectural and engineering services (+7,000).
Over the month, employment in leisure and hospitality increased by 44,000, primarily in food services and drinking places (+33,000). Since a recent low in February 2010, food services has added 487,000 jobs.
In January, health care employment continued to grow (+31,000). Within the industry, hospitals and ambulatory care services each added 13,000 jobs.
Wholesale trade employment increased by 14,000 over the month. Since a recent employment low in May 2010, wholesale trade has added 144,000 jobs.
Employment in retail trade continued to trend up in January. Job gains in department stores (+19,000), health and personal care stores (+7,000), and automobile dealers (+7,000) were partially offset by losses in clothing and clothing accessory stores (-14,000). Since an employment trough in December 2009, retail trade has added 390,000 jobs.
In January, employment in information declined by 13,000, including a loss of 8,000 jobs in the motion picture and sound recording industry.
In the goods-producing sector, manufacturing added 50,000 jobs. Durable goods manufacturing has added 418,000 jobs over the past 2 years.
Employment in construction increased by 21,000 in January, following again of 31,000 in the previous month. Over the past 2 months, nonresidential specialty trade contractors added 30,000 jobs.
Mining added 10,000 jobs in January. Since a recent low in October 2009, mining employment has expanded by 172,000.
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Feb, 3, 2012
Posted by: truth | February 3, 2012, 3:27 pm 3:27 pm
So about 500,000 jobs flipping burgers.I rest my case.
Posted by: Nephron | February 3, 2012, 3:47 pm 3:47 pm
jobs flipping burgers
Posted by: Nephron | February 3, 2012, 3:47 pm 3:47 pm
Mining: 10,000 jobs added
Construction: 21,000 jobs added
Manufacturing: 50,000 jobs added
Health Care: 31,000 jobs added
Professional and Business: 70,000 jobs added
Leisure and Hospitality: 44,000 jobs added
and more . . .
Posted by: Gerry | February 3, 2012, 5:21 pm 5:21 pm
I love that Republicans basically try to drive wages down and send industrial and technical jobs overseas….. and then disparage the low wage jobs that remain.
Granted, I think we should pay for people to go to college so that they can do more than flip burgers or greet people at Walmart. And the Republicans should buck the Chamber of Commerce and start protecting American laborers over the interest of the Brooks Brothers crowd…. But if you don’t have a job and you don’t have an education, flipping burgers is honest work and shouldn’t be disparaged.
Posted by: blip | February 4, 2012, 9:31 am 9:31 am
“What I do trust. My situation. That is what I will base my vote on. Are things better now for me under Obama? The truthful answer to that is no.”
Yeah, warts can make a person miserable. But Obama is not to blame.
Posted by: blip | February 4, 2012, 9:35 am 9:35 am
Saw on TV just last night that Nissan is looking for 2000 employees in America right now. Everything from factory workers to sales to administration.
Posted by: A Cynic | February 4, 2012, 9:48 am 9:48 am
a cynic wrote:”Saw on TV just last night that Nissan is looking for 2000 employees in America right now. Everything from factory workers to sales to administration.”
.
Saw where TransCanada is looking for tens-of-thousands of employees in America right now. But oBama has others pulling his strings and said no way. Besides, like DEMOCRAT Jan Schakowsky said…. 20,000 jobs is “not that many”. I guess its just not worth messing with for a measly 20K jobs.
Posted by: Michelle Shu Jas | February 4, 2012, 10:04 am 10:04 am
Posted by: Michelle Shu Jas | February 4, 2012, 10:04 am 10:04 am
When you have the Republican governor of Nebraska fighting against the proposed pipeline route you can tell its more than a partisan issue – if you have a functioning brain.
Posted by: Chan | February 4, 2012, 1:32 pm 1:32 pm
chan wrote:”When you have the Republican governor of Nebraska fighting against the proposed pipeline route you can tell its more than a partisan issue”
.
Has he shut down the thousands of other operating pipelines in Nebraska? Didn’t think so. Seems that he was opposed to the original route…not the pipeline itself. As usual, oBama uses that as one of his many flimsy excuses to justify shutting down the entire pipeline.
.
” – if you have a functioning brain.”
.
Something not usually found in the many oBama stooges who post here daily.
Posted by: Michelle Shu Jas | February 4, 2012, 3:10 pm 3:10 pm