[lbo-talk] US employment

[Doug Henwood]

Pretty disappointing US jobs report this morning - just 110k new 
jobs, with Feb's gain revised down. The long-term average would be 
about 220k, and the long-term expansion average (excluding recession 
periods, that is) is around 360k. Gains weren't broadly distributed 
across industries, either. Factories lost jobs - as did temp firms, 
not a good sign. (Temp employment frequently leads broad employment 
trends.) Wages gained slightly after stagnating last month, but now 
they're just keeping up with inflation rather than lagging it. The 
household survey numbers looked better - unemployment dropped to 
5.2%, the employment/population ratio (EPR) rose 0.2 points (but is 
still well below its 2000 peak). But there too, gains weren't broadly 
distributed; women did worse than men, and most educational groupings 
were flat or down on their EPRs.