Here's what the DOL data says:
2000 1,374,300 2001 1,376,292 0.14% 2002 1,464,077 6.38% 2003 1,602,882 9.48% 2004 1,702,639 6.22% 2005 1,505,100 -11.60% 2006 1,575,485 4.68%
CAGR 2.30%
(CAGR = compound annual growth rate)
The series is, as economists say, lumpy. A 9.5% gain one year, an 11.6% decline two years later. The average over these six volatile years is 2.3%, a little over twice the growth in service sector employment, 1.0% (though less than the growth in health care employment, 2.7%). Were there mergers that account for a lot of the gains? Decerts for the losses? What?
Doug