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Unemployment Now at 8.3%
By JLP | February 3, 2012
Just saw a headline on WSJ.com about the latest unemployment figures.
Nonfarm payrolls rose by 243,000 last month, the Labor Department said Friday, marking the biggest gain since April. The jobless rate fell by two-tenths of a point to 8.3%, the lowest it has been since February 2009.
Both figures contradicted expectations of a slowdown in job growth to start the year. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast a gain of 125,000 in payrolls and that the jobless rate would remain at 8.5%.
The report also indicated that job growth was stronger in previous months than initially reported, with the economy gaining 60,000 jobs beyond the government’s preliminary figures for November and December.
The latest drop in the jobless rate, which is obtained from a separate household survey was largely because of genuine job growth rather than a reduction in the labor force, the report showed. The number of unemployed people fell to 12.8 million, a three-year low, and the jobless rate has fallen from 9.1% since August.
The way they massage the numbers, anything is possible.
I live in Southeast Texas. Things have never gotten too bad here. What about you? Do you see things improving in your part of the country? Personally, are you starting to see positive changes in your own finances?
Topics: Economic Indicators, Economics | 4 Comments »
February 3rd, 2012 at 12:17 pm
Never got bad in central texas either, which I attribute to the high property tax rate — I dont think housing bubbles can form in this environment (plus the state is strict on the exotic mortgages that banks were able to push in other states)
Having said that, a friend of mine that got laid off just found a job, so that is good news in my little world.
February 3rd, 2012 at 12:30 pm
BG,
Good point regarding mortgages. Texas actually did something right!
Congrats to your friend.
February 3rd, 2012 at 12:33 pm
The labor force DROPPED by 1.2 million.
That’s one way to make the unemployment numbers better.
February 6th, 2012 at 7:33 am
Believe it or not, the NYC housing market never got too carried away with exotic mortgages either – theory being that because the prevalent type of housing is co-op, where boards typically require at least 20% down. That, plus the fact that NYC’s residential r.e. mkts are driven by a host of factors including foreign investors, Wall Street, tech industry, etc. that while hit, not hit quite as badly as one might imagine. Add to that the very high expense of building here (which shuts off the supply chain pretty rapidly when the outlook turns negative), plus limited land supply, plus tight vacancy rates, all adds up to the mkt having been cushioned. Right now people seem to be jumping off the fences and into the housing mkt. There is a sense (despite really weak Wall Street pay) that the mkt here has bottomed and it is now time to take advantage of low rates. Seems like a lot of pent up demand being unleashed.
Interestingly, the rental market has been very strong (I own rental property), presumably because of the curtailed sale mkt.