[Stardust]

WASHINGTON — The U.S. job market slowed in March as companies hit the brakes on hiring amid uncertainty about the economy’s growth prospects. The unemployment rate dipped, but mostly because more Americans stopped looking for work.

The Labor Department said Friday that the economy added 120,000 jobs in March, down from more than 200,000 in each of the previous three months.

The unemployment rate fell to 8.2 percent, the lowest since January 2009. But the rate dropped because fewer people searched for jobs. The official unemployment tally only includes those seeking work.

Despite the pullback in March, the economy has added 858,000 jobs since December — the best four months of hiring in two years.

A mild winter may have partially influenced the disappointing job numbers in March. January and February were unusually warm, which allowed construction firms and other companies to hire people for outdoor work several weeks earlier than usual, effectively stealing jobs from March.

But the job market might have bigger problems. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and other economists have warned that the economy is not growing fast enough to sustain strong job growth and tumbling unemployment.

Slower economic growth has led some analysts to scale back their forecasts for corporate profits in the January-March quarter.

Weak job growth could threaten a recent rise in consumer confidence and dent investors’ enthusiasm for stocks. It also could prove a setback for President Barack Obama’s re-election hopes.

But economists noted that it’s just one weak month after three solid gains. Many were encouraged by strong job growth at factories, hotels and restaurants — industries that reflect the health of the economy.

And government hiring was little changed in March, a positive sign after months of job cuts at the state and local level.

“We are disappointed,” said Anthony Chan, chief economist at JPMorgan Wealth Management. “But when you go inside and lift the hood, the numbers look a little better.”


http://www.courier-journal.com/article/2...|text|Home

[tvtimeout]

Not Surprised with Inflation as high as it is... we have a long way to go.

[RunItUpTheGut]

^
Im not surprised because of the administration we have.

[Wildcatk23]

^
Im not surprised because of the administration we have.

Look at the past months? Was all that lies? And now it slows down and its because the administration sucks.....

[Hoot Gibson]

Lol really? Look at the past months? Was all that lies? And now it slows down and its because the administration sucks.....

The number of Americans who are not in the work force, according to the Obama administration, has reached an all time high. In other words, the number of people who are looking for work has decreased, so the unemployment rate is deceptively low at a still very high level of 8.2 percent.

Obama is on pace to add more debt to the current and future generations than all previous American presidents combined. Thanks to him, the amount of money that this nation spends on interest on will surpass the total spent on defense before the end of this decade.

This administration did not just begin to suck recently, it began to suck the day that it took office and has not stopped.

[Wildcatk23]

Lowest unemployment rate since 2009. We all seen how fast the unemployment rate was raising under bush and the start of the Obama era.

[Hoot Gibson]

Lowest unemployment rate since 2009. We all seen how fast the unemployment rate was raising under bush and the start of the Obama era.

There are far more people unemployed today than there were when Obama took office. In all likelihood, the unemployment rate will be higher on election day than it was on the day that Obama took office. If that is what liberals consider doing a good job with the economy, I would hate to live through what you would consider a failed Obama presidency.

[TheRealVille]

Am I the only one seeing the "mild winter, warm January and February, stealing March's jobs"?

[Wildcatk23]

There are far more people unemployed today than there were when Obama took office. In all likelihood, the unemployment rate will be higher on election day than it was on the day that Obama took office. If that is what liberals consider doing a good job with the economy, I would hate to live through what you would consider a failed Obama presidency.

What's the point if having an unemployment rate then?

[TheRealVille]

March was a little slow, after the biggest hiring binge since the great depression. We will live though it.

[Hoot Gibson]

What's the point if having an unemployment rate then?

That is a good question. The BLS reports the number of people that it deems to have given up looking for work, which it therefore excludes from its calculation of the unemployment rate - but the media focuses on the unemployment rate especially with a Democrat in the White House seeking another term.

Even if you believe that the economy is headed in the right direction, I would like to know what you believe that Obama has done to turn it around. Instead of demanding that the U.S. Senate follow federal law and pass a budget, Obama is demonizing Paul Ryan, one of the few people in Congress who has dared propose a budget that to address the runaway national debt. This is not how a leader behaves in the face of an economic disaster.

[Hoot Gibson]

March was a little slow, after the biggest hiring binge since the great depression. We will live though it.

What are you talking about, RV? Check your facts. You misread your talking points. Net job creation under Obama has been negligible, which is why the unemployment rate is higher than when he took office and the number of Americans who are not looking for a job has reached a record level.

Great Recession << Great Depression

[TheRealVille]

What are you talking about, RV? Check your facts. You misread your talking points. Net job creation under Obama has been negligible, which is why the unemployment rate is higher than when he took office and the number of Americans who are not looking for a job has reached a record level.

Great Recession << Great Depression

I didn't misread it, I just mis posted it. Yes, I meant the great recession. Actually auto correct mis quoted it for me.

[Stardust]

That is a good question. The BLS reports the number of people that it deems to have given up looking for work, which it therefore excludes from its calculation of the unemployment rate - but the media focuses on the unemployment rate especially with a Democrat in the White House seeking another term.

Even if you believe that the economy is headed in the right direction, I would like to know what you believe that Obama has done to turn it around. Instead of demanding that the U.S. Senate follow federal law and pass a budget, Obama is demonizing Paul Ryan, one of the few people in Congress who has dared propose a budget that to address the runaway national debt. This is not how a leader behaves in the face of an economic disaster.

I would like to see the facts to back the question when it is given. The facts dictate that this country is far worse than it was before Obama took office!