U.S. Lost 54,000 Jobs in August; Rate Rose to 9.6%

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: New York Times

By CHRISTINE HAUSER
Published: September 3, 2010

With the American economic recovery showing clear signs of slowdown, private employers added 67,000 jobs in August, the Labor Department said on Friday. The number was more than forecast.

Over all, the nation lost 54,000 jobs in August, the agency said, as state and local governments, many of them grappling with severe budget deficits, cut 1o,000 jobs last month. Another 114,000 temporary Census positions also came to an end. In all, governments cut 121,000 jobs last month.

The unemployment rate rose to 9.6 percent from 9.5 percent in July.

Economists had forecast that the overall, nonfarm payrolls would decline 105,000 in August, with private employers adding 41,000 jobs.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/04/business/economy/04jobs.html

---

The source for this information is the Bureau of Labor Statistics

THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION -- AUGUST 2010

Nonfarm payroll employment changed little (-54,000) in August, and the unem-
ployment rate was about unchanged at 9.6 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported today. Government employment fell, as 114,000 temporary
workers hired for the decennial census completed their work. Private-sector
payroll employment continued to trend up modestly (+67,000).

[Turbineguy]

1. Now that's

the kind of news we like around here.

[earthside]

11. We like higher unemployment?

I don't.

[mike r]

2. U.S. Lost 54,000 Jobs in August; Rate Rose to 9.6%

Source: New York Times

With the American economic recovery showing clear signs of slowdown, private employers added 67,000 jobs in August, the Labor Department said on Friday. The number was more than forecast.

Over all, the nation lost 54,000 jobs in August, the agency said, as state and local governments, many of them grappling with severe budget deficits, cut 1o,000 jobs last month. Another 114,000 temporary Census positions also came to an end. In all, governments cut 121,000 jobs last month.

The unemployment rate rose to 9.6 percent from 9.5 percent in July.

Economists had forecast that the overall, nonfarm payrolls would decline 105,000 in August, with private employers adding 41,000 jobs. The numbers for July were also revised, with 54,000 jobs lost, rather than the 131,000 in the initial estimate. And the private sector added 107,000 jobs, rather than 71,000. The overall number in June was revised to a loss of 175,000 jobs from 221,000.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/04/business/economy/04jobs.html

[xchrom]

3. Recommend

[chill_wind]

4. kick

[RussBLib]

5. but companies added 67,000

that's the good news. Census workers being discontinued accounted for most of the losses, and those were not very good jobs in the first place.

What can I say? Adding 67,000 is a little bit better than losing 500,000 per month.

[IDemo]

6. The actual number is much higher of course

But the U3 unemployment number commonly used by the government and media considers those who have given up searching for work as merely "discouraged".

[chill_wind]

7. Yes. More about the real numbers

from this discussion thread about a week ago

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9001597#9003455

[lonestarnot]

8. And pugs march out the hammer criminal to be on TV instead of perp march. Unbelievable people would

vote for that same bullshit again.

[nbcouch]

9. 9 is the new 5 n/t

[Roland99]

10. Temp jobs at the Census going away.

Good seeing an increase in private sector jobs but that needs to be about triple that.

[OnlinePoker]

12. One number I haven't seen get a lot of press

From the situation report:

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes re-
ferred to as involuntary part-time workers) increased by 331,000 over the
month to 8.9 million. These individuals were working part time because their
hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job.
(See table A-8.)


So 67,000 more people entered the private sector but 331,000 had their hours cut back to part time. Doesn't sound like much of an improvement, though at least they still have some type of job.

[Donnachaidh]

15. part time workers - many FORCED into part time work -- evidently don't count OR exist

The numbers of unemployed, added to the UNDERemployed is staggering. The under employed are our untouchables - they are radioactive.

[OnlinePoker]

13. Dupe...delete

[chill_wind]

14. Some more perspective & Christina Romer's comments

"(...)


Economists feared a worse report — with private-sector job growth beating forecasts by 20 to 50 percent. For the first time since 2007, the unemployment rate improved year-on-year. But the rising unemployment rate remains evidence of a lagging recovery. Stimulus funds are drying up. Joblessness is pervasive, meaning lower sales for companies. Business owners are concerned about economic conditions, and therefore are loath to hire new workers. Since December, 2009, the private sector has added 763,000 jobs — 95,375 a month — but to keep up with population growth, the United States needs to add about 125,000 positions per month. To return to full employment in five years, the economy needs to add 300,000 a month, every month. The United States has added just 3.4 million net new jobs since January 2000, though the country has grown by 29 million people.

In the past few months, the White House has focused on private-sector job creation as evidence of “recovery summer,” though the unemployment rate remains stubbornly high. Some economists inside and out of the administration have declared the jobs trend evidence of the need for new government stimulus to make up for a lack of private demand.

Leaving her post as the head of the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers this week, Christina Romer declared the turnaround “insufficient.” The economy “is growing, but not fast enough to create the hundreds of thousands of jobs each month needed to return employment to its pre-crisis level.”

“The only surefire ways for policymakers to substantially increase aggregate demand in the short run are for the government to spend more and tax less,” Romer argued. “In my view, we should be moving forward on both fronts.”

(...)"

http://washingtonindependent.com/96614/unemployment-rate-rises-to-9-6-percent