It was more than just census workers. "Private Sector Job Growth Drives March Employment Numbers."

[Clio the Leo]

This notion that the March numbers were bunk because of 48,000 census workers bothers me tremendously because so many on the left are citing it as a reason not to be glad.

Yes, I understand 48,000 from 162,000 equals 114,000 and we have to have an average of 150,000 in order to see a the unemployment rate go down. But after months of job growth in the negative, 114,000 PRIVATE SECTOR jobs is a VERY good thing. The largest job growth in three years is nothing to poo poo.

Sure, things still suck and they will continue to suck for a while but the fact of the matter is, again, we saw job growth in the PRIVATE sector last month. And on top of that, the manufacturing sector has been up FOR THREE MONTHS STRAIGHT. CONSTRUCTION is UP.

So, take about five minutes ..... and smile. Take a deep breath knowing that we're not all going to fall into the abyss. (Unless Iran is able to get ammo to the Taliban without us intercepting it first, but that's a matter for another thread.)

Private Sector Job Growth Drives March Employment Numbers

Today's monthly employment report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics offers encouraging signs that the labor market has stabilized, private sector hiring is picking up, and our nation has started down the road to recovery.

While the jobs report doesn't merit high-fives or fits of bragging, it's quite a bit better than what we've been handed each month over the past two years. The economy added 123,000 private sector jobs in March, the most since May 2007. Overall, the economy added 162,000 jobs, including 48,000 Census positions. Census hiring accounted for less than one third of the new jobs while private sector hiring made up over two thirds of the employment gains.

During the first quarter, we had an average monthly gain of 54,000 jobs, compared to an average monthly job loss of 753,000 in the first quarter of 2009. This may not be success, but it is definitely progress.

Again this month, we see bright spots in manufacturing, which after losing jobs for three straight years, has now gained jobs three months in a row, and in the temporary help sector, which added another 40,000 jobs and 313,000 positions since September. The construction sector, which has been pounded during the recession, didn't lose jobs for the first time since June 2007.

I was also pleased to see that hours of work was revised upward for February and increased even more in March. This increase is a sign that part-time workers are getting more hours, another leading indicator of new hiring.

Data at the state level reinforces what we're seeing nationally. In February, twenty-three states reported increases in private sector employment. Employment gains, which had been concentrated in education and health throughout the recession, began to reach new sectors in February, with 13 states seeing employment increases in manufacturing, 12 experiencing gains in leisure and hospitality and 12 recording gains in professional and business services. I was encouraged to see that my state of New York was one of only two states to see improvement in all three of these sectors.

We are moving in the right direction. We are making progress.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rep-carolyn-maloney/private-sector-job-growth_b_523249.html

[LiberalFighter]

1. Maybe they should ask those Census workers if they think those jobs are meaningless.

I'm sure the WPA workers during FDR didn't think their jobs were meaningless either.

[vaberella]

3. I know a person who is one...

She's like thank God she's getting some money since she's in between jobs currently.

[wackywaggin]

4. The census jobs I have done

over the past year are more like 4 weeks of work at best! Off and on, Mostly off!! If you don't accept a census job for the 3-4 weeks they employ you, every 6 months, you will lose your unemployment. Furthermore, after the month of employment with the census, when the census job is over you have to reapply for unemployment and all other unemployment compensation and wait a month before getting any more unemployment monies. So, Are these census jobs meaningless? I woulsd say yes they are because it costs the individual more to work for the census than staying on unemployment. The census employees are true American patriots recieving little to nothing for their dangerous, hard work and Obama's job numbers are a joke because it is mostly temporary census workers employment for 1-2 months. Think for yourselves, and stop being mindless drones for your own party, that goes for Democrats and Republicans.

Heretic Wack :0)

[Moosepoop]

14. "Obama's job numbers are a joke because it is mostly

temporary census workers..."

Sorry -- 48,000 out of 162,000 does not constitute "mostly." Nice try, though.

[Jakes Progress]

2. Nice that there are some more at work

but it would mean more if those jobs weren't mostly new hires at low pay. Check the statistics on those out of work for over 18 months. Their ranks grew and their chance of finding work shrank. Salaries are down for those making less than $100K. It is the right direction. It is not fast enough and only those who already have jobs and good salaries would think it is. Putting people back to good work is the most important thing we have to do in this country. More important than the "wars", more important than wall street salaries, more important than health care, more important than immigration. There is not one thing that needs the spotlight and the attention of the president than the job issue.

[ClarkUSA]

5. It's an RNC talking point to minimize the great new jobs numbers as due to census/temp workers

How sadly predictable that some DUers have chosen to parrot similar false sentiments here. The truth is that most of the jobs originated from the private sector. Whether temporary or permanent, a job created and a person hired is nevertheless a job. To minimize and dismiss the new jobs numbers reveals the questionable motives of the 24/7 Debbie Downers at the RNC and here at DU.

[wackywaggin]

6. Sorry, you're wrong!

I worked for the Census in 2009 and upcoming in 2010. In 2009 I made 1,863.00 working for the census during the year. If I would have stayed on unemployement i would have made 1,922.00. Furthermore, when you work for the census you have to waive your rights to collecting unemployment and the jobs provide NO health benefits or other benefits of any kind. Those are the facts, straight up, not talking points. I agree that the Republicans try to dismiss these numbers but we should be open and honest enough to state what is factual and what is fiction, otherwise, how are any of us different than the Limbaugh's, Hannity's, or O'Reilly's of the world. (By the way, by writing this I just noticed, why are all these folks from Irish descent.)

[ClarkUSA]

7. You haven't explained how I am wrong when it is indeed an RNC talking point.

Very few folks make $1922/mo. on UI. You didn't specify how many hours you worked to make $1863 but I know that the census offered full-time positions that made over $20/hr. on their website. On the lower end were positions that made $15 in my state. That's not chump change for a 20-40+ hour week for seniors/students/those trying to make ends meet by taking on a second job. For them, a census job does indeed offer welcome financial relief.

[harkadog]

8. Nobody makes $20 a hour for the Census on temp jobs.

Most are making $10 a hour with no benefits. The jobs are rarely 40 hours a week and last 3 or 4 weeks. The last census job I did was last year and after the first week which was training they fired a third of the people in the room because they said a mistake had been made and they did not have enough available positions. Great planning.

[ClarkUSA]

9. They have data entry, managerial and administrative positions that do.

Recently, I gave a census jobs brochure I got from my local library to a friend of mine. I checked it out and there were several positions that made over $20/hr. Also, when the government first opened up the census website for job applications, I went to see what it entailed for my dad, who is retired. There were plenty of full-time data entry, management and administrative positions open that made more than $20/hr. Of course, depending on which state you live in, the pay scale will vary. I live in a high per capita income state in the Northeast.

[Exilednight]

10. I live in suffolk county on LI, and we have the highest paid government workers ........

in the country. Sanitation, Fire, Police, especially the police who average well over 100k a year, and none of the census jobs advertised in this area were for more than 16.00/hr. Scouring the internet, I have yet to find a higher paying job within the census bureau unless you are working in one of the 12 field offices, HQ in Maryland or the processing center in Indiana.

And let's be honest about this, even those that were hired full time in those buildings are really temporary workers. Once the census is finalized you will see many of those jobs evaporate.

[wackywaggin]

12. Right on!!

Only a select few have these opportunities and it is not based on qualifications... A larger question to your post is , "Why do people that are so fond of calling themselves public servants usually have the highest pay of individuals in that community in which they live? Shouldn't there pay be based on the Median average pay in the community in which they live?

Heretic Wack :0)

[ClarkUSA]

15. My state's census offices were offering administrative & managerial positions that were $20+/hr.

I live in a state that consistently rates as in the top 2 states with the highest per capita income in the U.S. Like I said, I was checking out possible jobs for my retired dad, who's politically active and had expressed interest. I was actually surprised some of the higher-level jobs paid so well.

<<And let's be honest about this, even those that were hired full time in those buildings are really temporary workers. Once the census is finalized you will see many of those jobs evaporate.>>

Of course, but a job is a job and that's what the new jobs numbers reflect. BTW, census jobs only accounted for about 48,000 of the 162,000 new jobs created in March.

[Exilednight]

17. Only accounted for 48,000 out of 162,000? That's nearly a third of all the new ...........

jobs. And if you live in one of the two states with the highest per capita income in the US, and have access to data entry jobs for the US Census bureau, that means you live Maryland. The top two states are NJ and Maryland, and NJ doesn't have a census office.

[ClarkUSA]

18. So? This is no longer a jobless recovery. If you want to buy into the latest RNC meme, go for it.

I doubt the 162,000 folks who got jobs this past month would agree. Temp or not, private or public sector, the jobs number trendline looks a whole lot better than it did a year ago.

[Exilednight]

20. Be a former temp employee, I will tell you from my own personal experience .....

that I was thankful to have a paycheck, but knew that it was only a matter of time until I was back to where I started from. What happens when those tens of thousand of jobs are lost again and those same people go back on unemployment insurance? April and May's job numbers will probably look good, but when all those temp jobs disappear with the end of the census we will again see a rise in those filing for unemployment insurance.

[ClarkUSA]

22. I know, but that's the nature of jobs numbers. It happens every year with seasonal workers.

Bottom line: the trendline looks good. It will take a long time to fully recover, but we're on our way. I say this as someone who has friends who have been unemployed and underemployed for over almost two years.

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[harkadog]

13. I overstated when I said no one makes $20.

I'm sure there a some positions in some areas that pay that much but I think they are few and far between. I am in the West and the highest positions were $15 with most making $10. My problem with the Census is that the temp work is poorly managed. They promise 40 hours of work and then struggle to get you 20. They say 6 to 8 weeks and then the work runs out after 3. The area director of the Census told our group that every 10 years they promote people who have little experience in managing projects but said they have little choice because they are a small agency.

[ClarkUSA]

16. Thanks for the explanation.

<<I'm sure there a some positions in some areas that pay that much but I think they are few and far between.>>

I live in one of the most populous states in the country, so there are many census offices. Each has to have enough data entry, administrators and field managers to accommodate their task, so while you're probably right, the relative number of $20+/hr. job openings in my state was still enough as of even a month ago that my dad was considering applying for one (he keeps putting it off due to poor health).

<<I am in the West and the highest positions were $15 with most making $10. My problem with the Census is that the temp work is poorly managed. They promise 40 hours of work and then struggle to get you 20. They say 6 to 8 weeks and then the work runs out after 3. The area director of the Census told our group that every 10 years they promote people who have little experience in managing projects but said they have little choice because they are a small agency.>>

I'm sorry you had such a poor experience. I don't know how well or poorly the census offices are being run in this state.

[Lerkfish]

19. "so many on the left"

please see my thread here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=8079961&mesg_id=8079961

[treestar]

21. I am so sick of them saying there is never going to be any recovery, blah, blah

They seem to be rooting against our improving economy. Just cranks.