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Today’s unemployment numbers were just released, and they’re both hugely improved, but also somewhat disappointing.
Unemployment dropped to 6.7 percent, the lowest in five years, since October 2008.
But there’s of course bad news.
The economy added only 74,000 new jobs, far less than the expected 197,000.
And more Americans are leaving the work force.
“More than a quarter million Americans were not at work because of inclement weather, the most for any December since 1977, the Labor Department said,” Bloomberg reports. “Employers may be awaiting further evidence that the economy is accelerating before they step up the pace of hiring.”
And via Newser:
The AP reports that cold weather could have played a role in the poor numbers, noting that construction firms cut 16,000 jobs—the largest drop in 20 months. One silver lining from the report: November’s new jobs were revised upward to 241,000 from 203,000. And Russolillo writes that the same could happen here. “Something doesn’t smell right. This jobs number is so far out of whack from the recent economic data that have come out. Jobs data have been getting stronger for months, not to mention improvements in growth, housing, and manufacturing figures. Don’t be surprised if this report gets revised higher in the coming months.”
John Boehner actually had the gall to tweet this just minutes ago:
Where are the jobs?
— Speaker John Boehner (@SpeakerBoehner) January 10, 2014
Perhaps if John Boehner hadn’t vote about 40 times to repeal Obamacare, the House would have had time to pass the President’s Jobs Bill.
Yes, you’ll hear the right attack these numbers, but you can’t argue with 6.7%.
What’s your feeling? Are more people employed?