Employment Numbers Turn Positive In March | |||||||
Over eight million jobs have been reduced in the US since December 2007, when the recession first hit. The numbers have been showing a slow decline, with fewer jobs being lost every month. In March, the turnaround has finally happened with 162,000 nonfarm jobs being added, and the unemployment rate held steady at 9.7 percent.
President Obama greeted the news with enthusiasm, claiming the economy was finally ready to turn the corner. With everything seemingly moving in the right direction, he was careful not to raise expectations too high, adding that it would take some time to achieve strong and sustained job growth required.
Based on current calculations, the economy needs to add over 100,000 jobs a month just to absorb new employees entering the labor pool, apart from the 15 million Americans already looking for work. The unemployment rates will not go down until robust job growth is seen, and estimates indicate the figure will stay around the 10 per cent mark till the end of the year at least. Still, economists saw signs in the latest report that the economy was poised to make steady, if slow, progress.
The maximum job growth is in the private sector, especially in the healthcare sector. Approximately 40,000 jobs are temporary positions, indicating that employers are hiring temps until they get a stronger sign of the improving times. Thousands of temporary workers are also being hired by the census bureau, which will continue till the end of the summer, and this may create an artificial surge in the numbers.
For the long term unemployed, the average length of time they remained unemployed increased to 31.2 weeks, the longest period of time since records have been kept. The stock market in the meanwhile reacted positively to developments, as the economy has shown signs of renewal in recent months due to significant government spending. Analysts now opine that the recovery will continue even in the absence of stimulus spending.
But substantial worries persist. Consumer spending remains tepid, though it has improved modestly in recent months. Real estate markets are still severely depressed, holding back hiring in critical industries like construction. And many state and local governments, facing ballooning deficits, are poised to make severe cutbacks. The long-term unemployed find little comfort in one month of good news, especially with many nearing the end of their government assistance.
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