AP Headline 4/2/10: “Employers Added Most Jobs in 3 Years in March”

This story actually sounded promising… until I read the third paragraph.

“The Labor Department said employers added 162,000 jobs in March, the most since the recession began but below analysts' expectations of 190,000.  The total includes 48,000 temporary workers hired for the U.S. Census, also fewer than many economists forecast.”

According to AP the number of jobs created during March were 28,000 below analysts’ expectations and 30% of the positions were temporary Census hiring which will disappear later this year.  At least the title was cheery.

Parsing The Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Situation Summary

• The number of unemployed people increased by 134,000 last month to 15.0 million

• The number of long-term unemployed (27 weeks and over) increased by 414,000 from February to 6.5 million.  In March, 44.1% of unemployed persons were jobless for 27 weeks or more rising from 40.9% the preceding month.

• The number of involuntary part-time workers increased by 102,000 to 9.2 million in March.  These individuals were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job.

• 2.3 million Americans were marginally attached to the labor force in March, including 1.0 million Discouraged Workers not currently looking for jobs because they believe no such positions were available for them.  These 2.3 million people were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey.  Had these Discouraged Workers looked for a job in March the Unemployment Rate would have been 11.2%.  

• 40,000 of the 162,000 jobs created were Temporary Help Services positions.  Combined with the 48,000 Census positions, 54% of March’s gains were of a temporary nature.

Dismal Reality

Broad enthusiasm for temporary job gains, fueled by unsustainable Stimulus Spending and Census hiring, continues.  Full-time employees are being recast as part-time laborers and the transformation is hailed as recovery within the labor markets.  Meanwhile the ranks of the discouraged and long-term unemployed continue to grow.  I don't presume to know how long the charade of a stable job market will last.  But unsustainable manipulations of employment data will reverse themselves and, regardless of timing, those affected by the eroding labor environment will make their displeasure known at the polls in November.