The new jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics came in well under even pessimistic expectations. The US economy only added 88,000 jobs in March, while nearly a half-million people left the work force:

Nonfarm payroll employment edged up in March (+88,000), and the unemployment rate was little changed at 7.6 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment grew in professional and business services and in health care but declined in retail trade. …

The civilian labor force declined by 496,000 over the month, and the labor force participation rate decreased by 0.2 percentage point to 63.3 percent. The employment- population ratio, at 58.5 percent, changed little. (See table A-1.)

Needless to say, this is quite a stinker. The jobs added fall far short of the 125K-150K needed just to keep up with population growth. The exodus from the workforce is even worse. The new civilian workforce participation rate of 63.3% is the lowest seen in almost 35 years, since the fall of 1978 — an era not exactly known for a robust American economy.

-snip-

Read more:http://hotair.com/archives/2013/04/05/jo...000-jobs-added/

What a freaking joke!

Payrolls Plunge To 88K, Biggest Miss Since December 2009, Participation Rate At New 30 Year Low

So much for "open-ended QE driven recovery". Moments ago the March Non-farm payroll hit and it was a doozy, printing at 88K, below the lowest forecast of 100K, well below the expected number of 190K, and a tragedy compared to the February revised print of 268K (was 236K). This was the biggest miss to expectations since December 2009 and the worst print since June 2012. The unemployment rate declined to 7.6%, but this was due entirely to the collapse in the labor force participation rate, which declined by 20 bps to 63.3%, a new 30 year low.

And now the time to come up with excuses is here.

You have to account for the weather and Easter. The numbers are lower but.... blah, blah, blah.

Does anyone have faith in any of the numbers that the government puts out, anymore? I don't.

Quote: Palinista wrote in post #3

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You have to account for the weather and Easter. The numbers are lower but.... blah, blah, blah.

Does anyone have faith in any of the numbers that the government puts out, anymore? I don't.

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Bernanke Is Shooting Blanks

Say what you will, the jury is back in and judgment rendered.

Bernanke's QE has done nothing material of value and he is now doing harm.
Bild entfernt (keine Rechte)
This is the only chart that matters when it comes to employment, and it sucks. Despite all the monetary games there has been no factual improvement in employment since 2009. Four years of this "experiment" and there has not been one iota of actual improvement.

The reason is that the problem we experienced in 2008 and 2009 was due to the gross and irresponsible expansion of economic leverage -- that is, debt, in the system as a whole. Transferring that into monetary policy to allow fiscal deficits without boundary is attempting to force a broken model to continue to work, just as one might press harder on the accelerator when their engine starts making knocking noises.

But if you do that instead of fixing the engine you're likely to next see a rod appear through the side of the block.

[more from KD at link above]

Quote: algernonpj wrote in post #5

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HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN

Happy days are here again
The skies above are clear again
So let's sing a song of cheer again
Happy days are here again
Altogether shout it now
There's no one
Who can doubt it now
So let's tell the world about it now
Happy days are here again

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