According to a recently released job report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the United States job market is still on a massive upswing. The month of March saw another 196,000 jobs added to the U.S. economy — compared to only 20,000 in February, which some analysts link to the government shutdown that preceded it.
Throughout March, unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.8 percent, and the U-6 unemployment number remained at 7.3%. This number measures the amount of workers who are employed part-time and those looking for work. The African-American unemployment rate decreased from 7% in February to 6.7% in March. The number of unemployed teenagers fell from 13.4% to 12.8%, and adult female unemployment decreased from 34% to 3.3%.
Overall, it’s hard to find anything to complain about here.
In addition to a low jobless rate, wages have also increased. The hourly earnings for private, non-farm payrolls increased by four cents up to $27.70 hourly, which follows an impressive 10-cent gain in February. Within the past 12 months, American workers have enjoyed a 3.2% increase in hourly earnings.
The report’s findings have been praised as historic. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, current jobless numbers are at the lowest they have been in almost 50 years.
The following is a breakdown of where the jobs were either gained or lost:
- Manufacturing: Unfortunately, despite the gains in other sectors, the manufacturing industry had a loss of 6,000 jobs. The primary job loss occurred in the parts and motor vehicle sector. It’s important to remember, though, that since President Trump’s first day in office, there has been a gain of 466,000 of jobs in the industry.
- Mining: The mining sector added 2,000 jobs.
- Construction: The construction industry added 16,000 jobs.
- Drinking Places and/or Food Service: This industry added some 27,000 jobs.
- Technical And Professional Services: This industry added 34,000 jobs.
- Health Care: There were an impressive 49,000 jobs added to this field.
Although the latest jobs report is overwhelmingly positive, President Trump obviously wants to address the one blemish on the record — manufacturing job loss. The president plans on imposing more tariffs in an effort to save manufacturing jobs from being exported. Many believe this is the right move to make in order to counteract the job loss numbers, saying it’s a brilliant negotiation tactic. However, others point to the fact that historically, tariffs don’t do anything but kill jobs. The opinion of many is to “keep focusing on building the workforce, not gamble with jobs as a tactic.”
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ report is tabulated using numbers derived from a nationwide survey of around 150,000 government and business agencies. The other number that is announced at the same time, the U-3, is derived from around 60,000 households and created using a different survey. There are two versions of the unemployment rate. One of these is seasonal, and adjusted regularly to garner all the headlines. The other doesn’t get much focus, but allows for some adjustment to occur where an accurate jobless number can be achieved from month to month.
The bottom line is that the current United States economy is still booming. Jobless numbers are down. Wages are up, and overall, sectors are thriving, with the one exception being manufacturing. With each monthly report, it looks like the president can count on running for re-election with a healthy economy on his side.
~ Liberty Planet
