> The economy netted 178,000 jobs in March, a sharp turnaround after losing 133,000 just a month earlier.
….
> Stepping back, the labor market in many ways has narrowed to a single engine. Since the end of 2024, healthcare and social assistance has added about 855,000 jobs. The rest of the private sector has lost 322,000 jobs.
>One of the more troubling signals in Friday’s report came from a decline in the labor-force participation rate—the share of the working-age population that is either working or looking for work. A sliding participation rate can signal more people giving up on the hunt for work. The rate slipped to 61.9%, marking its lowest level since late 2021, and well below where it was before the pandemic. The decline in the unemployment rate to 4.3% from 4.4% in February came about largely because fewer people were seeking work.
> The overall decline in participation is less alarming when you focus on people ages 25 to 54, who are less likely to be in school or retired. This “prime-age” group’s participation rate has held near multidecade highs—evidence that the overall decline in participation is being driven by an aging population cycling out of the workforce rather than discouraged workers giving up.
jinglemebro on
Why do I remember the economy needing 250K jobs just to stay flat? What changed? Now we have these screeching headlines about amazing growth when it would have been a what has gone wrong headline a few years back??
lost_dog_1973 on
The average of 2 months was flat. Weather and strike caused exaggerated downturn in February and higher numbers in March (which will be revised somewhat). ‘’Booming” seems, uh, a little strong.
Benoit_Guillette on
A low unemployment rate only means that masters always find work for their slaves. Work is about helping a capitalist to eliminate his competitors with the latest robots. And blame the Protestant work ethic for the climate hell on Earth!
4 Comments
> The economy netted 178,000 jobs in March, a sharp turnaround after losing 133,000 just a month earlier.
….
> Stepping back, the labor market in many ways has narrowed to a single engine. Since the end of 2024, healthcare and social assistance has added about 855,000 jobs. The rest of the private sector has lost 322,000 jobs.
>One of the more troubling signals in Friday’s report came from a decline in the labor-force participation rate—the share of the working-age population that is either working or looking for work. A sliding participation rate can signal more people giving up on the hunt for work. The rate slipped to 61.9%, marking its lowest level since late 2021, and well below where it was before the pandemic. The decline in the unemployment rate to 4.3% from 4.4% in February came about largely because fewer people were seeking work.
> The overall decline in participation is less alarming when you focus on people ages 25 to 54, who are less likely to be in school or retired. This “prime-age” group’s participation rate has held near multidecade highs—evidence that the overall decline in participation is being driven by an aging population cycling out of the workforce rather than discouraged workers giving up.
Why do I remember the economy needing 250K jobs just to stay flat? What changed? Now we have these screeching headlines about amazing growth when it would have been a what has gone wrong headline a few years back??
The average of 2 months was flat. Weather and strike caused exaggerated downturn in February and higher numbers in March (which will be revised somewhat). ‘’Booming” seems, uh, a little strong.
A low unemployment rate only means that masters always find work for their slaves. Work is about helping a capitalist to eliminate his competitors with the latest robots. And blame the Protestant work ethic for the climate hell on Earth!