New jobs numbers released on Friday severely undershot economists’ expectations. The US economy added only 210,000 jobs in November, a far cry from the 550,000 jobs that had been expected by many economists.
New jobs numbers released on Friday severely undershot economists’ expectations. The US economy added only 210,000 jobs in November, a far cry from the 550,000 jobs that had been expected by many economists.
Why it Matters: The numbers illustrate the difficulty faced by the Biden Administration as it attempts to get the US economy fully restarted after almost two years of pandemic-induced distress.
And with winter fast approaching and with it a new variant of the coronavirus, Omicron, the economic situation is looking bleaker and bleaker for Biden.
Some on the left disputed the numbers, however, claiming that it was likely they will later be revised upward.
What People are Saying:
Psaki found out about the horrendous November Jobs numbers Live on air.
— Benny (@bennyjohnson) December 3, 2021
Her response was so awkward pic.twitter.com/VNlvqT0IqA
I agree with @steveliesman — I don’t believe the 210k top line #. I think the modeling is super challenging for @BLS_gov in this environment & I don’t think this is a credible estimate.
— Tony Fratto (@TonyFratto) December 3, 2021
The good news from the jobs report: Labor force participation rose to 61.8% — the highest in this crisis and a sign more people are looking for work now.
— Heather Long (@byHeatherLong) December 3, 2021
The bad news:
-Only 210,000 jobs gained (vs 570k expected)
-Job losses in retail (-20,000)
-Little hiring in hospitality
Weird jobs numbers. Very strong household survey: unemployment down to 4.2% & labor force participation up as employment up 1.1 million.
— Jason Furman (@jasonfurman) December 3, 2021
But the normally more reliable payroll survey shows only 210K jobs added.
Some explanations may emerge but it may just be measurement error.
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