March Jobs numbers

[old timey villain]

Only 120K jobs created in March, about half of what was created last month. Is this going to be the same pattern that happened last year (fast growth in the winter then tapers off significantly) or is this a statistical bump?

Also, the unemployment rate dropped to 8.2%. Do voters care more about job numbers or the unemployment rate? And how will these weaker numbers affect the president?

[argentarius]

They're average numbers, they won't change anything really.

[Lincoln Republican]

The recovery is too tepid.

This cannot be considered as good news for Obama.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

The unemployment rate went down.  It's not that complicated to understand.

[NHI]

The recovery is too tepid.

This cannot be considered as good news for Obama.

[J. J.]

What could be a slowdown in the economy will not help Obama.  One month's statistics in not really enough to call it a slowdown.

[NVGonzalez]

The unemployment rate went down.  It's not that complicated to understand.

[redcommander]

The unemployment rate went down.  It's not that complicated to understand.

Because people left the workforce not because they're working.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

The unemployment rate went down.  It's not that complicated to understand.

Because people left the workforce not because they're working.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303299604577325381794283176.html#articleTabs%3Darticle

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

The unemployment rate went down.  It's not that complicated to understand.

Because people left the workforce not because they're working.

It's some of both.

[zorkpolitics]

Of the 120,000 "new jobs", 90,000 were predicted to be created by a job birth/death formula at the BLS.: 
http://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cesbd.htm

However, since this model was so bad in 2010, that the BLS made an end of the year correction of a -367000 jobs, its hard to be confident the +90,000 predicted jobs isn't really -90,000.....

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Moderate numbers for a moderate hero President.

Although it is worth noting that unlike Dubya, Obama will probably be in positive territory for his re-election and the end of his first term.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

Moderate numbers for a moderate hero President.

Although it is worth noting that unlike Dubya, Obama will probably be in positive territory for his re-election and the end of his first term.

Dubya wasn't in positive territory for his reelection?

[Adam Griffin]

Moderate numbers for a moderate hero President.

Although it is worth noting that unlike Dubya, Obama will probably be in positive territory for his re-election and the end of his first term.

Dubya wasn't in positive territory for his reelection?

2004 Nov 7-10
53 A
44 D
3 U

2004 Oct 29-31
48 A
47 D
5 U

2004 Oct 22-24
51 A
46 D
3 U

2004 Oct 14-16
51 A
47 D
2 U

2004 Oct 11-14
48 A
49 D
3 U

2004 Oct 9-10
47 A
49 D
4 U

It held long enough for him to get re-elected, anyway.

The jobs numbers will pan out in the end. It's hard to get the growth rate where it needs to be when state/local governments keep shedding 100k jobs every month.

[Negusa Nagast 🚀]

It held long enough for him to get re-elected, anyway.

The jobs numbers will pan out in the end. It's hard to get the growth rate where it needs to be when state/local governments keep shedding 100k jobs every month.

State/local governments only shed 1,000 jobs last month. The public sector growth rate might finally be turning around.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Moderate numbers for a moderate hero President.

Although it is worth noting that unlike Dubya, Obama will probably be in positive territory for his re-election and the end of his first term.

Dubya wasn't in positive territory for his reelection?

2004 Nov 7-10
53 A
44 D
3 U

2004 Oct 29-31
48 A
47 D
5 U

2004 Oct 22-24
51 A
46 D
3 U

2004 Oct 14-16
51 A
47 D
2 U

2004 Oct 11-14
48 A
49 D
3 U

2004 Oct 9-10
47 A
49 D
4 U

It held long enough for him to get re-elected, anyway.

The jobs numbers will pan out in the end. It's hard to get the growth rate where it needs to be when state/local governments keep shedding 100k jobs every month.

I wasn't talking about Bush's approval rating, I was talking about the fact that he had a net loss of jobs during his first term (and election day). The last time a Presidential term had a net loss in jobs was when his great-grandfather was an economic adviser to Hoover.

[J. J.]

I wasn't talking about Bush's approval rating, I was talking about the fact that he had a net loss of jobs during his first term (and election day). The last time a Presidential term had a net loss in jobs was when his great-grandfather was an economic adviser to Hoover.

IIRC, GWB's actually had job growth beginning in the late summer or early fall of 2004.  Kerry stopped using the job creation figure because of that.

That said, while there was growth, it was modest growth.