Just in case anybody's still out there - the jobs report

[dancing_space_monkeys]

This used to be my favorite post of each month on T.S. The monthly jobs report.

I still have fond memories of late 2003 through 2004 when job growth came back, and many posters kept screaming that it was all fake, and that we were still losing jobs. Yet, despite their self-proclaimed brilliance, none of them could ever tell us what the "real" numbers were, they could never tell me where their information came from, nor could they tell us why only they knew this stuff, while every major news organization in the country was fooled...

[dancing_space_monkeys]

+228,000 jobs in November. Unemployment remains constant, job participation rate also constant, and a drop in non-establishment jobs.

[dancing_space_monkeys]

December jobs report was decent, but with potential signs of trouble in the future

[dancing_space_monkeys]

Good January report. 200,000 jobs added (and another 200,000 in the hidden "other" jobs group). Unemployment steady at 4.1 percent due to a huge increase in the labor force, as more people return to look for work.

[dancing_space_monkeys]

Good February report. 300,000 jobs added (and another 400,000 in the hidden "other" jobs group). Unemployment steady at 4.1 percent due to a huge increase in the labor force, as more people return to look for work.

This is a virtual clone of the last months report. That can't keep up forever, though, since the potential number of workers outside the labor force will, at this rate, eventually dwindle to nothing

[dancing_space_monkeys]

Slightly positive but disapointing overall. 108,000 jobs added, unemployment steady at 4.1%. We need about 120,000 jobs per month to allow for population growth. More worrisome is the decrease in the labor force.

Still, we can hope that this is just a breather and things will pick up in April or May

[dancing_space_monkeys]

164,000 jobs added. Good, but not great. Unemployment rate ticks down to 3.9%, mostly due to people leaving the labor force.

[dancing_space_monkeys]

223,000 jobs added. No further analysis yet, but that's a good strong number

[dancing_space_monkeys]

June 2018 report - Many jobs added. Unemployment rate ticks up to 4.0% due to a 601,000 increase in the labor force (that is to say, more people are now looking for work)

[grayirongolf]

We can't even get true inflation numbers, no way on getting real job #'s.  These Master Manipulators have you living in a world of fantasy.  

[dancing_space_monkeys]

157,000 jobs added in July. Not a roaringly powerful number, but still a good solid one. Any number over 150,000 is good, as it's enough for population growth plus a little bit more.

Unemployment rate dropped due to a surge (mostly RTTM) in the "hidden" jobs report of household jobs.

[dancing_space_monkeys]

These Master Manipulators have you living in a world of fantasy. 

As I always say to the conspiracy crowd, if you have a better source of information, I'd love to see it.

Note that I've been asking this question on and off for 17 years, on many chat boards, and nobody has EVER given me a coherent answer, so I'm not holding my breath

[dancing_space_monkeys]

August - 201,000 jobs added (good strong number). Due to a drop in the "hidden" jobs figure, plus a slight shrinking of the labor force, unemployment remained steady.

[dancing_space_monkeys]

A low 134,000 jobs added, but due to a surge in the number of "hidden" jobs, unemployment dropped to 3.7.

Overall, a decent forward-moving month, which is about all we can expect with such a low unemployment figure, unless more people return to the labor force.

[dancing_space_monkeys]

Good month for jobs. 250,000 added, plus a large number in the (very spikey) hidden jobs report. Unemployment holds steady at 3.7%, due to a huge increase in the labor force, as hundreds of thousands return to looking for work.

[dancing_space_monkeys]

Decent month in November. 155,000 jobs isn't a lot, but it keeps pace with population growth. And considering the current very low unemployment rate, we're not going to have a lot of months where we add 200 or 300 plus thousand jobs.