February jobs report indicates decline in unemployment

Unemployment has dropped since the end of Jan, according to the newly issued February jobs statement, though by a modest percentage. The pace of joblessness declined .01 % to 8.9 % over February. This marks the 3rd sequential month in which joblessness declined.

Higher rate of employing

The February jobs statement was recently released by the Department of Labor, and it showed the increase in hires during the month of February was a small one, however a rise nonetheless. There was a 0.1 % decrease in the unemployment pace from Jan to February. It went from 9 % down to 8.9 %. There were more jobs included to the sector improving quite a bit from January. About 192,000 jobs were included. In January, employers included 63,000 jobs to the overall economy, however January was slower than February as winter weather brought several areas to a near standstill, according to the Los Angeles Times. Besides a rise in employing once the snow relented, Dec. and Jan jobs reports were revised by the Labor Department to reflect that 50,000 brand new hires had gone previously unreported.

Third month showing increased employment

This is the third sequential month that the unemployment pace has gone down. The pace of joblessness has waxed and waned for the past several years, and there have been declines noted all along the way, but the joblessness pace declined almost an entire percentage point from Dec. to February, marking significant progress. The number of first joblessness claims fell to 368,000 recently, marking a three-year low for brand new filers. Forbes reports that over 9 million individuals claim benefits. The economy is projected by the Federal Reserve to grow between 3.5 and 4 percent during 2011, though rising gas prices are sure to cause some hiccups over the next few months.

Recovery can be hard with government spending reductions

The unemployment pace might end up going back up after all, reports CBS. This is what economists fear will take place if Republicans get their way and get to cut the federal budget. Moody's Analytics' Mark Zandi thinks that a $61 billion cut from the federal spending budget, as planned, might end up a work loss for 700,000 individuals. This projection was mirrored pretty closely by Goldman Sachs. It is very important bear in mind Zandi claimed the stimulus spending would allow unemployment to stay under 8 % while being one of probably the most supportive people of the stimulus packages.

Articles cited

CNN

cnn.com/2011/03/04/news/economy/february_jobs_report/

Los Angeles Times

latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2011/03/february-unemployment-jobs-economy-recovery-obama.html

Forbes

blogs.forbes.com/heatherstruck/2011/03/04/jobs-report-at-high-end-of-expectations-unemployment-drops-to-8-9/

CBS News

cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20037435-503544.html