Wash Times: Wages, jobs show solid, steady gains

Bush hails employment as 'defying pessimists'

Gee, wasn't I seeing some headlines recently from the king of the Bush non-truths that claimed just the opposite was happening?

Anecdotally, I know that things have been improving in my area, though we still aren't on completely solid ground, and there are still cuts being made in some sectors (mostly through attrition now, which is a far more fair and humane way -- in my book -- of handling such cuts), but for the most part as I talk to others and observe what is going on around me, I'm seeing more help wanted signs, and finding more places where there's a need to add more workers.

In terms of wages, I don't know yet what the future really holds for myself and my friends. We're getting into the cycle of yearly reviews and salary adjustments, and hopefully all will go well. If things go normally, then the wage increases will be in-line with those discussed in the article below.

There are other issues to be concerned with too, including looming price increases for electricity in Maryland, where apparently some of the politicians didn't learn the lessons of the mess of a few years back in California that well. Hopefully things will turn out better here than there, but it depends on what the blow-hard lawmakers get done, and just how much lobbying the electric companies get done to get through some sort of increases. The increases are pretty much inevitable, but hopefully they'll be reasonable and tolerable.

To get back to the Washington Times article and the real point of this thread/article, I'm clipping part of the original article below. Please click the headline (linked) to get to the complete article.

Wages, jobs show solid, steady gains

Bush hails employment as 'defying pessimists'

By Patrice Hill
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
March 11, 2006

Wages rose by the most since 2001 and jobs posted solid gains last month, offering some relief for financially strapped consumers faced with climbing costs for energy, housing and other needs.
The Labor Department yesterday reported a 243,000 increase in jobs in a wide range of professions from health care and construction to finance and education -- the latest in a string of gains since November that have drawn the unemployment rate down sharply to 4.8 percent.
The growth in jobs last month was so strong it enticed 335,000 new job seekers into the market, causing the jobless rate to tick up from 4.7 percent -- the 41/2-year low reached in January.
"The economy is generating plenty of jobs -- that's good news," said Bernard Baumohl, executive director of the Economic Outlook Group, noting that last month was one of the best months for jobs since 2004.
The 3.5 percent gain in average wages over the past year is particularly welcome for overstretched consumers who have maxed out on debt and are nearing the end of their rope coping with higher costs for essential items.
But, unfortunately, Mr. Baumohl said, the wage increase was just enough to cover inflation, leaving workers with no real increase in purchasing power.
"This certainly should not be construed as a breakout in wages," he said.
President Bush trumpeted the job news, which pointed to robust economic growth in the first quarter and helped send the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 104 points to 11,076.
"American workers are defying the pessimists," Mr. Bush declared. "Our economy is strong."
The report was the latest to suggest a substantial strengthening in the job market that is giving workers some bargaining power for higher wages and a wider selection of jobs than seen since the 1990s.
Another report out earlier this week showed a surge in labor costs and an unusual drop in productivity during the fourth quarter as employers added new staff rather than wring out more efficiencies from their existing staff to take on new business.
Roger M. Kubarych, economist at HVB Group, said the job report shows the economy is rebounding moderately from a sharp slowdown last fall after two Gulf Coast hurricanes drove up unemployment and sent energy prices soaring to record levels.

... more at linked article

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terpfan1980

Join Date 08/2004

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Reply #1 March 11, 2006 11:13:31 AM
from JoeUser Forums

Of course, I'm sure the resident JoeUser pessimist will pounce on even the slightest negatives from this news, or will dig up some nice Democratic Underground talking points to use to claim this news is bogus.....

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COL Gene

Join Date 09/2004

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Reply #2 March 11, 2006 11:56:46 AM
from JoeUser Forums

The number of new jobs is good however the unemployment rate went up from 4.7% to 4.8%. The issue that is not being recognized is that the new jobs pay far less and have fewer benefits. That was the results of the study completed for the U S conference of Mayors. It showed the jobs created in 2004-2005 compared with the jobs lost from 2001-2003 paid on the Average 21% less. They had less health care AND RETIREMENT BENEFITS.

What we are doing is creating lower paying jobs as the cost of living goes up for things like energy, food and health care. Thus although it is better then no job compared with pre 2001, the job picture is not nearly as good as Bush and the Republicans SPIN!

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Dr Guy

Join Date 09/2004

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Reply #3 March 11, 2006 12:41:26 PM
from JoeUser Forums

You know we have Terpfans in Va too!

The news is generally good, but usually the MSM, and Col Klink can spin it to be bad. I am sure if he was 180 opposite, he would have spun the 90s as bad as well.

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terpfan1980

Join Date 08/2004

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Reply #4 March 11, 2006 10:02:40 PM
from JoeUser Forums

The number of new jobs is good however the unemployment rate went up from 4.7% to 4.8%.

I see there is proof that the C.O.L. can read, but apparently he didn't make it all the way through...

The reason for the jump to 4.8% is that there were more optimists in the potential work force, and more people decided to toss their hats back into the job market....

If the number had gone down to say 3.4%, but hundreds of thousands of potential workers just gave up, we'd be hearing how horrible things are and how Pres. Bush is the leader of doom and gloom. Instead, we see the C.O.L. bringing out the butt monkey 'however' to complain that the rate rose a tenth of a point because more people are looking for work.

As many say, the C.O.L. spins faster than Rumplestilskin working on the piles trying to turn them into gold.

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