Consensus expectations were for 149,000 new positions to be added in February 2014.
BLS announced that the economy added 175,000 jobs in February, up from 129,9000 in January.
Despite all the “Beat expectations” headlines we have seen on the news, we are not impressed.
Here’s why:
- The U-3 Headline unemployment rate actually increased to 6.7 percent while the Labor Participation Rate remained steady.
- The U-6 unemployment rate (un- and under- employment) was 12.6 percent
- One in six men between ages 25 and 54 are jobless
“The economy needs to add about 350,000 jobs each month to push unemployment down to an acceptable level.”- Dr. Peter Morici, University of Maryland
Beat the consensus? That isn’t even critical thinking.
Good news- Our last PMPA Business Trends Report showed that “Ninety-eight percent (98%) of respondents expect employment prospects to increase or remain the same
in our industry over the next three months.”
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