Posted on 05/02/2008 5:35:46 AM PDT by abb
Employers trimmed a less-than-expected 20,000 jobs in April, marking the 4th straight month of losses; unemployment falls to 5%.
(Excerpt) Read more at money.cnn.com ...
Death! Destructions! Armageddon!!
Oh wait...
Well, I guess it’s all over for the American economy.
HAH! Take that Mrs. Pelosi!
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/080502/economy.html
Employers cut fewer jobs in April, jobless rate falls
Friday May 2, 8:35 am ET
By Jeannine Aversa, AP Economics Writer
Employers cut fewer jobs in April, jobless rate falls to 5 percent
WASHINGTON (AP) — Employers cut far fewer jobs in April than in recent months and the unemployment rate dropped to 5 percent. It was a better-than-expected showing that nonetheless still revealed strains in the nation’s crucial labor market.
A new report from the Labor Department on Friday shows that the economy lost jobs for the fourth month in a row. But in April the losses totaled 20,000, an improvement from the 81,000 reductions in payrolls logged in March. Job losses for both February and March turned out to be a bit deeper than previously reported.
Job losses moderate in April
Nonfarm payrolls down 20,000; unemployment rate unexpectedly falls
By Greg Robb, MarketWatch
Last update: 8:30 a.m. EDT May 2, 2008
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Job losses decelerated in April suggesting that the economic downturn may be short and shallow rather than long and severe.
Nonfarm payrolls fell by 20,000 in April, a much smaller decline than the average 80,000 jobs lost per month in the first quarter of the year.
The decline was much less than expected. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected job losses of 78,000. See Economic Calendar.
The jobless rate inched down to 5.0% from 5.1% in March. Economists had been expected the jobless rate to tick higher to 5.2%.
snip
“It was a better-than-expected showing that nonetheless still revealed strains in the nation’s crucial labor market.”
Near full employment is “strains on the nation’s crucial labor market?”
everything is fine. no problems. inflation is way under control. interest rates are excellent and banks have so much money to loan. people are paying their bills. fuel prices are ridiculously low. economy is growing by leaps and bounds. businesses both small and large are prospering like never before. unemployment rate is excellent.
yep all is good.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120973101930762571.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Economy Shed Jobs in April
But Pace of Decline Slows
By BRIAN BLACKSTONE
May 2, 2008 8:38 a.m.
WASHINGTON — U.S. employment fell a fourth-straight month in April, the government said Friday, but at a much slower pace than previous months, suggesting the economy may be starting to find its footing after several months of stagnation.
Manufacturing and construction firms continued to cut payrolls aggressively, but services employment rebounded, particularly in business and professional services.
The data, which included a surprising decline in the jobless rate, support expectations that Federal Reserve officials will keep official interest rates steady for an extended period as they gauge the effect of past rate cuts and recent credit initiatives on financial markets and the economy.
snip
http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2008/05/02/when-losing-20000-jobs-isnt-so-terrible/?mod=WSJBlog
May 2, 2008, 8:36 am
When Losing 20,000 Jobs Isn’t So Terrible
Posted by David Gaffen
Jobs
That makes four consecutive months of job declines. After the Labor Department reporteed another decline in jobs that fell short of the worst-case scenario, the equity market is rallying. Futures have bounced on news that the economy shed 20,000 in payrolls for April, and the unemployment rate surprisingly dipped to 5% from 5.1%.
Manufacturing and construction firms continued to cut payrolls aggressively, but service-related industries saw a rebound in payrolls.
# Stock futures bounced. The S&P 500 futures were up 13 points, compared with a 2.4-point gain prior to the release. Dow futures were ahead by 120 points, compared with a 45-point advance.
# Bonds slumped. The 10-year note was down 8/32, yielding 3.804%; it yielded 3.718% prior to the news. The two-year note’s yield was at 2.478% from 2.327% before the report.
# The dollar rallied. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 105.44 from 104.62. The euro fell to $1.5387 from $1.5475.
snip
I wonder what all these comments would look like if there was a Democrat in the White House.
U.S. stock futures jump on jobs data, Fed injection
Microsoft leaning toward hostile Yahoo bid; Sun Microsystems disappoints
By Steve Goldstein & Simon Kennedy, MarketWatch
Last update: 8:41 a.m. EDT May 2, 2008
LONDON (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock market futures surged on Friday after data showing a far smaller loss of jobs during April than expected and a new Federal Reserve injection into the funding markets.
S&P 500 futures jumped 13.8 points to 1,425.40 and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 19.25 points to 2,002.50. Dow industrial futures climbed 119 points.
The gains also came as the Federal Reserve increased the amounts to be auctioned off in its term auction facility and further said it was expanding the collateral that can be pledged by dealers in the term securities lending facilities. The Fed now will accept AAA/Aaa-related asset-backed securities - say, credit-card or auto-loan backed securities - in addition to mortgage-backed securities.
The U.S. labor market was not as weak as expected in April, the government said Friday. The economy lost 20,000 nonfarm payroll jobs last month, according to a survey of business establishments, much less than the 81,000 lost in March and way below the 78,000 decline expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch. The unemployment rate inched down to 5.0% in April from 5.1% in March. Economists were expecting the unemployment rate to tick up to 5.2%.
snip
Libs are deeply saddened.
I think what’s happening is, in industries that aren’t directly or indirectly affected by the housing slump, companies are trimming the dead wood and holding on, for now, the good employees.
Now it’s a wait and see to see if the economy will speed up...if it continues to slog or worse, recess, you’ll see companies begin to REALLY tighten their labor expenses.
< leftist >
Yeah, but they’re all burger flipping jobs.
< /leftist >
Nowhere in the media is there any understanding of the natural rate of unemployment. Unemployment in any economy cannot be zero as there are always people who are “frictionally unemployed” and between jobs. 4-5% is pretty much the natural rate of unemployment in the US economy so for all practical purposes we are at full employment.
LOL. That's a good question, however I hope we don't have occassion to find out any time soon.
Keep trying to hire but no one want to work.
That means the folks hanging out on the corner drinkin’ 40’s don’t have any excuse.
Bad news .... for democrats..
“Keep trying to hire but no one want to work.”
It is a weird dichotomy to see job losses in manufacturing, yet everything I’ve read has leaned towards there being a shortage of skilled manufacturing labor.
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