Roughly 85,000 jobs were lost in December, exceeding the expectations that have served as a stabilizing force in the marker this week. The government report released Friday appears to indicate that the rebounding economy remains too unstable for employers to consider adding to their payroll.
The unemployment rate remains stagnant at 10 percent according to the Labor. Many had predicted as much; others however, had thought the US might see job growth for the first time in two years. The Labor Department cautions that the “slight setback” should not be taken seriously, nor should any single monthly report.
The report; however, remains daunting as Americans doubt any recovery that does not have new job growth accompanying it. Signs of stability reveal themselves regularly but have yet to translate themselves into expanding payrolls. Certainly, things are not as bad as they were. Job losses are down and there has been a continual decline in new jobless claims in past weeks. Many answers to the question of why the number hasn’t gone down more have been proposed. Among the reasoning, it’s been thought that the snowy winter and icy weather have halted construction accounting for the 53,000 jobs lost over the winter.
Many economists say increases in temporary jobs indicate the beginning of a rebound and if full time positions elude the U.S., the same can’t be said of temp jobs. 47,000 jobs of this kind were created last months, likely the result of employers still cutting costs but facing an augmented demand for their products.
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