4.9% and 108,000

Thats 4.9% unemployment and 108,000 new jobs in December.

I blame George W. Bush !

Reuters can't contain themselves!

WASHINGTON — U.S. employers added a smaller-than-expected 108,000 new jobs in December but that followed a much stronger wave of hiring than previously thought in November when rebuilding after hurricanes was getting under way, a government report on Friday showed.

In its monthly report on employment, the Labor Department said the unemployment rate fell in December to 4.9 percent from 5 percent in November.


UPDATE: The AP's Jeannine Aversa is doing cartwheels too!
WASHINGTON Jan 6, 2006 — Job growth slowed in December following a big hiring spurt in November with employers expanding payrolls by just 108,000, underscoring the sometimes choppy path traveled by job seekers.

The Labor Department's fresh snapshot of the nation's jobs climate, released Friday, also showed that the unemployment rate dipped from 5 percent in November to 4.9 percent in December, as some people left the labor market for any number of reasons.

Yeah, like maybe they got a job!
The 108,000 gain in payrolls registered in December followed a big pickup of 305,000 jobs added in November, according to revised figures released Friday. That was the most since April 2004 and was even stronger than the 215,000 job gains first estimated for November a month ago.

Geez, she can barely contain herself!
But October's payrolls turned out to be a bit weaker showing an increase of 25,000, versus 44,000 previously reported. Still, given that was a month where the lingering effects of the devastating Gulf Coast hurricanes were still being felt, the lackluster performance could be explained.

December's gain of 108,000 jobs was about half of what economists were expecting. Before the release of the report, they were forecasting employers to add around 200,000 positions during the month
.
Ah, that's more like it, negative, negative and more negative. Thats what expect from the AP. I'd someone to point me to something that shows when the "experts" were actually right about their job forecast. Anything will do.

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