Working Thoughts

• Analysts expected a loss of 68,000
• Predictions were all over the place since a winter storm affected the Northeast, possibly impacting survey results
• One year ago the US lost 726,000 jobs
  
• December was revised to a loss of 109,000 after reading a loss of 150,000 and originally a loss of 85,000
• January was revised to a loss of 26,000 from an original reading of a loss of 20,000 (revised again in March to a gain of 14,000)
  
• 6.1 million people have been jobless for more than 6 months
• The first decrease in this number in 14 months
  

• Temporary work, which usually precedes full time employment gains, added 48,000 jobs in February. This is after adding 46,500 jobs in December and 51,000 in January
  
• Last month it appeared that layoffs were flattening out, but now actual hiring is happening
• Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an outplacement firm, said that only 42,900 firings were announced in February – best number since 2006
  

Unemployment rate held at 9.7%

• Analysts predicted it would rise to 9.8%

• As employment picks up, the labor pool will grow again and the unemployment rate should go up
  

• The unemployment population held at 58.5% – meaning people were not dropping out of the population
• The U-6 report, which is a broader group, increased to 16.8%
• GDP,which earned its status as an economic indicator for growth in the 1950s, showed a revised annualized gain of 5.9% in the 4th quarter of 2009
• PMI, a measure of manufacturing pace, showed a reading of 56.5% (58.4%last month). Anything above 50% means the machines are running
  

Specific Segment Job numbers:

• Manufacturing added 1,000 jobs
• Construction lost 64,000 jobs
• Retailers lost 400 jobs
  
• Leisure and Hospitality Services grew by 7,000 jobs
  
• Government sector lost 18,000, Federal gains were 7,000
  
• Education and Health Services grew by 32,000 jobs

• Health Care and Social Assistance grew by 20,400
  

• Professional and Business Services grew by 51,000

• Temporary work added 48,000 jobs in Feb

Wage (can be revised):

• The average weekly paycheck (seasonally adjusted) is $626.58, from $629.37
  
• The average hourly earning (seasonally adjusted) is $18.93 – up 3 cents
  
• The average hourly work week rose to 33.1, a drop from 33.3
• The snow probably figured into these numbers

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Job Report Stats Summary