Inside the Employment Report

An unexpected decline in unemployment rate from 9.4% to 9.0% is extremely deceptive. The secular trend in the civil labor force (see chart below) illustrates the following:

(1) A noticeable deceleration in the growth of the labor force growth since 1956.
(2) The trend in labor force growth deteriorated noticeable after 1973, 2000 and 2007.
(3) The year-over-year contraction in the labor force that began in 2009 is one the strongest and most sustained on record.
(4) The above trends suggest a gradual deterioration in the growth rate of US labor force since 1956. This gradual deterioration has been replaced by a noticeable contraction since 2009. This trend toward a small civilian labor represents a structural change to the economy that supports it; It’s a structural change that is impacting standard of living for all Americans.

Civilian Labor Force (CLF) And Year-Over-Year (YOY) Change:


Headline: Unemployment falls to 9.0 pct., only 36K new jobs

The unemployment rate dropped sharply last month to 9 percent, the lowest level in nearly two years. But the economy generated only 36,000 net new jobs, the fewest in four months.

The January report illustrates how job growth remains the economy's weakest spot, even as other economic indicators point to a recovery that is strengthening.

Source: finance.yahoo.com