Jobs

Blowout: The U.S. Economy Added 4.8 Million Jobs in June, Unemployment Fell to 11.1%

The U.S. economy added 4.8 million jobs in June and the unemployment rate fell to 11.1 percent, both better than expected. The economy has added around 7.3 million jobs in the past two months. The increase in the ranks of employed workers shows that companies ramped up hiring as the economy reopened and consumers came back to stores, restaurants, and other businesses that had been shuttered in March and April. Job growth was strong in restaurants and bars, reflecting the reopening of those establishments across the country, which added 1.5 million jobs, the Labor Department said Thursday. But employment remains 3.1 million below February’s level, the month before the pandemic hit the U.S. economy. Retail stores added 740,000. There were big gains in clothing stores, furniture stores, department stores, and auto dealerships. Despite the gains, total employment is around 1.5 million below February’s level. Manufacturing employment rose by 356,000 but is down by 757,000 since February. June employment increases were concentrated in the durable goods component, with the auto sector adding 196,000 jobs, accounting for over half of the job gain in manufacturing. Construction employment increased by 158,000 in June, following a gain of 453,000 in May. Employers added the jobs even as much of the country was beset by urban riots, looting of commercial districts, and marches by self-styled “black lives matter” activists calling for the defunding of police and the toppling of statues of political leaders from America’s past. Despite the increase in the number of employed workers, there are still tens of millions fewer Americans working today than February. Compared with a year ago, there are 12.957 million fewer jobs in the U.S. And a separate report on Thursday showed that over 1.427 million Americans were laid off last week, the fifteenth week in a row of one million-plus new claims for unemployment benefits but the thirteenth week in a row of declining claims. The previous week’s level of jobless claims was revised up by 2,000 from 1,480,000 to 1,482,000. Economists had been expecting around 3 million new jobs, although the range of estimates was unusually wide due to the unprecedented nature of the shutdown and reopening. Estimates ranged from 1.9 million jobs to more than 9 million. The unemployment rate was expected to fall to 12.4 percent from 13.3 percent. A report on private payrolls from ADP and Moody’s Analytics on Wednesday estimated that businesses increased their workforces by 2.37 million in June. The estimate for May, which initially showed a loss of 2.76 million jobs, was revised to show a gain of 3 million. The government’s nonfarm payroll data, which covers both private and public sector workers, showed the economy gaining 2.5 million jobs in May, far more than expected and indicating an accelerated pace of the recovery. The number of unemployed people who were out of the labor but rejoined in June rose by 711,000 to 2.4 million. The labor force participation rate increased by 0.7 percentage points in June to 61.5 percent, but is 1.9 percentage points below its February level. Total employment, as measured by the household survey, rose by 4.9 million to 142.2 million in June. The employment-population ratio, at 54.6 percent, rose by 1.8 percentage points over the month but is 6.5 percentage points lower than in February. Average hourly wages are up 5 percent compared with a year ago, although they fell 1.3 percent compared with May. Average wages often rise at times of mass layoffs when lower-paid employees are more likely to lose their jobs. The average workweek slipped from 34.7 hours to 34.5 hours. The number of unemployed persons who were on temporary layoff decreased by 4.8 million in June to 10.6 million, following a decline of 2.7 million in May. But this was more than offset by an increase in the number of permanent job losers, which rose by 588,000 to 2.9 million in June. It’s likely that some people who considered themselves only temporarily laid off now realize they have been permanently cut. The Trump administration’s aid programs appear to be working. Direct relief payments to taxpayers and enhanced unemployment have kept incomes up despite the huge rise in unemployment, which in turn has boosted demand for consumer products. The Paycheck Protection Progam, which provides forgivable loans to small businesses that avoid layoffs, also seems to have supported employment and rehiring. While some in Washington, D.C. may see the better than expected job figures as a reason to pull back on the aid or decline to extend enhanced unemployment benefits past their end of July expiration, a stronger case can be made for extending aid that has played such a crucial role in helping the labor market recover. Without the loans, relief payments, and unemployment enhancement, it is unlikely consumer demand would support such high levels of hiring. Withdrawing the support prematurely would risk a second-stage collapse in employment. White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow on Thursday said the moment for enhanced unemployment payments had passed. The administration is working on ways to modify the unemployment enhancement so that it does not create a disincentive to work by paying people more in benefits than they earned on the job. That could include stepping down the enhancement from $600 a week, which is paid on top of regular state unemployment benefits, to a lower level, perhaps $300 per week. Another possible solution explored by the administration would be to transform the enhancement into a “back to work bonus” that would continue to be paid when work resumed. Kudlow and others inside the White House have referred to this as a “re-employment bonus” that could replace the “unemployment bonus.” On Wednesday, President Donald Trump said he supported a fresh round of relief payments and indicated that he would increase their size from the $1,200 paid in the prior round. The monthly figures are constructed from data collected mid-month, in this case, the week ended June 12. As a result, they may not reflect any slowdown that may have been caused by a renewed surge of coronavirus infections and backtracking on reopenings in some states later in the month.

Much needed good news!!  And, what’s great is just how WRONG the dominantly liberal mainstream media predicted it would be.  Scroll down to see how that idiot Rachel Maddow blew it.  It’s a beautiful thing, lol.  For more on this story, click on the text above.     🙂

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow predicted that June’s jobs report would be ‘absolutely terrible’

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow may have read the tea leaves wrong as she boldly predicted that June’s jobs report would be “absolutely terrible.” Ahead of the release of the latest jobs report, which showed that 4.8 million jobs were added to the U.S. economy last month, the liberal icon offered a dire warning at the end of her show Wednesday night. “Because Friday is the federal holiday honoring the Fourth of July, we’re actually gonna get the jobless numbers, the unemployment for the month of June a day earlier than we would otherwise expect them,” Maddow told her viewers. “Brace yourself. It’s going to be absolutely terrible, but we should have those as of tomorrow morning.” Well, the jobs report wasn’t “absolutely terrible” after all. The nearly 5 million jobs that were added resulted in the unemployment rate dropping to 11.1 percent from the previous 13.3 percent. Economists expected the rate would be 12.3 percent with an increase of just 3 million jobs amid the recovery from the shutdowns brought upon by the coronavirus outbreak. Maddow emerged as MSNBC’s biggest star amid the Russia investigation, almost exclusively dedicating her primetime show on the latest developments she suggested would lead to evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. However, ever since Special Counsel Robert Mueller concluded his investigation, Maddow’s ratings have plummeted.“The Rachel Maddow Show,” which is MSNBC’s most-watched program, finished the month of May behind five different Fox News programs in total viewership, including non-primetime shows “The Five” and “Special Report with Bret Baier.” Maddow’s performance in May was even more alarming among the key demographic of adults age 25-54, where she averaged 455,000 viewers to finish tied for No. 7 in cable news, behind five different Fox News shows and even one program on MSNBC’s fellow liberal network CNN. Maddow has been outside the top five cable news programs among total viewers and outside the top six in the demo for four consecutive months. Maddow has shed demo viewers for three straight months at the same time America has seen an unprecedented news cycle filled with everything from a global pandemic to rampant joblessness to the tragic death of George Floyd in police custody.

It’s truly amazing Rachel Maddow has even one viewer.  She comes across as this erudite, smarter than everyone else, arrogant, liberal elitist…and the thing is..  She is spectacularly stupid, and wrong about almost everything.  This is just the latest example of her being oh so wrong, that we’re very happy to document here for you.  You’re welcome.       🙂

Hidden Figures: Black Employment Expanded in May

What’s the best-kept secret about the labor market in May? Probably the expansion of black employment. The number of African Americans holding jobs expanded to 16,523,000 from 16,240,000 in May. That 283,000 rise was more than ten time the rise of the population, so it involves a real expansion of employment among African Americans. Both black men and black women gained jobs. Black male jobholders increased by 170,000 to 8.97 million. Black female jobholders rose by 102,000 to 10.97 million. Those are record-high gains for each category. So why did Bloomberg and others report these record-high job gains as if they were losses? “Trump Invokes Floyd on Job Data Even as Black Unemployment Soars,” a Bloomberg headline proclaimed. The black unemployment rate did rise slightly in May, ticking up from 16.7 to 16.8. But that was because the reopening of the American economy drew more African Americans into the workforce, increasing it by 377,000 workers. That raised the workforce participation rate from 58.6 percent to 59.6 percent. The unemployment rate is the percentage of workers who say they want work but cannot find it. Even with no change in employment, it can fall if people stop looking for jobs, becoming what economists call “discouraged workers.” And it can rise if more people look for work, which is what happened in May for African Americans. In other words, the black unemployment rate rose for the best possible reason: because more African Americans were finding jobs, drawing even more into the workforce. That is how President Donald Trump could have explained to PBS Newshour White House correspondent Yamiche Alcindor that this is “a victory” It’s also notable that even with the expansion of the workforce, African American unemployment dropped to 15.5 from 16.1. It rose among black women from 16.4 to 16.5 and black teenagers from 28 percent to 34 percent. Of course, African American employment has still suffered horrendously under the coronavirus shutdowns. Back in February, the participation rate had risen all the way to 63.1 percent. The unemployment rate had fallen 5.8 percent. A total of 19.73 million African Americans held jobs. So the economy has a long way to go to rebuild black employment. But May was a good month for black employment and the beginning of the recovery rather than another step-down.

Indeed..  Definitely good news!

Business Poll Backfires, Shows Public Wants Less Immigration

A business-funded poll backfired by showing that 56 percent of swing voters favor President Donald Trump’s decision to curb legal immigration for 60 days. Only 15 percent of claimed independents in the May 6-8 poll of almost 2,000 likely voters strongly disapproved of Trump’s April 22 policy, according to the survey commissioned by the D.C.-based Bipartisan Policy Center. Also, 14 percent of respondents declined to state an opinion, suggesting even more support for Trump. The BPC is a pro-migration advocacy group backed by businesses and run by Washington insiders and corporate chiefs. In 2014, the BPC was a cheerleader for the “Gang of Eight” amnesty and cheap labor bill, which was finally stopped by GOP primary voters in June 2014. The poll results are a problem for business lobbyists, who fear Trump will extend his popular temporary policy. The results are also a problem for the BPC, which favors a higher inflow of consumers, workers, and renters, which can nudge down wages and drive up real estate values. The public, in contrast, wants less legal immigration and more jobs and higher wages for Americans. The survey, which was conducted by Morning Consult, also showed the public rejects the BPC effort to portray migrants as essential workers in the coronavirus crisis. Roughly 21 percent of swing-voters said that “Allowing migrant workers to enter the U.S. to continue to support the food supply” is in their top four of six priorities. But that inflow was the lowest priority for 51 percent of swing-voting people who said they were “somewhat” favorable or unfavorable of Trump. The poll showed that 50 percent of liberals and 44 percent of people with post-graduate degrees believe immigration helps the coronavirus economic recovery. But only 24 percent of female independents and 13 percent of Republicans share that view. The poll was not skewed towards Trump. In fact, only 38 percent of the independents said they somewhat or strongly approved of Trump’s performance, while 55 percent said they somewhat or strongly disapproved of Trump’s performance. The poll avoided questions that would highlight the public’s increased emphasis on jobs for Americans instead of welcoming more migrants into a claimed “nation of immigrants.” Recent polls show that Americans generously want to welcome migrants — but they rationally want companies to hire Americans before importing foreign workers, especially in an economic crisis. These polls show that the public strongly objects to companies hiring foreign workers before American employees. For example, an August 2017 poll reported that 68 percent of Americans oppose companies’ use of H-1B visa workers to outsource U.S.-based jobs that could be held by Americans. In response, pro-migration business-first groups try to divert public attention away from the harmful impact of migration on Americans’ jobs and wages. For example, pro-migration groups commission and publicize skewed polls which prod Americans to voice support for attractive young migrants — such as “dreamers” — or for foreign doctors, and to publicly endorse the 1960s myth that the United States is a nation of immigrants, not a nation of and for Americans.

WaPo Poll: 65 Percent of Americans Want All Immigration to U.S. Halted

A majority of Americans want all immigration to the United States halted in the midst of the Chinese coronavirus crisis, a new poll reveals. Last week, President Trump signed an executive order slowing green card processing for less than ten percent of the 1.2 million legal immigrants annually admitted to the U.S. In addition to these annual legal immigrant admissions are millions of foreign nationals who can still arrive on foreign visa worker programs, student visas, tourist visas, and special immigrant visas — all of which have continued despite more than 26 million Americans now unemployed. The latest Washington Post/University of Maryland poll finds that Americans, by a majority, want all immigration to the U.S. halted. When asked “Would you support or oppose temporarily blocking nearly all immigration into the United States during the coronavirus outbreak?” about 65 percent of Americans said they favored such a policy. Only 34 percent opposed an immigration moratorium while one percent had no opinion. Recent Pew Research Center and Ipsos polling have found similar support for reassessing current immigration levels. The latest Pew survey revealed that more than 8-in-10 Americans call mass migration a “threat” to the U.S. An Ipsos poll found that nearly 8-in-10 Americans want all immigration halted. The poll comes as some lawmakers, like Reps. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) and Lance Gooden (R-TX), have called on Trump to expand his executive order to include most of all visa programs to prevent Americans from being forced to compete for scarce U.S. jobs against foreign workers. An earlier draft of the executive order, exclusively obtained by Breitbart News, showed that the administration had initially intended to suspend the H-1B visa program — as well as H-2B visas, E visas, J-1 visas, B visas, and O visas — but those provisions were removed from the final draft.

And we wonder why…  They definitely need to be added back into the official executive order, and we need to make this moratorium on immigration indefinite; not just 60-90 days as it currently stands.  And that’s just the LEGAL side of the immigration issue.  On the ILLEGAL side of the issue, the Trump administration needs to seize on this wave of overwhelming voter support against immigration, and take an even stronger position against illegal immigration.  With that in mind, NOW is the time to seriously ramp up construction of the southern border wall/fence.  Also, NOW is the time to be deporting illegal aliens by the hundreds of thousands (and yes, you read that correctly), paying particular attention to known gang members, convicted criminal aliens (who have already served their prison sentences), and those already determined by an immigration judge to be deported….regardless of age or gender.  To do anything less is NOT in our country’s national security, or economic, interests.  We have over 22 MILLION illegal aliens in our country, and that number is rising.  That’s insane!  Illegals crush our national infrastructure (i.e. hospitals, courts, jails, etc.) as it is…and with this whole Wuhan virus crisis, we simply cannot afford to have them here.  So, time to round them up and deport them immediately.

Poll Shows 2:1 Support of Trump’s Jobs-for-Americans Immigration Shift

Fifty-seven percent of 1,000 likely voters approve of President Donald Trump’s temporary halt to some forms of immigration, says a Rasmussen poll conducted April 22-23. Fifty-seven percent of men and 56 percent of women supported Trump’s unprecedented action to change immigration rules in favor of American job-seekers during the coronavirus epidemic. The policy question — “Do you favor or oppose a temporary halt to most immigration?” — was approved by 59 percent of younger people, 85 percent of Republicans, 34 percent of Democrats, and 43 percent of black Americans. The American-first policy was also applauded by 62 percent of people who “somewhat disapprove” of Trump and by 23 percent of people who “strongly disapprove” of Trump. Overall, just 31 percent of respondents — including just 53 percent of Democrats — opposed the jobs-for-Americans proclamation. The Rasmussen poll may have understated support for Trump’s policy, partly because media-magnified criticism and political divisiveness causes some respondents to hide their opinions. For example, 13 percent of all respondents said they were “not sure” about Trump’s policy. But only two percent of Republicans picked the “not sure” option, while 18 percent of Democrats and 19 percent of “other” hid their views with “not sure” answers. The pattern of strong support for Trump’s policy weakened when voters were asked a more specific question: “By pausing immigration, we will help put unemployed Americans first in line for jobs. We must first take care of the American worker.” The specific policy got just 42 percent support from people who “somewhat disapprove” of Trump and 18 percent from people who “strongly disapprove.” But the approval rate among women moved only slightly downwards, from 56 percent to 53 percent. The strongest opposition to Trump came from the media-magnified establishment alliance of woke progressives and wealthy employers. Trump’s April 22 policy was disapproved by 48 percent of liberals, 46 percent of people who earn above $200,000, by 43 of post-graduates, 42 percent of “entrepreneur” employers, and — only — 56 percent of people who “strongly disapprove” of Trump. Rasmussen’s panel of 1,000 likely voters seems to be a reasonable sample of the 2020 electorate. Just 33 percent describe themselves as Republicans, while 37 percent said they are Democrats. White Americans comprised only 69 percent of the sample, alongside 13 percent black Americans and 18 percent “other.” The Rasmussen poll matches prior surveys that show that Americans generously want to welcome migrants and rationally want companies to hire Americans before importing workers. These polls show that the public strongly objects to companies hiring foreign workers before American employees. For example, an August 2017 poll reported that 68 percent of Americans oppose companies’ use of H-1B visa workers to outsource U.S.-based jobs that could be held by Americans.

For more, click on the text above.

Opinion/Analysis: Trump’s coronavirus immigration halt is legal and necessary

Critics of President Trump have made endless arguments that he has not acted quickly and boldly enough to combat the coronavirus pandemic. They are now getting a dose of the old adage, “be careful what you wish for, it just might come true.” In response to the widespread unemployment caused by the virus, the president said Tuesday that he would sign an executive order to temporarily suspend immigration into the United States for at least 60 days. If the goal is to get Americans back to work, this is one of the best moves the president could make. When America was near full employment just a few months ago, one could at least make a case for a steady immigration flow. If there are more jobs than workers, then more workers are needed. That is no longer the case. There are about 22 million American citizens in desperate need of steady work. They need to be our first priority right now. We often hear that Washington doesn’t look out for the little guy, that it’s all about big business and billionaires. This executive order is all about helping the struggling everyman, and yet the avalanche of criticism has already begun. Critics say it is racist, xenophobic and illegal. All of those accusations are false. The racism charge was used when the president issued his travel ban targeting specific countries. He’s focusing on Muslim countries with people of color, they argued. Ignored was the fact that those countries either were long ago identified as state sponsors of terrorism or could not provide U.S. immigration authorities with reliable documents to vet its citizens to protect our national security. The president’s authority to institute such a ban was vindicated by the Supreme Court’s ruling in Trump v. Hawaii. This new suspension affects foreign nationals of every color and faith, so any charge of racism is patently absurd. Opposition to this suspension will be more than just rhetoric. The anti-borders industry will attack with a flurry of lawsuits meant to serve as a roadblock. The fact is that significant legal, legislative and historical precedent supports the president. In addition to the ruling in Trump v. Hawaii, section 1182(f) of Title 8 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) allows the president to “suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or non-immigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem appropriate.” When Congress debated the INA in 1952, Rep. Francis Walters, D-Pa., one of the bill’s sponsors, was prescient when he said, “[In a time of foreign pandemic], people might conceivably in large numbers come to the United States and bring all sorts of communicable diseases with them. More than that, suppose we have a period of great unemployment? In the judgment of the committee, it is advisable at such times to permit the president to say that for a certain time we are not going to aggravate that situation.” The congressman may as well have been speaking about our current predicament. When America faced similar hyper-unemployment during the Great Depression, the federal government drastically reduced legal immigration levels by almost 90 percent. Just as important, there is significant popular support for the president’s action. A recent Harvard-Harris poll found that 83 percent of Americans favor ending all immigration from Mexico during the coronavirus pandemic. These are not people who fear others who do not look like them. They are fearful that they will not be able to provide for their families, and they rightfully expect their government to protect our citizens first. This crisis has caused us to ask some very fundamental questions about the relationship between government and the people. It also shines a bright light on the disconnect between ordinary citizens and many in the world of politics. The first responsibility of the American government must be the well-being of American citizens. President Trump should be lauded, not criticized, for accepting that responsibility when so many in Washington do not.

Agreed 100%!!  Thanks to Dale L. Wilcox for that spot-on op/ed.  Dale is executive director and general counsel at the Immigration Reform Law Institute, a public interest law firm working to defend the rights and interests of the American people from the negative effects of illegal migration.  Outstanding!!      🙂

Tucker demands halt to ‘demented’ policy letting foreign workers take US jobs amid unemployment crisis

As the coronavirus contagion ravages the U.S. economy and social distancing requirements force the closure of businesses and put millions out of work, the federal government is actively inviting foreign labor into the country to seek jobs, Tucker Carlson said Wednesday on “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” According to Carlson, the Department of Homeland Security released 20,000 H-2B visas Wednesday for seasonal workers to take landscaping, food processing and tourism jobs — while another 15,000 “bonus visas” are scheduled to be released in May. “By law, the United States only has to offer 66,000 H-2B visas per year,” the host said. “But [acting] Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf has used his discretionary powers to add 35,000 extra visas. “So that’s a total of 100,000 workers coming to this country to take jobs during the single biggest unemployment crisis in a century,” Carlson said. “It’s demented.” Carlson noted that the St. Louis Fed recently estimated the unemployment rate could reach 32 percent and put more people out of work than in the worst year of the Great Depression. “At some point coronavirus will be gone, but we could live with the crushing unemployment numbers for far longer and that’s a disaster for people, individuals and families — but it’s also a threat to the stability of our country,” Carlson said. “Nothing makes a nation more volatile than the huge numbers of people who don’t have jobs,” he said, adding that without intervention, America could become a “has-been superpower beholden on China.” Carlson urged Trump to take immediate executive action to stop the release of the visas. “If President Obama was able to ignore existing immigration law to create DACA, and he did, it’s possible for our president to cut legal immigration to protect the nation,” he continued, citing Section 1182(f) of Title VIII in the United States Code: “Whenever the president finds that the entry of any aliens or any class of aliens in the United States would be detrimental to the interest in the United States he may make a proclamation and for such period as he shall deem necessary to suspend the entry of all aliens or class of aliens as immigrants were nonimmigrants or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem appropriate.” Carlson added that the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed the validity of that section of law when it upheld Trump’s “travel ban.”

Tucker is exactly right here, and we call on the Trump Administration to restrict, not increase, such H-2B visas at this time.  We lost over 700,000 jobs in March, and American citizens need jobs more than ever.  It’s time to cut off ALL immigration, legal AND illegal, until we get our country back on its feet again.

Amazon to Add 100,000 Jobs, Raise Pay During ‘Unprecedented’ Needs of Coronavirus

Amazon announced Monday it will invest over $350 million to open up 100,000 new jobs and to increase pay by $2 per hour in the U.S. and around the world during the coronavirus pandemic. The Seattle-based multinational e-commerce company, said Dave Clark, senior vice president of worldwide operations, in a press release that it is seeing a “significant increase in demand” and accompanying “unprecedented” labor needs. The 100,000 new jobs would be full- and part-time positions “across the U.S. in our fulfillment centers and delivery network to meet the demand from people relying on Amazon’s service during this stressful time, particularly those most vulnerable to being out in public.” Amazon stated: ” As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, Amazon and our network of partners are helping communities around the world in a way that very few can—delivering critical supplies directly to the doorsteps of people who need them. Getting a priority item to your doorstep is vital as communities practice social-distancing, particularly for the elderly and others with underlying health issues. We are seeing a significant increase in demand, which means our labor needs are unprecedented for this time of year.” The company said it is reaching out to those who may have been “furloughed” from their jobs due to the coronavirus crisis and are seeking temporary employment. “We want those people to know we welcome them on our teams until things return to normal and their past employer is able to bring them back,” Amazon stated, inviting interested individuals to apply at www.amazon.com/jobsnow. The tech giant said it will be adding “an additional $2 USD per hour worked through April from our current rate of $15/hour or more, depending on the region, £2 per hour in the UK, and approximately €2 per hour in many EU countries.” Amazon stated the company is following necessary safety precautions at its sites during the coronavirus crisis, including social distancing and “enhanced and frequent cleaning.”

Blowout: U.S. Economy Added 273,000 Jobs in February

The great American jobs creation machine is firing on all cylinders, with February’s jobs figures showing far more strength than expected and both January and December being raised higher than previously reported. The U.S. economy added 273,000 jobs in February and the unemployment rate ticked down to 3.5 percent, the government said Friday. Economists had forecast 175,000 nonfarm payroll growth and the unemployment rate to tick down slightly to 3.5 percent from 3.6 percent the prior month. Average hourly earnings were up by 3 percent compared with a year ago. The average workweek climbed a bit to 34.4 hours. December’s estimate of payroll growth was revised upward by 37,000 to 184,000. January’s number was revised up by 48,000 to 273,000. That adds a total of 85,000 more jobs than had previously been reported putting the three-month moving average at 243,000 jobs The labor market has been a bright spot for the American economy in recent months, with unemployment at or near 50-year lows and the economy continuing to add hundreds of thousands of jobs month after month. The strength of the labor market has boosted consumer sentiment and consumer spending, keeping the pace of economic growth stronger than in many of the other major economies around the world. The coronavirus is widely expected to slow economic growth this year, although the impact may be short-lived if the outbreak is contained or fizzles out after a few months. The Labor Department said there was no sign that the outbreak had hurt employment in February. The strength of the labor market, however, may bolster the economy’s ability to withstand the pressure.

Wow!!  More great news in this Trump economy!!   🙂