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Unemployment Rate Falls To 8.3%, Lowest Since February 2009
By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 3, 2012
Modified Feb 3, 2012
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By
Jen Chung
Published Feb 3, 2012
Modified Feb 3, 2012
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The U.S. Labor Department announced that 243,000 jobs were added in January, sending the unemployment rate to 8.3%, its lowest point since Feburary 2009.
The announcement was better than expected: The Wall Street Journal reports, "Both figures contradicted expectations of a slowdown in job growth to start the year. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast a gain of 125,000 in payrolls and that the jobless rate would remain at 8.5%. The report also indicated that job growth was stronger in previous months than initially reported, with the economy gaining 60,000 jobs beyond the government's preliminary figures for November and December."
The NY Times notes, "The Labor Department’s monthly snapshot of the job market uses a different survey, of households rather than employers, to calculate the unemployment rate. As measured by both the unemployment rate and the number of jobless — which fell to 12.7 million — it was the strongest signal yet that an economic recovery was spreading to the jobs market. The last time the figures were as good was February 2009, President Obama’s first full month in office." However, home prices are still falling and consumer spending is still "restrained"—a Royal Bank of Scotland economist told the Times, "It’s a steady grind in the right direction, but it’s a grind. You’re going to have a situation where you take a couple steps forward and a step backward."
The bad news, according is Bloomberg News, is now there's "doubt on whether the Federal Reserve can wait until 2014 before raising interest rates." Oh, and then there's Europe.
Tagged
economy
jobs
recession
Unemployment
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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