Reluctantly I give Bush credit for this positive news. He took the heat when the economy went into a recession just when he took office. So he gets the credit here...
U.S. payrolls rocket higher in March
Firms add 308,000 workers, much more than forecast MSNBC staff and news service reports
Updated: 9:01 a.m. ET April 02, 2004WASHINGTON - U.S. employment surged last month at the fastest pace in nearly four years, easily outstripping expectations, as workers returned after a grocery store strike and construction hiring bounced back on better weather, a government report on Friday showed.
The latest report from the Labor Department offered comfort to President George W. Bush as the jobs market - a hot political issue in the U.S. presidential campaign — finally made a decisive break to the upside. The economy has lost almost 2 million jobs since Bush took office in January 2001.
The economy rebounded strongly after the 2001 recession and terrorist attacks. But job creation didn’t follow, and hiring remained at a standstill. That appears to be changing. Businesses have added to their payrolls — however slightly — for seven straight months.
Non-farm payrolls climbed 308,000 in March, the Labor Department said, the biggest gain since April 2000 and well above the 103,000 rise expected on Wall Street.
The unemployment rate ticked up to 5.7 percent from the two-year low of 5.6 percent seen in January and February. That occurred because more job seekers renewed their searches last month, but were unsuccessful.
In March, there were 8.35 million people unemployed, compared with 8.17 million the previous month. The average duration of unemployment has been more than 20 weeks, a 20-year high.
Upward revisions to January and February payrolls helped contribute to the positive tone of the report, which could fuel expectations that the Federal Reserve may be closer to raising overnight interest rates from their current 1958 low of 1 percent than had been thought.
U.S. payrolls rocket higher in March
Firms add 308,000 workers, much more than forecast MSNBC staff and news service reports
Updated: 9:01 a.m. ET April 02, 2004WASHINGTON - U.S. employment surged last month at the fastest pace in nearly four years, easily outstripping expectations, as workers returned after a grocery store strike and construction hiring bounced back on better weather, a government report on Friday showed.
The latest report from the Labor Department offered comfort to President George W. Bush as the jobs market - a hot political issue in the U.S. presidential campaign — finally made a decisive break to the upside. The economy has lost almost 2 million jobs since Bush took office in January 2001.
The economy rebounded strongly after the 2001 recession and terrorist attacks. But job creation didn’t follow, and hiring remained at a standstill. That appears to be changing. Businesses have added to their payrolls — however slightly — for seven straight months.
Non-farm payrolls climbed 308,000 in March, the Labor Department said, the biggest gain since April 2000 and well above the 103,000 rise expected on Wall Street.
The unemployment rate ticked up to 5.7 percent from the two-year low of 5.6 percent seen in January and February. That occurred because more job seekers renewed their searches last month, but were unsuccessful.
In March, there were 8.35 million people unemployed, compared with 8.17 million the previous month. The average duration of unemployment has been more than 20 weeks, a 20-year high.
Upward revisions to January and February payrolls helped contribute to the positive tone of the report, which could fuel expectations that the Federal Reserve may be closer to raising overnight interest rates from their current 1958 low of 1 percent than had been thought.
artydanc 
