december 2015 jobs report shows continued growth for u.s. economy

7/25/2019 December 2015 Jobs Report shows continued growth for U.S. economy

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December 2015 Jobs Report shows continued growth for U.S.

economy

Fridays release of the December 2015 Jobs Report by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics gave

renewed hope to many economists, and politicians, with the good news that 292,000 jobs were

added, a figure which exceeded predictions of 211,000, and now brings the total, for 2015, to 2.65

million jobs, a boost to the U.S. economy, and the second best year since 1999.

For previous December reports, in 2013, it was 199,000 and in 2014, the number was 260,000,

which gave general praise, from many quarters, with this report, especially from the federal

government. "There are a lot of indicators that show the economy continues to move in the right

direction," U.S. Secretary of Labor Tom Perez told CNNMoney, echoing the optimism of many for

the nations third straight month of gains.

With unemployment of 5% holding steady from the November report, many feel that despite global

economic worries, and a downturn of the European markets, despite added concerns about thefinancial slowdown in China, this report represents a turning point for the American economy, from

the grim days of the Great Recession.

The Obama administration noted, on the White House website, that inflation-adjusted wages have

generally been rising, and job growth has picked up in sectors that traditionally provide good,

middle-class jobs. The happy mantra, for them, as well as others: jobs are being created at a 1.9%

annual rate, wages are growing at a rate of 2.3%, the unemployment rate fell at a surprisingly

steady pace from a peak of 10% in October 2009 to 5% in October 2015 before remaining

unchanged from last month. White House Press Secretary, Josh Earnest, said that with this report,

the American people can be justifiably excited.

Yet, others, like Kit Juckes, a strategist at Societe Generale, were less sanguine about these stats,

and felt that the real excitement lay elsewhere. He told The Wall Street Journal: Why, given these

incredibly boring and steady Lippman and Associatestrends, would I look for either a dramatic

acceleration in U.S. growth or a dramatic slowdown until something changes? The excitement

therefore, comes from the base effect that means a modest 0.1% monthly increase would jump the

annual wage growth up to 2.7%, its highest rate in the post-GFC era.
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of unemployment, say 3.8 percent, a sizeable increase in participation would be needed to reach that

level. For example, while the rate of participation for twenty-five to fifty-four year olds is 80.8

percent, its still less than hoped for to meet pre-recession levels.

This is the first job report since the Federal Reserve increased interest rates last month, and they

will undoubtedly be watching to determine future rate hikes, but the December numbers represent a

vote of confidence in employment gains. But, even these figures are expected, as is usual, to be

seasonally adjusted.

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december 2015 jobs report shows continued growth for u.s. economy

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