csua.org/u/6qv -> news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040403/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/economy_42
President Bush news - web sites , whose re-election could depend in large part on the strength of the jobs market, quickly embraced the new figures. The policies are working, Bush said on his seventh visit to West Virginia, a battleground state he hopes to win again in Novembers election. He was there promoting his Jobs for the 21st Century training program. Polls consistently show that jobs and the economy are the top concerns for voters, and a majority favor Democrat John Kerry news - web sites on those issues. Nearly 2 million jobs have been lost since Bush took office in January 2001. Democrats routinely note that Bushs job creation record is the worst of any president since the Great Depression. After three years of punishing job losses, the one-month job creation announced today is welcome news for Americas workers. The report gave economists hope that the weak labor market was turning a crucial corner. Finally the jobs number was not only better than expected, it was downright strong, said Sherry Cooper, chief economist at BMO Nesbitt Burns. For the first time in 44 months, the nations factories did not shed jobs. Revisions to payroll figures also showed a stronger jobs market in the first two months of the year than previously thought. Companies added 205,000 jobs in January and February, instead of the 118,000 reported last month. It looks like were seeing quite a few places where job creation has started to accelerate, said Gary Thayer, chief economist at AG Edwards & Sons Inc.
The Federal Reserve news - web sites still isnt likely to rush to boost short-term interest rates, which are currently at a 45-year low of 1 percent, until the job market maintains hiring gains, economists said. The economy has rebounded strongly, but companies, under intense pressure to compete globally, have been holding down their costs by giving existing employees more work instead of taking on new ones. Businesses have added to their payrolls however slightly for seven straight months. Marchs overall payroll increase of 308,000 was the highest since a match in April 2000. The last time more jobs were added was in March 2000, with an increase of 493,000. It is too early to celebrate, said Sung Won Sohn, chief economist at Wells Fargo in Minneapolis.
He noted that most of the increase was because of part-time workers. The number of people who worked part time for economic reasons rose to 47 million in March, up from 44 million the previous month. The average duration of unemployment has been lengthening, persuading unemployed workers to accept part-time jobs, Sohn said. In March, there were 835 million people unemployed, compared with 817 million the previous month. The average duration of unemployment has been more than 20 weeks, a 20-year high. Technical factors also contributed to the overall hiring increase, Sohn said. Good weather helped boost employment in construction, which rose by 71,000 last month. The end of a strike by California grocery workers was a big factor in the increase in retailers payrolls, which were up by 47,000. The average monthly gain in jobs in the past eight months has been about 95,000 far below the 150,000 to 200,000 jobs needed to absorb new entrants into the labor force, Sohn said. Like last month, the unemployment rate could rise in coming months as workers decide to resume their job searches. So overall, this is a good employment report but not a super employment report, said Anthony Chan, chief economist at Banc One Investment Advisors. The jobless rate for blacks rose to 102 percent from 98 percent in February.
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