SUMMARY: In the article “Employers Added 257,000 Jobs in January,” published on February 6, 2015, we learned that the unemployment rate rose to 5.7% mainly because close to 705,000 Americans went back into the labor force looking for work, which is looking positive for business owners looking for employees. Average hourly earnings increased 8 cents to $24.75 an hour and are up 2.2% over the past year, showing great improvement for the morale of the US government. Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. Economist at Capital Economics, explains that “employment growth is clearly on fire and its beginning to put upward pressure on wage growth.” This is great for those looking for jobs because they are seeing that experts in the field are saying the search for a job may not be so hard anymore.
ANALYSIS: It was great to see that jobs are being created because the demand for jobs coming from those needing jobs way outnumbered the supply coming from the employers. Wages are increasing, which means our economy is becoming reliable again. It was shocking to read that weather can potentially affect employer’s decision to create more jobs along with those looking for jobs not wanting to go out and pursue one. I have a good feeling that this number will either stay constant in upcoming months or even better, increase each month.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: If you were an economist, would you think this amount of job creation will continue to rise?
What are some problems that could affect the rise in jobs?
Do you think the government had anything to do with this job creation? Meaning did they force employers to create openings or just let the economy do its own thing?
LINK TO ARTICLE: http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2015/02/06/january-employment-report/22933289/
I am a little confused, the unemployment rate rose because people went back to work? How does that happen? But I agree that it is a good thing that so many people are getting jobs again. I'd imagine the government did play a role in job creation because, in my opinion, the economy doesn't tend to work itself out without outside factors, though I could be wrong.
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