Unemployment Holds Tight

The US Department of Labor Statics released their employment numbers for February on March 9^th.  The report showed about 227,000 jobs were created during the month, while the unemployment rate remained unchanged from the January number, 8.3%.  The number of jobs created in February is slightly down from the 284,000 jobs created in January.  Retail jobs declined in February, while the percentage of unemployed men and unemployed women both remained equal at 7.7%.   

  Unemployment data is a key indicator of the strength of the economy and is always closely scrutinized by Wall Street.  Many experts on Wall Street see this report as solid, even though the unemployment rate remains high.  However, critics believe the economy needs more growth and the number of jobs created each month must continue to increase in order to lower the unemployment rate.

  Discouraged workers reentering the job market are one of the key factors in keeping the unemployment rate constant from January to February.  Discouraged workers are not taken into account in the unemployment figures because they are not actively seeking employment.  However, in February economic confidence was high coming off the surprising January unemployment rate, so analyst believe many reentered the market and offset any drop in the rate.     

  I believe in the next couple of months, the unemployment rate will continue to hover around 8.3% as citizens continue to gain confidence in the economy and reenter the workforce. 

  I would not be surprised if the unemployment rate happened to increase.  The more important factor to me is the number of jobs created each month, and, as long as jobs continues to be created the economy will turn itself around.  In addition, with the upcoming presidential election looming, if unemployment drops below 8%, President Obama will have a great speaking point and strong figures to lean on for reelection.  

-Morgan-Reese Hale