Gordon Bennett - 742k jobs down in March

StageLeft

No Lifer
Sep 29, 2000
70,150
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Yikes

I finally know two people who have lost jobs (hey, I have no friends, but you all knew that, so this is like 50% of the people I know) and another guy who gets these weird temporary "layoffs" where his employer just gives him an unpaid vacation for a week at a time.

This is an ugly number, which is worse than January or Feb. It's symptomatic of, I believe, a terrible Q1 and one that will help bring the market down as the numbers start to be released from companies.

I remember in Jan a lot of huge layoffs making the news. I don't really see many of them now, but obviously something is still happening!
 

Genx87

Lifer
Apr 8, 2002
41,095
513
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Damn and I was hoping we hit rock bottom in Feb. Well maybe March instead?

I have noticed a difference on the roads in Minneapolis. 12 months at the same time frame it would be pretty slow. Now I fly through at 65mph and get home 20 mins earlier.
 
Oct 30, 2004
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It should be noted that our nation also needs about 150,000 new jobs each month, not to gain jobs, but merely to keep pace with the population growth of working-aged people. So, the actual March job loss relative to population is really more like around 892,000 jobs.
 

ranmaniac

Golden Member
May 14, 2001
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There's also a lot of underemployment now, as people are taking reduced hours, and/or paycuts. Even some hospitals are closing or having a hiring freeze.
 

miketheidiot

Lifer
Sep 3, 2004
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with a number this far off the estimate, i wouldn't be surprised to see a 'better' number when more accurate numbers are released.
 

Dr. Detroit

Diamond Member
Sep 25, 2004
8,143
608
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Unemployment number is such a sham.

The real number needs to take into consideration the UNDER employed. So many companies are doing reduced work-weeks or every other Friday off.

Sure they are employed but at a 10-20% reduction in pay.


 

heyheybooboo

Diamond Member
Jun 29, 2007
6,278
0
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Originally posted by: Fmr12B
Unemployment number is such a sham.

The real number needs to take into consideration the UNDER employed. So many companies are doing reduced work-weeks or every other Friday off.

Sure they are employed but at a 10-20% reduction in pay.

I wish.

The Little Woman got cut 40%. Her mortgage is now nearly 60% of her take home pay ...
 

MovingTarget

Diamond Member
Jun 22, 2003
8,999
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/lines up for graduation class picture

"Everybody smile and say Unemployed!"

/click

--Overheard at a prior graduation at my alma mater...

It sucks to be trying to re-enter the job market as it stands now
 

Jiggz

Diamond Member
Mar 10, 2001
4,329
0
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Originally posted by: winnar111
Cue another stimulus package to 'save' a million jobs.

Nope! There are still more than 3.5M working Americans or jobs so it means the first stimulus pkg is already working and has already "saved" more than 3.5M jobs! Remember? It's supposed to create or save at least 3.5M jobs. Well it may have not created 3.5M jobs but it at least saved 3.5M jobs!

And today, the first payback is in effect, "increase tax on tobacco. . .", now let's go back with the next topic, legalization of drugs! How much tax revenue . . .?
 

ProfJohn

Lifer
Jul 28, 2006
18,251
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0
Let's keep in mind that employment numbers are one of the last things to recover after a slowdown.
 

ebaycj

Diamond Member
Mar 9, 2002
5,418
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Originally posted by: Genx87
Damn and I was hoping we hit rock bottom in Feb. Well maybe March instead?

I have noticed a difference on the roads in Minneapolis. 12 months at the same time frame it would be pretty slow. Now I fly through at 65mph and get home 20 mins earlier.

The banks apparently were artificially (but legally) inflating their bottom lines in Jan-Feb too, March was MUCH worse for them than Jan-Feb. Look for them to fall as well.
 

winnar111

Banned
Mar 10, 2008
2,847
0
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Originally posted by: Jiggz
Originally posted by: winnar111
Cue another stimulus package to 'save' a million jobs.

Nope! There are still more than 3.5M working Americans or jobs so it means the first stimulus pkg is already working and has already "saved" more than 3.5M jobs! Remember? It's supposed to create or save at least 3.5M jobs. Well it may have not created 3.5M jobs but it at least saved 3.5M jobs!

And today, the first payback is in effect, "increase tax on tobacco. . .", now let's go back with the next topic, legalization of drugs! How much tax revenue . . .?

Props to Zero, I suppose. He made up a situation in which he can never be wrong.

http://www.reuters.com/article.../idUSN0332159720090403

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. unemployment rate soared to 8.5 percent in March, the highest since 1983, as employers slashed 663,000 jobs and cut workers' hours to the lowest on record, government data showed on Friday.

In a report underscoring the distress in the labor market, the Labor Department also revised its data for January to show job losses of 741,000 that month, the biggest decline since October 1949.

The drop in non-farm payrolls in February was unrevised at 651,000.

U.S. equity futures and government bond prices fell and the U.S. dollar rose against the yen after the data.

The report, coming in the wake of recent data that have surprised on the upside, did little to alter perceptions the economy's downward momentum was slowing as unemployment was a lagging indicator and tended to peak well after the recession ended, economists said.

"The report does not contradict the growing notion that the economy is finding a bottom. Employment will not turn on a dime and certainly there's no sign of strength, but at least it's not getting worse and worse and worse," said Pierre Ellis, senior economist at Decision Economics in New York.

Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast non-farm payrolls falling 650,000 in March. They had forecast the unemployment rate rising to 8.5 percent from 8.1 percent the prior month.

Since the start of the recession in December 2007, the economy has shed 5.1 million jobs, with about two thirds of the losses occurring in the last five months, the department said.

Job losses in March were broad based, with only education and health services adding jobs.

The manufacturing sector shed 161,000 jobs in March, after eliminating 169,000 positions the prior month. Construction industries lost 126,000 jobs after bleeding 107,000 in February. The service-providing industry axed 358,000 positions after shedding 366,000 in February.

"In March the number of individuals experiencing long spells of joblessness rose by 265,000 to 3.2 million. Nearly one in four of the unemployed had been jobless for 27 weeks or more, the highest ratio since mid-1983," Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Keith Hall said in a statement.

Rising unemployment is cutting into household incomes, which have already been decimated by the collapse in asset prices, restricting their spending ability.

Illustrating the severity of the unemployment situation, a measure of unemployed people working part-time for economic reasons and those who have given up looking for work, raced to a record 15.6 percent from 14.8 percent in February.

With companies cutting back in response to depressed demand conditions, the length of the workweek fell to 33.2 hours in March, the lowest on record, compared to 33.3 hours the prior month. The factory workweek edged down to 39.3 hours from 39.5 in February.

Weekly overtime hours at factories was steady at 2.7 hours in March. Average hourly earnings rose marginally to $18.50 from $18.47 in February.



We've had 16 years of 5% unemployment. Welcome to 9-10% for the next 4.
 

retrospooty

Platinum Member
Apr 3, 2002
2,031
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Originally posted by: ProfJohn
Let's keep in mind that employment numbers are one of the last things to recover after a slowdown.

Exactly... When all teh indicators start to fall, jobs start dropping 3-6 months later... On the reverse side the same is true. Once things start picking up, it takes 3-6 months for Jobs to start increasing. Right now it looks like we are about hitting the low point. I bet that in 6 months time we will see unemployment figures improving.

And to the OP - this is NOT a depression, not even close. Depression is when unemployment is 3x what it is now, and 10's of millions of people are waiting is soup lines just to get a meal. Get some perspective man.
 

retrospooty

Platinum Member
Apr 3, 2002
2,031
74
86
Originally posted by: winnar111

Props to Zero, I suppose. He made up a situation in which he can never be wrong.

Either that, or you have the situation in your mind where no matter what, he can never be right. Troll on amigo, troll on.
 

dullard

Elite Member
May 21, 2001
24,998
3,326
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Originally posted by: Genx87
Damn and I was hoping we hit rock bottom in Feb. Well maybe March instead?
I realize that you posted 2 days before the real data came out. But preliminary data looks like January was rock bottom. Feb and March were significantly better than Jan (although they still are bad).

 

StageLeft

No Lifer
Sep 29, 2000
70,150
5
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Depression is when unemployment is 3x what it is now, and 10's of millions of people are waiting is soup lines just to get a meal. Get some perspective man.
Technically, no, that is not the definition of a depression. As with recessions, one often doesn't know one is in one until it's finished.

The jury is still out on the bottom and whether it's been hit or not.
I realize that you posted 2 days before the real data came out. But preliminary data looks like January was rock bottom. Feb and March were significantly better than Jan (although they still are bad).
This is true, but also based on reevaluating January. It's possible that a reevaluation of Feb and march will have similar interference.
 

dullard

Elite Member
May 21, 2001
24,998
3,326
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Originally posted by: retrospooty
And to the OP - this is NOT a depression, not even close. Depression is when unemployment is 3x what it is now, and 10's of millions of people are waiting is soup lines just to get a meal. Get some perspective man.
Go back and look at the unemployment rate in the first two years of the great depression(s) and get back to us. Hint: The first year of the great depressions looked just like our unemployment rate in the last 12 months.
 

OCGuy

Lifer
Jul 12, 2000
27,227
36
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Originally posted by: Budmantom
When are Obama's 3.5 million jobs going to show up?

Hey, give him time!

What we really need is another $XXXB "stimulus".

Or maybe even print another $1T in play money.
 

winnar111

Banned
Mar 10, 2008
2,847
0
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Originally posted by: retrospooty
Originally posted by: winnar111

Props to Zero, I suppose. He made up a situation in which he can never be wrong.

Either that, or you have the situation in your mind where no matter what, he can never be right. Troll on amigo, troll on.

When his porkulus package runs up more deficits than the first 43 presidents? Yeah.
 

Budmantom

Lifer
Aug 17, 2002
13,103
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Originally posted by: retrospooty
Originally posted by: Budmantom
When are Obama's 3.5 million jobs going to show up?

Next Tuesday I believe... Douche

We will get jobs on Tuesday and you will be douching... I'm not sure I needed to know the last part.