Posted by bronxcheer on 5/8/2015 12:08:00 PM (view original):
US employers add solid 223K jobs; rate 5.4 pct., 7-year low
A quick look under the sheets will show part-time job growth, full-time job decline, and stagnant wages. The quality of jobs created are not reflected in that 5.4% unemployment rate but it is nice to see the number moving in the right direction.
From your link:
"The unemployment rate is nearing the level the Fed considers healthy. Yet many other signs suggest that the job market isn't fully recovered. The number of full-time workers, for example, fell in April while the number of part-timers jumped more than 400,000 to 27.7 million— a half-million more than a year ago.
The increase came from Americans who said they preferred part-time work, the report said. The number of part-timers who want full-time jobs declined 100,000 to 6.6 million. That's still above pre-recession levels.
The nation's job growth still isn't raising worker pay much. Average hourly wages rose just 3 cents in April to $24.87. Wages have risen only 2.2 percent over the past 12 months, roughly the same sluggish pace of the past six years.
"We're definitely back to that same discussion we were having before March and earlier this year," said Tara Sinclair, a professor at George Washington University and chief economist at the job listings service Indeed, said: "Things are looking pretty good and going in the right direction, but where is the wage growth?""