Job numbers: Why Feburary’s numbers are particularly promising

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8.9% the unemployment rate in February, the lowest it’s been in over two years
192k the increase in nonfarm payrolls – the biggest monthly leap since May
58k the jump in January’s payroll numbers in revised estimates source

» Why this jump is a pretty big deal: Simply put, this is all private-sector growth, meaning that business are hiring again. It’s not nearly as quick as economists want it, but the growth is promising, so they’ll take it. Also worth noting – the jump in jobs last May was due to the Census, which means that those were here-today-gone-tomorrow-type jobs. This is actual, real growth. Hopefully it keeps up.

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09 Feb 2011 11:05

The job market has improved only slowly. … This gain was barely sufficient to accommodate the inflow of recent graduates and other new entrants into the labor force and, therefore, not enough to significantly erode the wide margin of slack that remains in our labor market.
Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke • Explaining, in front of the House Budget Committee, the issues he and others are having with the slow pace of the economic recovery. While things are recovering, job growth is way too slow for his comfort. In other news, Bernanke says that inflation is likely to stay low for the foreseeable future, and that the government needs to get the budget situation dealt with. “Creditors would never be willing to lend to a government with debt, relative to national income, that is rising without limit,” he says, suggesting that we could face an actual fiscal crisis if we don’t take heed. Great. source

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My number one focus is going to be making sure that we are competitive, that we are growing, and we are creating jobs not just now but well into the future.
President Barack Obama • Revealing to supporters through his Organizing for America grassroots thingy that he would be focusing on jobs during the State of the Union this time around. “We’re up to it, as long as we come together as a people – Republicans, Democrats, Independents – as long as we focus on what binds us together as a people,” he said. Odds are that Tea Partier Michele Bachmann will pop a hole in that optimism for bipartisanship by the second minute of her response-to-the-response SOTU response, which, based on her long track record, will most assuredly be loaded with lies. So much for that hope, Obama. source

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93k the growth in private-sector employment last month (nice!)
03/07 the last time job growth was that high in a single month (pre-recession)
ten consecutive months of private-sector job growth source

» Not all rosy: The above tally, by payroll processor ADP, is definitely positive, but separate data by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas says that employers were looking to cut jobs, too – at a rate of 48,711 last month, the highest level in six months. Gotta love contradictory data, but the firms tend to focus on different part of the employment life process.

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