Employers slashed jobs in February, the government reported today, as the nation’s broader economic problems spread through the labor market . . . The jobs report, from the Labor Department, indicated that the nation had 63,000 fewer net jobs in February than in January, the second straight month of job losses and the worst monthly performance since 2003.

Then there is this interesting sidebar (emphasis added):

The unemployment rate ticked down to 4.8 percent, from 4.9 percent, though that appeared to be an indicator that people were dropping out of labor force, not that the labor market was improving.

Now, “dropping out of the labor force” is a loaded phrase, essentially meaning folks gave up looking for a job. The only trouble with that is this: the Labor Department actually tracks that specific type of person; they’re called “discouraged” job seekers). If what the Postimplied were true, one would expect discouraged workers to rise as unemployment fell (this will almost certainly be used by Ms. Clinton and Mr. Obama to explain the drop in unemployment).

Well, guess what? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (January numbers and February numbers), the number of discouraged workers actually fell in February, and by more the 18%! In fact, the entire number of would-be workers who looked for work over the last year and available for work but were not counted in the unemployment numbers (because they stopped looking this month) also fell by over 9%. By contrast, the number of jobs themselves fell by less than 0.2%.

Now, what causes and doesn’t cause unemployment is one of the great arguments economists have from month to month, and we certainly live in an economically uncertain moment. However, is anyone considering that firms reduced their staffs because they couldn’t find anyone to fill their vacant posts?

Lest you think I’m whistling past the graveyard, take a look at this analysis by First Trust Advisors(h/t - Ramesh Ponnuru - The Corner):

Today’s report on payrolls is disappointing but not nearly as bad as many are making it out to be. Reports on layoffs in February ran below the level of February 2007 and unemployment claims are not signaling recession. What we have is a temporary hiring freeze at many firms in response to fears of a recession, not the kind of layoffs that occur during actual recessions. In addition, the February number may have been influenced by heavy snow that covered much of the US, particularly in the Midwest, which contains much of our nation’s manufacturing sector. This was layered on top of another understandable 26,000 loss in home building jobs.

. . .

Also, the recent weakening in the labor market resembles the acceleration of post-recession job loses in early 2003, as fears mounted about the war with Iraq. That weakening was temporary, and we expect recent weakness to be temporary too. We were glad to see the unemployment rate tick down to 4.8% and note that the measure of the unemployment rate that includes “discouraged workers” also ticked down.

Granted, they’re not entertaining by theory, but it’s pretty clear that things are not as bad as they seem.

Source: By The Right Wing Liberal