Tech & Biz

December Jobs Report: 85,000 Jobs Lost in December 2009

by Jordan Yerman | January 8, 2010 at 12:06 pm

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The December Jobs Report shows that 85,000 jobs were cut in December 2009, and that unemployment in the US remains at 10%. So, while new job loss may be slowing down, it's still very difficult to find a job in the US. A knock-on effect is that job satisfaction is down at 45%, since people unhappy with their current positions aren't crazy enough to quit without something else lined up... and there's not much else to line up at this point.

Basically, slowing or steady job loss and unemployment rates are not really positive signs- they're just less-negative signs.

On the White House's blog, economic adviser Christina Romer writes, "Today’s employment report, though a setback from November, is consistent with the gradual labor market stabilization we have been seeing over the last several months. Payroll employment declined 85,000 in December. To put this number in perspective, employment declined 139,000 in September and 127,000 in October. So, in a broad sense the trend toward moderating job loss is continuing."

... Sort of. October's and November's reports were adjusted as follows:

The previous two month's were revised. October saw more job losses (-111,000 to -127,000), but November moved from -11,000 to +4,000.

So, while it's been a zig-zag line over the past three months, job losses are down compared to earlier in 2009, but that's only part of the story.

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Phyrillas

at 13:11 on January 8th, 2010

It's amazing how the Obama Administration is allowed to spin the dreadful economic picture, but when you have control of the news media, it's easy to promote your propaganda.

snuffysmith

at 07:08 on January 11th, 2010

Graph of the Day for January 11, 2010 Randall Hoven
"Look, John's last minute economic plan does nothing to tackle the number one job facing the middle class, and it happens to be, as Barack says, a three-letter word: jobs, J-O-B-S, jobs." Joe Biden.

Source: Innocentbystanders.

Source: St. Louis Fed.

Hoven's Index for January 11, 2010

Job losses in December 2009: 85,000.
Job losses in all of 2009 (Dec. 2008 to Dec. 2009): 4,164,000.
Jobs gained in previous 8 years (Dec. 2000 to Dec. 2008): 2,589,000.
Source: St. Louis Fed.

Unemployment rate in December 2009: 10.0%.
Teen unemployment rate in December 2009: 27.1%.
Source: US Dept. of Labor.