US employers hired workers last year at the fastest pace in five years in the US, with overall payrolls rising by 2.2 million. December's job growth was a bit lower than expected, with the unemployment rate holding at 5.4 percent.
US President George W. Bush called the numbers "very positive," but economists weren't quite so enthusiastic. One said the year went out "like a cow: beefy but docile."
The Labor Department reported on Friday that employers expanded their payrolls by a net 157,000 in December, bringing the year's increase to the highest level since 1999. That year, 3.2 million jobs were created, based on a government survey of businesses. In 2003, there was a net reduction of 61,000 payroll jobs, the department said.
For the year, the average unemployment rate was 5.5 percent. That was the lowest since 2001, when the average annual rate was 4.7 percent.
Bush called the jobs report "a very positive set of numbers" that are proof the economy is growing.
The report didn't wow economists, but it didn't sour them either.
"2004 didn't go out like a lion, but it didn't go out like a lamb," said Ken Mayland, president of ClearView Economics. "It went out like a cow: beefy but docile." He added: "These aren't great results, but they're not tepid either. They're kind of in between."
The figures capped a presidential election year in which job creation was a big concern to many voters, and a potential liability to Bush. Job growth had been slow since the 2001 recession, puzzling economists and policy-makers who expected the labor market to bounce back more quickly.
But ultimately, the economy wasn't enough of a concern to deny Bush a second term.
"With the new year upon us, it's a good time to reflect on whether the economic news Wall Street salutes is equally good news for working families," said AFL-CIO President John Sweeney. Organized labor mobilized to defeat Bush in last year's election.
"Viewed through the prism of jobs -- the measure Americans care about most, the economy remains unbalanced and unsettled, giving working families plenty of reason to worry about what may lie ahead," Sweeney said.
But with Friday's report, Bush is close to closing the gap in job creation that has plagued him for some time. There are now just 122,000 fewer jobs than when he took office in January 2001.
Looking ahead, the Bush administration predicts the economy will create another 2.1 million jobs this year -- a figure that private economists say is respectable and beatable. In the game of managing expectations, it's a much lower estimate than a previous Bush administration forecast of 3.6 million new jobs this year.
"Job growth remains positive, but still stubbornly sluggish," said Bill Cheney, chief economist at John Hancock Financial Services, calling the jobs market "decent, but uninspiring."
In the report, last month's 157,000 net increase in jobs in December was close to the 175,000 that economists were predicting, but barely enough to keep up with population growth. It came on top of the 137,000 net jobs added the previous month, which was revised 25,000 higher than the government initially reported.
The service sector continued to spark overall hiring in December, without help from retailers. The job growth was concentrated in the health care industry, which added a net 36,000 positions, and business and professional services, which hired a net 41,000 workers.
As the holiday shopping season got in full swing, retailers ended up shedding almost 20,000 jobs overall. Analysts note that the figures are seasonally adjusted and subject to big fluctuations during that time of the year.
"Because of retailers' trepidations about this holiday selling season, they didn't do the usual amount of seasonal hiring," Mayland said.
The good news is the seasonal layoffs that occur in January and February should be moderate this time, he said.
The number of people working more than one job last year increased by 574,000 to 7.8 million.
People working part time for economic reasons, including those who wanted full-time jobs but could not find them, was virtually unchanged last month at 4.5 million.
DIVIDED VIEWS: Although the Fed agreed on holding rates steady, some officials see no rate cuts for this year, while 10 policymakers foresee two or more cuts There are a lot of unknowns about the outlook for the economy and interest rates, but US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled at least one thing seems certain: Higher prices are coming. Fed policymakers voted unanimously to hold interest rates steady at a range of 4.25 percent to 4.50 percent for a fourth straight meeting on Wednesday, as they await clarity on whether tariffs would leave a one-time or more lasting mark on inflation. Powell said it is still unclear how much of the bill would fall on the shoulders of consumers, but he expects to learn more about tariffs
NOT JUSTIFIED: The bank’s governor said there would only be a rate cut if inflation falls below 1.5% and economic conditions deteriorate, which have not been detected The central bank yesterday kept its key interest rates unchanged for a fifth consecutive quarter, aligning with market expectations, while slightly lowering its inflation outlook amid signs of cooling price pressures. The move came after the US Federal Reserve held rates steady overnight, despite pressure from US President Donald Trump to cut borrowing costs. Central bank board members unanimously voted to maintain the discount rate at 2 percent, the secured loan rate at 2.375 percent and the overnight lending rate at 4.25 percent. “We consider the policy decision appropriate, although it suggests tightening leaning after factoring in slackening inflation and stable GDP growth,”
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
RSS