US “Rebuilding” As 244,000 Jobs Added Last Month.
ABC World News (5/6, lead story, 3:05, Stephanopoulos) reported, “Today, we got the numbers so many Americans have been waiting for” — a “strong new jobs report: 244,000 more people were hired last month, with the best private sector growth in five years.” The CBS Evening News (5/6, story 5, 2:25, Smith), however, reported, “By one measure the jobs picture is improving, but by another there is still a long way to go. The Labor Department reported today that private employers created well over a quarter of a million jobs in April, the most in more than 10 years. But there were still far more workers looking for jobs than finding them and the unemployment rate went back up to nine percent.”
NBC Nightly News (5/6, story 4, 2:10, Williams) reported, “The April jobs numbers are just out — coming in better than most of the experts expected.” NBC (Costello) added, “The good news is that it was the private sector, not the government, that added jobs at the fastest rate in five years last month: 57,000 jobs in retail, 51,000 professional jobs, 46,000 in leisure and hospitality, 29,000 manufacturing jobs.” But “despite adding 240,000 jobs in April, the unemployment rate inched up from 8.8 percent to nine percent, as the population grew and some Americans resumed their job hunt.”
Bloomberg News (5/6, Dorning) reports President Obama “said the US economy is regaining momentum even as high energy prices have crimped consumer spending.” The President said, “This is where the American economy is rebuilding, where we are regaining our footing.”
The AP (5/7, Aversa) reports, “American companies are on a hiring spree. Businesses delivered a jolt of strength to the economy by creating 268,000 jobs in April, the biggest monthly total in more than five years. The gains were solid across an array of industries, even beleaguered construction. It was the third month in a row of at least 200,000 new jobs.” The AP said the “slight rise in the unemployment rate to 9 percent appears to be a quirk.” The Los Angeles Times (5/7, Lee) reports, “A significant part of the stubbornly high unemployment may be structural: Millions of potential workers may have only the dimmest prospects for finding work even if the recovery continues — owing largely to their levels of skill and education.”
Bloomberg News (5/6, Homan) reports employers “added more jobs than forecast and the labor market in the prior two months was stronger than initially estimated.” The New York Times (5/7, Rich, Subscription Publication) reports, “For three straight months, the nation’s employers have delivered solid job growth, easing some concerns that the economy could be stalling.”
Employment Numbers May Reflect Spike In Recent Layoffs.
USA Today (5/9, Davidson) reports, “Last week’s report of better-than-expected employment gains in April raised hopes that US job growth…is finally picking up momentum,” but “some economists see flashing yellow lights in the numbers that could signal at least a temporary lull the next few months. … The number of Americans unemployed less than five weeks rose by 242,000 in April and this group now makes up 20% of the unemployed. Both figures are the highest since October 2006 and are consistent with the jump in jobless claims reported last week, suggesting layoffs have picked up recently.”
From SME Daily Executive Briefing 5/9/2011