A Jobless Recovery? 20,000 Jobs lost in January

Today new statictics were published by the Government that showed that the U.S. lost 20,000 jobs in January despite economic growth of 5.7% at the end of last year. As the article mentions, this has huge policy implications. This new data will generate media discussion, resulting in a stronger push by the public to get jobs on the agenda in Washington. As the article notes, "The January data will increase the pressure on the Sentate to pass a jobs bill."

In what could be considered a small sliver of hope, the actual unemployment rate in the U.S decreased from 10% to 9.7%. Even though this decrease is miniscuel, and possibly due to discrepancies in data, it does indicate that unemployment is no longer rising.

The article also explores some of the specific policy proposals by the Obama administration, we will surley examine those specific aspects of any bill in the coming weeks.

Source: Economist

Finally, here is a interesting metric to follow in regards to the job market:

This Gallup feature should illustrate the extremely broad trends that are occuring in the job market today. It gives us a inside look at the dynamics of the employment trends through the perspecitve of an objectively polled employee.

Source: Gallup U.S. Job Market