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Jobless rate Leaps to 5.1%, Worst Since September '05!
The report cited confirms pessimism at least concerning the near-term economic outlook. Non-farm payrolls dropped by about 80,000 in March, according to the Labor Department. It was the greatest decline since March of 2003, highlighting the reluctance of employers to commit to new hiring.
This marks the fourth consecutive month of Employment declines in Private-sector payrolls.
America's unemployment rate leaped to 5.1% last month, and that is the worst since September of 2005.
The descent in payrolls was 33% deeper than the 60,000 decreases, which was expected by Wall Street.
Even worse, payrolls of January and February were revised even lower to a figure of 67,000, bringing the total to 232,000 thus in 2008, displaying a monthly jobs lost average of 77,000.
The government also keeps a separate household survey showing a descent in employment of 24,000 in March, bringing the total of that category to 434,000 jobs lost. Keep in mind that those Unemployed whose unemployment benefits run out and those underemployed (people who had well-paying jobs, were laid off and now work at MacDonald's or worse, pulling slave labor wages at Bush's Crawford ranch as cowboys).
This slide has virtually assured, in the minds of some, that the Federal Reserve will cut the federal funds target interest rate once again on April 29-30.
The report also suggests that businesses are growing increasingly dubious about any upturn in the economy, which will continue to make hiring increases doubtful.
Last week, Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke acknowledged that indeed a recession was possible, at least for the first six months of the year. However, when he testified before Congress, he said that he still expects the economy to do an upturn some time this summer. Personally, I see a depression in the making, which may well stretch beyond fall. If planning to buy or build a home, one might be advised to wait until the bottom ahead.
We are all familiar with the Big Brother approach of this administration in which truth is as rare as a 19-year-old Virgin among Hip-Hop Groupies, starlets and high fashion, runway, models.
The decline in last month's non-farm employment was anything but narrowly spread. The only areas that added employees this month were government, food services, education, and mining.
One of the worst job depressing factors was a continuing strike by the United Auto Workers against American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc.
Motor-vehicle employment was down by 24,000 in March. General Motors Corp has been forced to stop work at plants because of the strike.
Further manufacturing jobs dropped by 48,000, the worst decline since July of 2003.
Although jobs in services increased by 13,000, retail jobs fell 12,000 and Construction jobs fell by 51,000.
Local, state and Federal governments added 18,000 jobs and the health-care sector added 42,000 jobs, and leisure businesses added 18,000.
However, temporary workers, considered a canary-in-the-mine-shaft sector, dropped by 42,000 in March.
As if to justify the curmudgeonly attitude of industry toward employees, the average hourly wage for March increased 5 cents (0.3%), to $17.86, which was the expected figure, good for business, bad for employees. Hourly wages have risen 3.6% in the past year, while oil prices increased by 47%.
Average hours worked in manufacturing, factory overtime rose six minutes for March, and the average workweek rose by six minutes to 33.8 hours per week.
Moreover, greedy individuals have bought up land in subdivisions and have raised prices considerably. Some, not so well healed, have had to sell below their cost, but the others are sealing unsuspecting and inexperienced buyers into a lifetime of high property taxes. Perhaps states (as have some, but too few conscientious developers) need to inact a non-scalping law applying it to land purchases by speculators.
All in all this is good news for Democrats and looking very much like the last months of the HWG Bush administration in 1991.
The last major depression brought us FDR and the salvation of the lower and middle classes as the fascist attitude back in the 1920's was headed for creating a near slave labor, Serf-Robber Baron economy, in which self appointed "Royalty" would have a nation of poorly paid, unhealthy, workers at their mercy, a thing the Bushites have tried hard to put into operation these last eight years. FDR ended the enslavement of the lower and middle classes, and leveled the playing field for all classes, a thing the Bushites have unraveled by allowing gasoline which at cost is Two cents a gallon, to be sold at $4.00 a gallon, effectively redistributing the wealth back to the fascist dictator classes.
Although I am very Liberal toward all classes in our society, I must say that I have little pity for anyone making under $5,00,000 per year who voted for Bush in either 2000 or 2004. They got exactly what they deserved. I must further say, judging by the comments I have seen on most news websites, that racism seems to be as alive and well among those making well under $125,000 a year, as among the most wealthy Republicans.
America seems to be doing as poorly at educating the middle and lower classes, as they have the upper classes.
Well, those who voted for Bush out of hatred of Muslims, Blacks, Catholics, homosexuals and others, have gotten what they so well deserved, joblessness.
For the rest who did not so vote, go door to door and chide the 60% of single working women who refrained from voting at all in the last two presidential elections. And while you are at it, drop by the homes of the bigots who voted for the wealthy neo-cons because they'd hoped the Bushites would put a strong kybosh on Muslims, Blacks, Catholics, homosexuals, Barry Bonds and other black athletes and actors of any color.
The Fundamentalist Ministers who have said that America is suffering for their sins and that 9'11 was a punishment may very well have been correct and incorrect at the same time. America is being punished for its sins, but not the sins that the Right complained about. America is being punished because it Voted for GW Bush and his war on Muslims for oil and his war on Americans, many of the very ones who voted for and supported him, because he hates the poor and to him anyone with a vowel at the end of their name, or a turban atop their heads and less than several million dollars in the bank are lazy. He hasn't changed much from the drunken drugged out student at Yale who wrote in a paper that; "Poor people are so because they are lazy..."
Well, folks you got what you deserved, trouble is many are suffering who did not vote for fascism and do not deserve what they are getting. You cut off your own noses to spite your own faces, nice work. You have helped make America the most hated nation on the planet and the one accused by enemies and allies as well as the worst torture ridden terrorist nation on the planet Earth.
Don't know about you, but I want back America, which was the most heroic nation on the planet back in the era from 1932-1945.
