jobs, unemployment, employment, manufacturing - and the Dow

[jimnyc]

The Dow can go down as everyone was alerted to and thought "this was it" - but it shows it can go back up in a flash.

Unemployment looking great all the way around, but a record low for the Hispanic community. Additionally, 312,000 new jobs were created in December. Manufacturing at best levels in 20 years. This is great all the way around, and has been a trend for quite some time now - thanks to Trump.

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US employers went on a surprising hiring spree in December

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers went on a hiring spree in December, adding a surprising 312,000 jobs and providing a dose of reassurance about the economy after a turbulent few months on Wall Street.

The job gains reported Friday by the Labor Department came despite a trade war with China, a global slowdown and a partial government shutdown now entering its third week.

The nation’s unemployment rate rose slightly to 3.9 percent last month, but that, too, was considered a positive sign, reflecting an increase in Americans beginning to look for work. And average hourly pay improved 3.2 percent from a year ago.

Stocks surged on the news, along with word that the U.S. and China will hold trade talks next week and comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell that the Fed will be flexible in judging whether to raise interest rates further.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up roughly 700 points in the afternoon, an increase of about 3 percent. President Donald Trump called the job growth “GREAT” on Twitter.

The torrid hiring in December far outstripped the 180,000 jobs investors had been anticipating and could help ease fears that the economy’s expansion — now in the middle of its 10th year — may be coming to an end.

Rest - https://apnews.com/f3925762c6f845dfab936b45c28b4176


Manufacturing industry posts biggest annual job gain in 20 years

The manufacturing industry posted net job gains of 284,000 over 2018, capping its best calendar year since 1997.

A priority for President Donald Trump, manufacturing saw marked hiring in December with an additional 32,000 jobs. Most of the gains occurred in blue-collar durable goods manufacturing, with growth in fabricated metals and computer and electronic products, the Labor Department said in its release. The definition of durable goods is items with a life expectancy of three years or more, such as automobiles, furniture and machinery.

Manufacturing added 207,000 jobs in 2017.

Rest - https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/04/manu...ince-1997.html


Hispanic Unemployment Rate Hits Record Low in December

he national seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate for Hispanics and Latinos in the U.S. labor force hit its lowest level on record in December of 2018, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data released Friday show.

In December, the unemployment rate for Hispanics and Latinos, aged 16 and up, was 4.4%, down from 4.5% in November - tying its record low of 4.4% set in October of this year. BLS began tracking Hispanic-Latino employment data in 1973.

The number of Hispanics employed set a new record high of 27,701,000 in December, as their unemployment rate fell to a record low. The number of Hispanics employed, participating in the workplace, and civilian population all rose in December, as Hispanics' labor force participation rate increased from 66.8% to 67.0%, recording its fourth straight monthly increase.

Rest - https://www.cnsnews.com/blog/craig-b...d-low-december


Dow surges more than 700 points after Powell comments, blowout jobs report

Stocks rallied on Friday after two positive pieces of news for the market.

At 8:30 a.m., the Labor Department said the U.S. economy added 312,000 jobs in December. That blew past an expectation of 176,000 jobs. Later on Friday morning, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank will be patient in raising rates, quelling fears of tighter monetary policy in the near future.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average traded 726 points higher, or 3.2 percent, and briefly rose more than 800 points. The S&P 500 rallied 3.28 percent, with the tech sector gaining more than 4 percent. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 4.3 percent. This was a rebound from Thursday’s plunge, which was triggered by a massive drop in Apple’s stock.

Stocks took off after Powell hinted the central bank could pause its rate hikes, something this beaten-down market was waiting for. “As always, there is no preset path for policy, ” Powell said. “And particularly with muted inflation readings that we’ve seen coming in, we will be patient as we watch to see how the economy evolves.”

Rest - https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/04/stoc...ade-talks.html

[NightTrain]

I'm not sure Powell is the right guy for the job. His careless remarks sent Wall Street into panic mode.

I realize he's an egghead, but the barest hint of bad news from that particular position influences wild reactions here and internationally. Hopefully he'll be more careful in the future.

[KarlMarx]

OK, I just finished reading a book on economic indicators. The stock market runs on that stuff.

The economic indicators, for the most part, are very positive as Jim already said. Of course, you can find some that are not.

While or economy is slowing down, we definitely are not in recession territory ... at least for now (and maybe not in 2019 according to some talk I have heard). GDP growth was about 3.5 percent for the third quarter (which is way above anything that Barack Obama ever achieved)

What surprises me is the the Fed raised short term interest rates when inflation is hovering slightly over 2 percent. Maybe someone can tell me why that happened.

Part of the problem seems to be that China’s economy is slowing down. A report last week from their Purchasing Managers came in at slightly below 50. Meaning that the consensus over there is that their economy is slipping.

That affected Apple’s projected earnings, especially iPhone sales, which affected the DJIA. It may also affect the stock market in the days to come.

But, as of this moment, Dow futures are up over 700 points, maybe tomorrow will be a nice day on Wall Street.


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[FakeNewsSux]

I'm not sure Powell is the right guy for the job. His careless remarks sent Wall Street into panic mode.

I realize he's an egghead, but the barest hint of bad news from that particular position influences wild reactions here and internationally. Hopefully he'll be more careful in the future.

Was he being reckless or was the Swamp's banker doing his part to throw a monkey wrench into the President's roaring economy? The same bunch that pumped billions into Wall Street to keep the Dear Leader's economy afloat now sees the inflation monster around every corner. This was after they removed oil and groceries from the Consumer Price Index basket of goods as gas went to $4/gallon and groceries went through the roof (with no evidence of inflation, of course).

Has anyone else noticed how all of Trump's economic numbers are being adjusted upwards the month following their announcement while all the fanfare over The Dear Leader's "improving" numbers was never tamped down once the downward adjusted numbers were announced the following month?