February 12th, 2014 10:54 PM by Todd Perdew
Strengthening employment is key to broader economic growth, including a continued rebound in the housing market. Although nonfarm employment finished 2013 on a weak note, annual employment gains were slow, with the economy adding 2.19 million nonfarm jobs last year, just about matching 2012’s result, and slightly up from 2011. Despite those gains, the economy has almost 1.2 million fewer jobs than when the recession began at the end of 2007. The U.S. added 113,000 jobs in January and the unemployment rate fell to another post-recession low, but the pace of hiring appears to have slowed over the past few months, according to new government figures. The second straight disappointing employment report suggests that unusually cold and snowy weather in the past two months is not the chief cause of a slowdown in job creation. In December, the economy added just 75,000 jobs, a meager gain. The nation’s unemployment rate, meanwhile, dropped to 6.6% from 6.7% in December. The labor force participation rate edged up to 63.0% after retouching a 35-year low of 62.8% in December. The participation rate reflects the percentage of people who hold a job or are looking for one. A surprisingly sharp decline in participation over the past few years is largely responsible for the falling unemployment rate. The private sector once again generated all the employment growth, adding 142,000 jobs in January. That’s up sharply from 89,000 in December but well below the norm over the past year. . Economists polled had forecast an increase of 190,000 jobs. With all this below average reports the 10 year Bond is down only 2 bases points to 2.67%