Strong January 2012 Jobs Report Belies Republican Narrative

The grindstone - photo by Kathryn Decker-Krauth

The U.S. economy added 243,000 net jobs in January and the unemployment rate dropped to 8.3%. Economists had expected a net increase of around 150,000.

As usual, there were some public sector job losses, but this trend has started to slow in recent months. A total of 257,000 private sector jobs were added in January along with 14,000 public sector job losses. Both of these stats contradict the Republican narrative, particularly from GOP presidential candidates, that Obama is killing jobs and growing government. The statistics tell a different story. Republicans are lying and they are counting on an uninformed public to believe these lies.

The January 2012 jobs report is especially positive because it followed a very strong December 2011 report. Some questioned whether the December 2011 report was due to temporary hiring for the holiday season. Following up December with a strong jobs picture in January is a positive sign for an economy that has taken a long time to rebound from the lows of 2008 and 2009. If this trend continues through 2012, it will be an uphill battle for the Republican presidential nominee.

dks

photo by Kathryn Decker-Krauth via Flickr

Economy

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