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[FONT=Verdana,Sans-serif]Unemployment Rate Drops to 4.5 Percent[/FONT]
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Mar 9, 9:05 AM (ET)
By JEANNINE AVERSA[/FONT] <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" width="210"><tbody><tr><td align="center"><table border="1" bordercolor="#cbcbcd" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" width="150"><tbody><tr><td><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr align="center"><td>
</td></tr><tr><td>[FONT=Verdana,Sans-serif](AP) Employees work at their workstations, at PayPal, in La Vista, Neb., Thursday, March 8, 2007. The...
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</td></tr></tbody></table>[FONT=Verdana,Sans-serif] WASHINGTON (AP) - The nation's unemployment rate dipped to 4.5 percent in February even as big losses of construction and factory jobs restrained overall payroll growth. Wages grew briskly.
The latest snapshot, released by the Labor Department on Friday, offered a somewhat mixed picture of the employment climate.
The slight decline in the politically prominent jobless rate, from 4.6 percent in January, came as hundreds of thousand of people left the work force for various reasons.
Employers, meanwhile, added 97,000 new jobs to their payrolls in February, the fewest in two years, as bad winter weather forced construction companies to slash 62,000 jobs, the most since 1991. Factories, feeling the strain of the troubled housing and auto industries, also continued to cut jobs. They eliminated 14,000 positions last month.
On a more encouraging note, job gains in the previous two months turned out to be stronger than previously estimated. Employers added 226,000 new jobs in December, versus the 206,000 last estimated. Payrolls grew by 146,000 in January, up from a previous estimate of 111,000.
The new tally of jobs added to the economy in February was close to economists' forecast for a gain of around 100,000. They had predicted the unemployment rate would hold steady at 4.6 percent.
Workers' wages grew quickly last month.
Average hourly earnings rose to $17.16, a 0.4 percent increase from January. That was slightly faster than the 0.3 percent gain economists were expecting. Over the 12 months ending in February, wages grew by 4.1 percent.
Strong wage growth is welcome by workers and supports consumer spending, a key ingredient to the country's economic health. But a rapid pickup - if sustained and not blunted by other economic forces - can raise fears about inflation. Spiraling inflation would whittle away any wage gains, hurting workers' wallets, and isn't good for the overall economy, either.
The Federal Reserve, which had steadily boosted interest rates for two years to fend off inflation, has left rates alone since August. The Fed - which said it will keep a close eye on inflation - meets later this month to consider interest rate policy.
The new employment figures come as President Bush continues to get lukewarm ratings for his economic stewardship. Just 41 percent of the public approves of the president's handling of the economy, compared with 57 percent who disapprove, according to an AP-Ipsos poll.
Democrats, who accuse Bush of not doing enough to close the gap on economic inequality, say a top priority is getting final agreement in Congress on legislation to boost the federal minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $7.25 an hour. The wage hasn't budged for nearly 10 years. Democrats also are pushing legislation making it easier for workers to start unions against company wishes.
Although construction companies and factories eliminated jobs last month, other employers, including health care providers, financial firms and retailers boosted hiring.
Analysts expect the unemployment rate, which dropped to a six-year low of 4.6 percent last year, will creep up this year as economic growth slows. Some believe the jobless rate could climb to close to 5 percent by the end of this year. The economy expanded by 3.3 percent last year, the best showing in two years. Growth, however, is expected to ebb to around 2.7 percent for all of 2007.
<table border="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td>US trade deficit shrinks to 59.1 billion dollars
Mar 09 9:21 AM US/Eastern
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The US trade deficit narrowed 3.8 percent in January to 59.1 billion dollars thanks to record-breaking export growth, the Commerce Department said Friday. It was a bigger drop than expected on Wall Street, where analysts saw a deficit of 60.0 billion dollars, and marked the steepest change in the trade figure since October.
An improving trade picture could be good for first-quarter US economic growth, as a higher deficit subtracts from gross domestic product.
Total imports fell 0.5 percent to 185.8 billion dollars last month while exports jumped 1.1 percent to a new record of 126.7 billion.
US exports of capital goods grew by 1.0 billion dollars from December to January, consumer goods increased 500 million and foods, feeds and beverages went up 300 million.
But America's politically sensitive deficit with China surged 12 percent to 21.3 billion dollars, with US consumers as hungry as ever for cheap Chinese products.
The US deficit with the European Union slumped 28 percent to 6.5 billion dollars, while the shortfall with Canada grew 23 percent to 6.9 billion.
Overall, the United States imported fewer vehicles, parts and engines (down 1.5 billion dollars) and consumer goods (down by 1.4 billion) in January from December.
Exports of vehicles and parts also fell, by 700 million dollars, reflecting a deep restructuring underway in the biggest US automakers -- General Motors and Ford.
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[FONT=Verdana,Sans-Serif]Email this Story[/FONT]Mar 9, 9:05 AM (ET)
By JEANNINE AVERSA[/FONT] <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" width="210"><tbody><tr><td align="center"><table border="1" bordercolor="#cbcbcd" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" width="150"><tbody><tr><td><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr align="center"><td>
</td></tr><tr><td>[FONT=Verdana,Sans-serif](AP) Employees work at their workstations, at PayPal, in La Vista, Neb., Thursday, March 8, 2007. The...Full Image[/FONT]</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td width="100%"> <script> if (NAV_NS&&NAV_VER<6) document.write("
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www.economyincrisis.org
Mortgage Interest Rate - Five Great Sites About mortgage interest rate
fiveresults.com
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</td></tr></tbody></table>[FONT=Verdana,Sans-serif] WASHINGTON (AP) - The nation's unemployment rate dipped to 4.5 percent in February even as big losses of construction and factory jobs restrained overall payroll growth. Wages grew briskly.
The latest snapshot, released by the Labor Department on Friday, offered a somewhat mixed picture of the employment climate.
The slight decline in the politically prominent jobless rate, from 4.6 percent in January, came as hundreds of thousand of people left the work force for various reasons.
Employers, meanwhile, added 97,000 new jobs to their payrolls in February, the fewest in two years, as bad winter weather forced construction companies to slash 62,000 jobs, the most since 1991. Factories, feeling the strain of the troubled housing and auto industries, also continued to cut jobs. They eliminated 14,000 positions last month.
On a more encouraging note, job gains in the previous two months turned out to be stronger than previously estimated. Employers added 226,000 new jobs in December, versus the 206,000 last estimated. Payrolls grew by 146,000 in January, up from a previous estimate of 111,000.
The new tally of jobs added to the economy in February was close to economists' forecast for a gain of around 100,000. They had predicted the unemployment rate would hold steady at 4.6 percent.
Workers' wages grew quickly last month.
Average hourly earnings rose to $17.16, a 0.4 percent increase from January. That was slightly faster than the 0.3 percent gain economists were expecting. Over the 12 months ending in February, wages grew by 4.1 percent.
Strong wage growth is welcome by workers and supports consumer spending, a key ingredient to the country's economic health. But a rapid pickup - if sustained and not blunted by other economic forces - can raise fears about inflation. Spiraling inflation would whittle away any wage gains, hurting workers' wallets, and isn't good for the overall economy, either.
The Federal Reserve, which had steadily boosted interest rates for two years to fend off inflation, has left rates alone since August. The Fed - which said it will keep a close eye on inflation - meets later this month to consider interest rate policy.
The new employment figures come as President Bush continues to get lukewarm ratings for his economic stewardship. Just 41 percent of the public approves of the president's handling of the economy, compared with 57 percent who disapprove, according to an AP-Ipsos poll.
Democrats, who accuse Bush of not doing enough to close the gap on economic inequality, say a top priority is getting final agreement in Congress on legislation to boost the federal minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $7.25 an hour. The wage hasn't budged for nearly 10 years. Democrats also are pushing legislation making it easier for workers to start unions against company wishes.
Although construction companies and factories eliminated jobs last month, other employers, including health care providers, financial firms and retailers boosted hiring.
Analysts expect the unemployment rate, which dropped to a six-year low of 4.6 percent last year, will creep up this year as economic growth slows. Some believe the jobless rate could climb to close to 5 percent by the end of this year. The economy expanded by 3.3 percent last year, the best showing in two years. Growth, however, is expected to ebb to around 2.7 percent for all of 2007.
<table border="0" width="100%"><tbody><tr><td>US trade deficit shrinks to 59.1 billion dollars
Mar 09 9:21 AM US/Eastern
</td> <td align="right">
</td> </tr> <tr><td> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr> <td valign="top"> </td><td width="10">
</td> <td valign="top"> <table style="border: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);" cellspacing="5"><tbody><tr> <td valign="middle">
</td> <td valign="middle"> </td> <td valign="middle"> <script>try { insert_digg_btn('biz'); } catch(e){}</script> </td> <td valign="middle"> </td> </tr></tbody></table> </td></tr> </tbody></table> </td></tr> </tbody></table> The US trade deficit narrowed 3.8 percent in January to 59.1 billion dollars thanks to record-breaking export growth, the Commerce Department said Friday. It was a bigger drop than expected on Wall Street, where analysts saw a deficit of 60.0 billion dollars, and marked the steepest change in the trade figure since October.
An improving trade picture could be good for first-quarter US economic growth, as a higher deficit subtracts from gross domestic product.
Total imports fell 0.5 percent to 185.8 billion dollars last month while exports jumped 1.1 percent to a new record of 126.7 billion.
US exports of capital goods grew by 1.0 billion dollars from December to January, consumer goods increased 500 million and foods, feeds and beverages went up 300 million.
But America's politically sensitive deficit with China surged 12 percent to 21.3 billion dollars, with US consumers as hungry as ever for cheap Chinese products.
The US deficit with the European Union slumped 28 percent to 6.5 billion dollars, while the shortfall with Canada grew 23 percent to 6.9 billion.
Overall, the United States imported fewer vehicles, parts and engines (down 1.5 billion dollars) and consumer goods (down by 1.4 billion) in January from December.
Exports of vehicles and parts also fell, by 700 million dollars, reflecting a deep restructuring underway in the biggest US automakers -- General Motors and Ford.
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