January's employment data released this morning from BLS showed a welcome trend: the unemployment rate dropped to 9.7%. Not great but going in the right direction -- contrary to economist's expectations. On the other hand, job losses continued (with employment down by 20,000). There had been hope that the economy would begin to create jobs. And revisions to the 2009 data showed a greater job loss than previously reported.
The good news is that the number of involuntary underemployed (part time for economic reasons) and those part time because of slack work both declined dramatically in January. Not to read too much into this, but the trend (as the chart below shows) is in the right direction. Involuntary underemployment essentially peaked in March. As I said last month, this confirms that the fall is over. But the overall numbers point to a slow recovery.
The good news is that the number of involuntary underemployed (part time for economic reasons) and those part time because of slack work both declined dramatically in January. Not to read too much into this, but the trend (as the chart below shows) is in the right direction. Involuntary underemployment essentially peaked in March. As I said last month, this confirms that the fall is over. But the overall numbers point to a slow recovery.
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