More jobs created in the previous 14 months than in the previous decade

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The above caption should be the headline that accompanies every news report about today's job report.

I posted about this several times back in 2009, The Bush Years Were a Lost Decade:

[T]here was zero net job growth over the past decade. Massive tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy failed to grow the economy and to create jobs, disproving and discrediting the almost religious faith of "supply-side" true believers. Aughts were a lost decade for U.S. economy, workers:

There has been zero net job creation since December 1999. No previous decade going back to the 1940s had job growth of less than 20 percent. Economic output rose at its slowest rate of any decade since the 1930s as well.

The worst job creation in decades was entirely wiped out and went into regressive job loss numbers with the devastation of the Bush Great Recession that began in December 2007.

The Obama administration has gradually begun to reverse the economic devastation wrought by GOP economic policies in "the aughts," however slowly, and with constant obstruction from Republicans who want to continue their failed destructive economic policies.

Steve Benen at The Washington Monthly has today's jobs report:

[T]his morning's [job] report didn't just greatly exceed expectations, it's arguably the single best month for jobs since the Great Recession began in 2007.

The Labor Department says the economy added 244,000 jobs last month. Private employers shrugged off high gas prices and created 268,000 jobs — the most since February 2006.

The gains were widespread. Retailers, factories, financial companies, education and health care and even construction companies all added jobs. Federal, state and local governments cut jobs. 

The unemployment rate ticked higher, from 8.8% to 9%, but as we've talked about before, that's not the most reliable gauge. Indeed, as April's report helps demonstrate, the unemployment rate can go up when more jobs are created, and go down when fewer jobs are created. It's just quirky that way.

The number to watch is the total number of jobs created. And in this case, the economy added 244,000 jobs in April. That's the third highest total since the recession started, and the single-best month when one excludes Census-related jobs. By most measures, this is the fastest job growth Americans have seen in five years.

Also note, the total would have been even higher had it not been for state and local budget cuts — the private sector added 268,000 jobs, but the public sector lost 24,000 jobs. Those were jobs that could have been saved were it not for conservative fiscal policies.

Nevertheless, this is the third good jobs report in as many months, and offers hope that the employment market is finally getting back on track. So far in 2011, the economy has added 768,000 jobs — and that just covers four months.

To be sure, to have robust growth that would bring the unemployment rate down in a hurry, we'd need to see even stronger employment numbers, but given the hole we've been in, what we're looking for a significant steps in the right direction. That's exactly the news we received today.

Just as encouraging, the totals from February and March were both significantly revised upwards.

From a purely political perspective, policymakers would ideally look at figures like these, and consider ways to keep the momentum going. Regrettably, congressional Republicans continue to fight for austerity measures that would reverse the progress on purpose. This morning's report should offer Washington a big hint: if we want more good news, the GOP plan needs to be rejected.

Steve Benen continues at The Washington Monthly:

[I]n keeping with tradition, here's a slightly different chart — one showing just the private sector job market.

In April, the overall economy added 244,000 jobs, but 24,000 Americans working in the public sector left the workforce, as state and local governments continued to cut spending. The private sector, however, added 268,000 jobs, marking the 14th consecutive month of private-sector growth.

More important that the streak, however, is the data. The 268,000 total not only beat expectations, it's a genuinely good number. We're accustomed to dealing with relative encouragement — results that are only heartening because of the larger, awful context. But a month in which 268,000 private-sector jobs were created is actually quite strong regardless of context.

Indeed, looking at the chart below, it's worth emphasizing that April's private-sector numbers were the single best Americans have seen since the Great Recession began in 2007. What's more, the combined data from February and March shows easily the best three-month stretch in the last five years.

It is, in other words, encouraging. As we talked about earlier, the kind of robust job growth we'd need to bring the unemployment rate down in a hurry would require even stronger employment numbers, but given the hole we've been in, what we're looking for are significant steps in the right direction. That's exactly the news we received today.

With that in mind, here is a different homemade chart, showing monthly job losses/gains in the private sector since the start of the Great Recession.

Over the past year, the private sector has added 1.7 million jobs, while the public sector has lost 404,000 jobs. The Washington Monthly:

[T]he larger trend also reminds us that the job picture would be even better were it not for conservative economic policies that are causing so many job losses in the public sector.

It's within the government's power to intervene and prevent these public-sector layoffs at the state and local level. Indeed, in 2009, Democrats did just that, and it immediately helped improve the nation's economy.

It's no longer an option because Republicans reject such a move on ideological grounds. Worse, according to GOP leaders, the goal is to expand this approach, and make public-sector layoffs even worse, on purpose. Remember Speaker Boehner's "So be it" line? It was in response to a question about deliberately making unemployment worse by laying off hundreds of thousands of federal workers.

For the GOP, the loss of public-sector jobs is a feature, not a bug. It's not a development to lament, it's a development to duplicate and expand.

So how did Republicans bent on reversing the economic recovery respond to the positive economic news? Steve Benen has the Republican response as well. The Washington Monthly:

The new employment report shows the strongest job creation in five years, leaving House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) with an awkward challenge. Does he take credit for Democrats successfully getting the economy back on track and risk being mocked, or does Boehner downplay good news and look like a leader rooting for failure?

In his press statement this morning, the Speaker leaned towards the latter.

"While any improvement is welcome news, job growth in America is still nowhere close to what it should be. Our economy continues to suffer from the uncertainty being caused for private-sector job creators by the Democrats who run Washington. Over the past month, rather than joining Republicans in focusing on policies that promote long-term economic growth to help balance the federal budget, the Democrats who control Washington have indicated they are planning to increase taxes and allow the government's spending binge to continue." 

This is kind of sad, but let's take a moment to unfold the statement anyway.

First, the only "uncertainty" hanging over the economy right now is whether the debt ceiling is going to be extended, or whether there will be a massive catastrophe of Congress' making. The only people in America responsible for this "uncertainty" is John Boehner and his caucus. (Indeed, this morning's statement goes on to say, "Congressional Republicans have made clear there will be no debt limit increase unless it is accompanied by significant spending cuts and reforms." Isn't this a perfect example of creating uncertainty?)

Second, Democrats don't "run Washington" anymore. Boehner should realize this — he's the Speaker of the House.

And third, Republicans aren't "focusing on policies that promote long-term economic growth," they're focusing on abortion rights and austerity measures that undermine economic growth.

Republicans are "rooting for failure" out of a perceived political advantage ("shock doctrine") in 2012, and are sticking to disproved and discredited economic policies that failed miserably out of adherence to an ideological dogma. Their economic ideology presents a clear and present danger to economic recovery and job creation, and should be rejected once and forever for the dangerous nonsense that it is. These are not serious people, they are ideologues. And nothing is more dangerous than a "true believer" ideologue.