Hmmm Hypocrisy all Around

[strandinthewind]

Originally Posted by gldstwmn

Propaganda!

see me in a year

OH alrighty - other than Greenspan's comments, which I have repeatedly cited to in the past - - here is one from ABC (emphasis supplied) :

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems...1/s1278680.htm

US jobs data points to steady growth. 08/01/2005. ABC News Online

[This is the print version of story http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems.../s1278680.htm]

US jobs data points to steady growth

The United States economy has churned out 157,000 new jobs in December, the US Government said in a report suggesting steady, if less than spectacular, growth.

The unemployment rate held steady at 5.4 per cent, the Labour Department report said.

The non-farm payrolls figure was slightly below the average Wall Street forecast of 175,000 new jobs, but the agency revised the number of jobs created in previous months up by 34,000.

For all of 2004, 2.231 million jobs were added, the best since 1999. In 2003, the nation lost a net 61,000 jobs.

The jobs report is seen as one of the most important indicators of economic activity and the December report is consistent with modest growth.

The report is unlikely to deter the Federal Reserve from its path of steadily lifting interest rates, analysts said.

The Labour Department revised its data for November to show 137,000 new jobs instead of 112,000; and for October to show 312,000 instead of 303,000.

Experts say the economy needs about 150,000 new jobs each month to absorb new labour market entrants and maintain modest economic growth.

Ian Shepherdson, chief US economist for High Frequency Economics, said the rise in December payrolls was skewed by favourable seasonal adjustment factors and the addition of 36,000 state and local government jobs.

"Overall [the data] looks okay but core job gains are softer than headlines and wage gains are still worryingly soft," he said.

Average hourly earnings rose by two cents, or 0.1 per cent, to $US15.86 in December, less than expected by economists.

Average hourly earnings have increased 2.7 per cent in the past 12 months, the fastest growth since the summer of 2003, but slower than inflation of 3.5 per cent.

In December, manufacturing industries added 3,000 jobs in December, the first gain since August.

For all of 2004, factory jobs grew by 76,000, the first annual increase since 1997. Construction industries added 7,000 jobs, the tenth increase in a row.

-AFP
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Once again - I am not saying we are out of the woods yet, I am just saying these indicators show we are on the way - it is still a long road - it always is.