96,666 jobs/month. That’s what the actual job growth has been for the last six months — much less than you might otherwise think. Here are the numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, showing the mostly-downwards revisions a month or two after the initial reports:
- March 2012: 120,000 (March report) revised to 154,000 (April report) revised to 143,000 (May report) — net adjustment of +23,000 jobs
- April 2012: 115,000 (April report) revised to 77,000 (May report) revised to 68,000 (June report) — net adjustment of -47,000 jobs
- May 2012: 69,000 (May report) revised to 77,000 (June report) revised to 87,000 (July report) — net adjustment of +18,000 jobs
- June 2012: 80,000 (June report) revised to 64,000 (July report) revised to 45,000 (August report) — net adjustment of -35,000 jobs
- July 2012: 163,000 (July report) revised to 141,000 (August report) — net adjustment of -23,000 jobs
- August 2012: 96,000 (August report)
It is possible that July and/or August could be revised upward, but given the overall trend, I suspect it will be downwards, if at all. As it stands right now, the total number of jobs added over the past six months (March-August) is 143,000 + 68,000 + 87,000 + 45,000 + 141,000 + 96,000 = 580,000 jobs which equals 96,666 jobs/month.
In other words, it not just that August’s numbers are bad — they’ve been bad for half a year. ..bruce w..
