Remember when "Obamacare" was going to crush the job market?

[Triana]

[size=28]U.S. job growth soars, tops 300k[/size]

Any Republicans asking “where are the jobs?” today should probably have their heads examined.

The new report from Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the U.S. economy added 321,000 jobs in November. The overall unemployment rate stayed at 5.8 and remains at its lowest point in over six years.

Once again, public-sector layoffs did not drag down the overall employment figures. Though jobs reports over the last few years have shown monthly government job losses, in November, the private sector added 314,000 while the public sector added 7,000. The latter may not sound like much, but after several years in which that total was negative, it’s at least somewhat heartening.

As for the revisions, all of the news was excellent: September’s totals were revised up from 256,000 to 271,000, while October’s figures were revised up, from 214,000 to 243,000. Combined, that’s an additional 44,000 jobs.

All told, this is one of the best jobs report Americans have seen in many years. There were some spikes in early 2010, but those were largely the result of temporary Census hiring, while this new data points to genuine, robust job growth. It remains very difficult for President Obama’s critics to explain these numbers: the hiring boom is underway after tax increases and full implementation of the Affordable Care Act.

THE REST:

http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/us-job-growth-soars-tops-300k

[LyndaG]

1. Great!

Thank you for posting this.

[Thinkingabout]

2. OOPS, if the GOP passed a health care plan they could have improved the unemployment.

[econoclast]

3. Ummm hate to tell you but...

We actually LOST 150,000 Full Time jobs last month.

Full-Time employment DECLINED by 150,000 in the most recent employment report.

Employed, Usually Work Full Time:
Oct - 119,632,000
Nov - 119,482,000

A decline of 150,000

Numbers come from the Household survey...the same data set that the Unemployment Rate comes from.

They are easily accessible via the St Loius Fed's website. Data is Series LNS12500000.

http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/LNS12500000

In fact, looking at this data series for Full Time employees we see that the high water mark for Full Time Employment was way back in November 2007 when Full Time Employment hit 121,876,000

We are STILL 2.3 MILLION Full Time Jobs short of that all time high. And lost 150,000 full time jobs last month.

[Triana]

4. Better write Steve Benen and tell him to correct his article! n/t

[bhikkhu]

9. Something is screwy in those numbers

...as one of the usual indicators of the balance of full to part-time employment is the average total workweek, the average number of hours worked by an average worker. If there are more full-time workers, the number is higher, and vice versa if there are more part time workers. If you go back to the BLS report for January 2008, which is the peak of full-time employment (at 121,609,000 workers), the reported average workweek is 33.7 hours. Total non-farm employment was reported as 138,365,000 million.

The current total non-farm employment is reported as 140,045,000, (this and the 2008 number from http://data.bls.gov/pdq/SurveyOutputServlet?request_action=wh&graph_name=CE_cesbref1) and the average workweek is reported as 34.6 hours, an increase of .1 hours per week over last month.

So, perhaps we may be below 2008 in some simplified metric, but employment numbers are significantly better on the whole (depending on how one feels about working long hours). Overall, more people are working now than at any time in the past, and the work week is quite healthy. Perhaps more part-time workers are working closer to the full-time edge of the definition.

In any case, one has to scrape the barrel pretty hard to come up with something to complain about in the numbers, other than wage growth. Wages have been moving in a good direction all year, but it would take a significant move (next years news, lets hope) to make up for lost ground.

[sendero]

5. I have no opinion on the..

... effect of Obamacare on the job market, but anyone that thinks the job market is currently healthy or that Americans are fully employed is a dolt.

[Triana]

6. the article doesn't say job market is healthy or Americans are fully employed

It simply asserts that ACA had no negative effect on it, as Republicans claimed. Job market is IMO improved, far from healthy. And ACA, very evidently, has had no negative effect, as chicken littles in the GOP claimed.

[madville]

7. The employer mandate hasn't started yet has it?

They have been pushing it back the last few years, the prediction was that it would lead to more part-time and less full-time positions so employers could stay below the mandate based in total number of full-time employees.

[bhikkhu]

10. No it hasn't, but the other side has still consistently blamed the ACA

for every part-time worker who wishes to work full time.

[99Forever]

8. Funny you should post this now.

I was officially notified 2 days ago that after working 35 hours a week ALL of 2013, I STILL won't qualify for the CORPORATION I work for's healthcare plan AGAIN this coming year, because of course, the much bragged about "Obamacare" left a fucking huge loophole for them to wiggle out of it.

So I'll be stuck with another SHIT plan from Mncare that this year has left me with a $6200 debt I have no way of affording and another surgery coming up in February that will bury me under another similar mountain of debt. Oh, and the wonderful CORPORATE insurance company plan Mncare set me up with? They fucking bailed out of Obamacare. Hey but I can keep their shitty "coverage" too, with only a 40% rise in premiums.

Thanks for nothing.

[Triana]

11. A great example of why we need single payer. Corprats are Rats.

I'm sorry this happened to you. Like the economy, Obamacare is 'better' -- but far from perfect or 'healthy' as far as actual healthcare goes. Obamacare didn't destroy jobs as Repubs claimed. But it's also not single payer, which is what we really need.

[99Forever]

13. Thank you for the support.

Which, btw, is far more support than the jerks I work with have shown, after almost 2 years of giving 110% each and every day, changing my hours to accommodate unexpected problems, showing up every day and doing EVERYTHING they asked without complaint. I'd have quit 2 days ago, but since I'm working with a drain tube coming out of my abdomen, the likelihood of finding other employment right now aren't good.

[Triana]

14. :( This is so wrong.

I wish you recovered health, above all - and some improvement in your employment/healthcare situation. No one should have to go through this just to get decent health care.

[bhikkhu]

12. In Oregon my situation is reversed

I'm eligible for the company plan, so ineligible to continue on OHP, our version of subsidized Obamacare. The company plan kind of sucks in comparison. Though it only costs $100 a month, the deductibles and co-pays are much higher - its not worth much until I'm $3,000 out-of-pocket or so. OHP was wonderful, for a year, almost cost-free to me and the monthly fully subsidized. I'm not complaining though, happy to have gotten a good enough job to pay as I go.