Jobs report leaves GOP grasping for ammo

[Nye Bevan]

The January jobs report showing a gain of 257,000 positions and a slight rise to 5.7 percent in unemployment had no weak spots, leaving Republicans scrambling for a new angle to attack the economy under President Barack Obama.

The increase in the jobless rate came from a slight uptick in the size of the labor force—a positive sign—so the GOP could not leap on that as a warning sign. In addition, wages grew 0.5 percent, reversing December's decline. The annual rate is still just 2.2 percent but the trend is once again in the right direction. Many economists expect wage pressure to pick up fairly quickly, meaning the Federal Reserve may move to start raising rates by midyear.

One Republican line is that the recent increase in job gains is a direct result of the GOP taking control of the Senate. This is a patently ridiculous argument given that revisions released Friday showed a November gain of 423,000, the strongest of the recovery. Unless employers had a crystal ball—or spent time poring over Senate polling data—the November elections had absolutely nothing to do with faster pace of job creation.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/102404464

[blkmusclmachine]

1. The GOP can lie, and the media will cover for them.

[DCBob]

2. I guess they could say the numbers are a 'big lie'..

like that idiot from Gallup said a few days ago.

[n2doc]

3. Not just the GOP will do that

Generally see plenty of DU'ers saying the same thing. The uptick in participation is important.

[Gothmog]

4. The GOP hates good economic news

[riderinthestorm]

5. K&R. Loving this nt