why don't we call them on 1.7 million jobs in 12 months? That is pitiful!

[NewJeffCT]

For weeks now, the RW echo chamber has been repeating the mantra of 1.7 million jobs in 12 months like it is a good thing. Heck, Dickie Cheney brought it up last night...

Has anybody actually pointed out to them that 1.7 million jobs a month is actually pitiful, but only looks good because the previous 12 months were a disaster of epic proportions when it came to job creation?

Most economists say that you need to create at least 150,000 jobs per month just to stay even with a growing population (greater number of new workers entering the workforce each month as opposed to retiring/dropping out) - some estimates are 175,000 to 200,000 jobs per month.

Even using the most conservative estimate of 150,000, the Bush economy would have had to have created 1,800,000 jobs in the past 12 months just to stay even. For his 42 months in office, the Bush economy should have created 6.3 million jobs, but has actually lost well over 1 million.

As a comparison, an AVERAGE month under Bill Clinton brought the economy almost 240,000 jobs. That means that an average 12 month period under Clinton created almost 2.9 million jobs, or 1.2 million jobs higher than the numbers the RW echo chamber is bragging about.

I hope somebody can bring this up besides me...

[antigop]

1. And what kind of jobs are they anyway?

If the jobs don't pay well and don't have benefits (like health insurance),it doesn't really help.