Goolsbee Calls Drop In Unemployment Rate A "Welcome Development"

2/06/2011

(RTTNews) - While the Labor Department's monthly employment report showed much weaker than expected job growth in the month of January, Austan Goolsbee, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, sought to depict the data in a positive light in a statement on Friday.
Goolsbee highlighted the unexpected drop in the unemployment rate, which fell to 9.0 percent in January from 9.4 percent in December, although the drop largely reflected a decrease in the size of the labor force.
The report also showed an increase of 50,000 jobs private sector jobs, Goolsbee noted, with the increase marking the eleventh consecutive month of private sector job growth.
He added, "Revisions to private sector payroll data show that 1.1 million jobs were added during 2010, the strongest private sector job growth since 2006."
Goolsbee also called the 0.8 percentage point decline in the unemployment rate over the past two months a "welcome development," although he said that the rate remains unacceptably high.
"The overall trend of economic data in recent months has been encouraging, as initiatives put in place by this Administration are taking hold, but there is still considerable work to do," Goolsbee said.
The Labor Department said non-farm payroll employment rose by 36,000 jobs in January following an upwardly revised increase of 121,000 jobs in December, while economists had expected an increase of about 150,000 jobs.
While notable job growth was seen in the manufacturing and retail industries, the increases in employment were offset by the loss of jobs in the construction and transportation and warehousing industries.
The Labor Department said employment in the construction industry may have been impacted by the severe winter weather during the month.

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