Is the Economy Growing or Just "Treading Water"?

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The U.S. lost 4.3 million jobs in President Obama's first 13 months in office and has stumbled to recover.

Hiring slowed dramatically in March, clouding optimism about the strength of the recovery, according to Annalyn Censky of CNN Money.

Employers added 120,000 jobs in the month, the Labor Department reported Friday, falling far short of economists' expectations.

The number marked a significant slowdown in hiring from February, when the economy added 240,000 jobs.

"It's discouraging that job growth was half of what it had been the previous month," said Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project.

Job growth of around 120,000 is just about enough to keep up with population growth, and is therefore more like "treading water" than a major improvement, Owens said.

"It's a reminder that the U.S. recovery is not suddenly going to transform into a spectacular success, particularly not at a time when the rest of the world economy is stumbling," Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist of Capital Economics said in a note.

The hardest hit industry was retail, which lost 33,800 jobs, mostly at department stores.
On the positive side, manufacturers created 37,000 jobs, professional services created 31,000 jobs, and health care added 26,000 jobs.

To view the entire article, click here: http://money.cnn.com/2012/04/06/news/economy/jobs-report-unemployment/?hpt=hp_t3
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Google Searches Show Job Trends

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It’s tough out there. No doubt about it. But after months of unrelenting gloom, there are glimmers of hope for job seekers.

Google Chief Economist Hal Varian is pretty confident the national economy is recovering, and he's not just basing that on government data.

According to the Washington Post, Varian says he can tell from Americans' search habits.

In March, the number of Google users searching for information about unemployment benefits or employment centers began to drop, Varian said. Overall unemployment has continued to climb, of course, but new jobless claims have declined since peaking earlier this year.

The temporary employment index, however, is ticking higher.

A former economist and professor at the University of California at Berkeley, Varian says that increases in temporary employment, a leading indicator for labor markets, typically precede a rebound in full-time hiring. That index has ticked up in each of the past four months.

What this means is that the temporary assignment has, in effect, become a “working interview”’ where candidates can prove their worth before the organization commits to increasing permanent headcount.

Additionally, organizations who are in the process of downsizing are now proactively working to find new employment options for their talented staff with stellar track records. This is resulting in very good candidates being immediately available at short notice, which is great news for other companies who are looking to recruit new talent for their own businesses.

Temp-to-perm placements are projected to be a continuing trend as job seekers recognize the opportunity to be able to make their mark—and employers take advantage of being able to evaluate their needs before finalizing job descriptions.
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