On July 6th the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the U.S. added 80,000 jobs for the month of June. Employment for May was revised upwards to 77,000.
For the third consecutive year employment started strong, but fizzled. Through the first six months of this year,the nation added about 150,300 jobs a month. This compares to a monthly average of 160,800 jobs in the first half of 2011 and 145,800 jobs during the second half.
Employment increased in manufacturing; professional and business services, health care, and wholesale trade. Other sectors were relatively flat.
If you compare the first half of 2012 to the first half of 2011 (150,300 vs. 160,800), the employment situation is clearly worse this year and fewer jobs will be added this year, i.e. the glass is half empty.
A comparison of the second half of 2012 to the first half of 2011 (145,800 vs. 150,300) shows improvement in 2012.
Given projections for weak, but slightly stronger output growth in the second half, that means the glass is half full.
Nationally, is the glass half-empty or half-full?
On average, Colorado nonfarm employment is about 1.72% of the U.S. total. If Colorado grows at the same pace as the U.S. the July 20th press release will reflect a gain of about 1,400 jobs. At the moment, Colorado is currently recovering from the recession at a slightly faster rate than the U.S. It would not be surprising if Colorado added 2,500 to 3,000 jobs for June.
©Copyright 2011 by CBER.