According to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, the unemployment rates have dropped from 9% to 8.9%. While this may signal a future drop in unemployment rates, there should be some caution with the continuing rise in the costs of fuel, which could cause unemployment to skyrocket once more.
Payrolls rose by 192,000 last month with the addition of 22,000 jobs. Compared to December and January’s dismal job numbers, this is welcome news, as the economy is struggling to recover. However, there is one interesting fact that was not noted in these new unemployment numbers, and this was the number of Americans who have given up searching for jobs. If this were factored into the actual number, the unemployment rate would have jumped once again.
Of course, there is cautious optimism with the recent news. U.S. House Majority Leader, Eric Cantor (R-Va.), said in a statement that the numbers are “an encouraging sign that businesses are beginning to hire and people are getting back to work.” Cantor further states that the numbers are still too high and there needs to a push to ensure that employers have the fiscal needs to accommodate new employees and the opportunities to expand their business.
In other words, it is best to approach these numbers with some skepticism. However, if these numbers continue to rise, we could be headed back to the unemployment rates of pre-recession times.
Cross posted at Crystal Clear Conservative
