March 8, 2019, Fairfax, Va.—Americans for Limited Government President Rick Manning today issued the following statement on the latest jobs numbers:
“The March jobs report will be one of the most watched since President Trump took office. These reports are simply snap shots in time so individual reports can have ups and downs, and next month’s report will tell us if the good news of continued strong employment as shown in the unemployment rate drop to 3.8 percent in the household survey is accurate, or if the very meager job creation number from the establishment survey is of concern.
“The fact that reports on employer and consumer sentiments toward the economy remain strongly positive plus the household survey showing 255,000 more people saying they have jobs leads me to believe that the jobs number is an anomaly as the three month average of that survey remains a robust 180,000 jobs per month. As the impact of the prior Congress’ tax cut bill continues to kick in through business investment, and the negative effects of anticipated rising interest rates no longer are a factor, it is reasonable to assume that the economy will continue growing. However, one possible headwind is the dearth of labor available to hire demonstrated by the reported 7 million plus more jobs than workers available to fill them.
“The first two years of the Trump administration has been focused upon bringing sidelined workers at about 9 million when he took office back into the workforce, and they have been successful dropping the number by more than 2 million. However, if job creators cannot find people to fill those jobs, they will automate or find other ways to grow or put expansion plans on hold. Since Congress is not going to enact a rational immigration policy to meet our economy’s needs, and they will also not reduce benefits to those who choose not to work, the job creation number may become less of an economic indicator than in the past as alternative means to get work done productively will be the obvious alternative to the labor shortages they face.”
Attachments:
“Government does not create jobs,” By Rick Manning, March 8, 2019 at http://dailytorch.com/2019/03/government-does-not-create-jobs/
Interview Availability: Please contact Americans for Limited Government at 703-383-0880 ext. 1 or at media@limitgov.org to arrange an interview.
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