214,000 jobs were added to the economy during the month of October according to the Labor Department. Furthermore, the number of people participating in the labor force has reached its highest point in five years.
Numbers for the month of September were also revised upward to 256,000.
via Bloomberg
The share of the population with jobs rose to 59.2 percent in October, the highest since July 2009, from 59 percent the prior month.
Average hourly earnings for all workers rose 0.1 percent in October from the prior month. They were up 2 percent over the past 12 months, less than the 2.1 percent median forecast. The average work week for all employees increased six minutes to 34.6 hours.
The above numbers are worth highlighting, even if they appear to be small increases, because conservatives often complain about the number of people who aren’t working.
The idea that Obamacare is reducing the amount of hours that employees are scheduled to work is also a central pillar of the Republican platform, and following the election they declared their intention to redefine what it means to be “full-time,” but as you can see the average work week is actually trending upward.
The economy is undoubtedly headed in the right direction but, you know, Americans are unhappy about that. Or something.