Jobs report: Slow growth ahead

(MoneyWatch) Last week, the government confirmed that the U.S. economy eked out a growth rate of 0.1 percent in Q4 2012. The result brings total gross domestic product for the year to 2.2 percent, an improvement over 2011's rate of 1.8 percent, but a level of growth that could be described as slow when compared to the post-war average of 3 to 3.5 percent.

The drag on growth can be attributed to lots of factors, the most important of which is that when economies plunge into once-in-a-generation recessions, which are fueled by bursting assets and credit bubbles, it's takes a number of years of sub-par growth to dig out. 2013 is likely to be another year of sub-par growth, in part due to the effects of sequestration, which is expected to create a 0.5 percent drag on growth. Economists now believe that GDP will come in at about 2 percent this year, which is fine, OK but not stellar and certainly not strong enough to spur robust job creation.

Sequestration means that the four-year trend of shrinking government (federal and state) payrolls will continue. Here's the annual change in public payroll employment since 2009:

Of these totals, state and local governments were responsible for a large portion (-129,000 jobs in 2009, -262,000 in 2010, -239,000 in 2011, -32,000 in 2012):

Unfortunately, just as state and local government layoffs are tapering off, the sequester will force federal cuts. Economists expect that 155,000 jobs were created in February, close to the 157,000 jobs added in January; the unemployment rate should hold steady at 7.9 percent.

Markets:

Will this be the week that the Dow Jones Industrial Average will take out its all-time nominal close of 14,164? If so, the timing would be ironic. March 9 marks the four-year anniversary of this cycle's stock market low:

The ensuing four years have seen enormous progress for stock indexes, more than doubling in values.

-- DJIA: 14,089 up 0.6 percent on week, up 7.5 percent on year (75 points below all-time nominal close of 14,164)

-- S&P 500: 1,518, up 0.2 percent on week, up 6.5 percent on year

-- NASDAQ: 3,169, up 0.2 percent on week, up 5 percent on year

-- April Crude Oil: $90.68, down 2.6 percent on week

-- April Gold: $1,572.30, flat on week

-- AAA nat'l average price for gallon of regular gas: $3.76

THE WEEK AHEAD:

Mon 3/4:

Tues 3/5:

10:00 ISM February Non-Manufacturing PMI

Weds 3/6:

8:15 ADP February Jobs Survey

10:00 January Factory Orders

Thurs 3/7:

8:30 Weekly Claims

8:30 US Trade Deficit

8:30 Q4 Productivity (revised)

3:00 Consumer Credit

Fri 3/8:

8:30 February Employment Report (+155K, unemployment 7.8-7.9%)

10:00 February Wholesale Inventories

[countrydon]

The Republicans, guided by high profile lobbyists, have spent years legislating tax breaks for the wealthy and corporate interests in exchange for campaign contributions and other favors. The "job creators" that benefit from this corruption don't create jobs; they invest in multi-national corporations who's purpose is to maximize profit by, among other things, employing the cheapest labor on the planet. Then they claim that the government doesn't create jobs. If that is true, why will the sequester result in an estimated loss of 700,000 jobs IN AMERICA? The Republican agenda is clear; pillage America on behalf of the rich to solidify their power as a hereditary aristocracy, like kings, queens, dukes and duchesses, without the title but still wearing the flag and standing behind a Bible.

[GOP-R--Con-Men]

Republicans are hellbent on making life harder and harder for average americans. They never support programs that help average americans but they fall all over themselves helping corporations and the wealthy. No republican voted to extend unemployment benefits but they couldn't vote fast enough to extend tax cuts for coporations and the wealthy. Average americans must stop supporting them when clearly they don't support us.

I mean really. There is a direct correlation between this story and the way republicans are bullying America and President Obama. The teabagging GOP republicans are the political bullies of today. President Obama has tried to help struggling Americans and republicans continue to sabotage everything he proposes.

We as voters cannot continue to enable, support and reward republicans for their despicable unpatriotic behavior of purposely ruining the country so that they can win the white house and both house of congress. Us voters are thee bystanders in this story and we cannot let them continue to their bullying ways. Therefore, it is imperative voters reject republicans en mass to show them they work for us not corporations, big oil and the wealthy. Corporations, big oil and the wealthy might have more money but average struggling Americans have more votes. Now lets use them