Cautious optimism greets new employment report
Defying fears that the government shutdown would sap the pace of job growth, the economy added 204,000 jobs in October - far more than expected - according to a report released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The estimates of job growth in August and September were also revised upward by 60,000 jobs over those two months.
The White House trumpeted the report as evidence of accelerated economic growth, though it still maintained that the shutdown had dealt a blow to job creation.
"The upward revisions to job growth in August and September, combined with solid third quarter GDP growth reported yesterday, suggest that the economy was gaining traction in the months leading up to the government shutdown," explained Jason Furman, the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, in a statement. "There should be no debate that the shutdown and debt limit brinksmanship inflicted unnecessary damage on the economy in October."
On Thursday, the Commerce Department reported that the U.S. economy grew at a 2.8 percent annual rate between July and September, beating expectations.
Going forward, Furman continued, "the mission for Congress remains clear: to take steps that increase certainty, speed growth, and boost job creation."
Also on Thursday, the Council of Economic Advisers released an estimate that the shutdown may have cost the economy 120,000 jobs in October, given the resultant decrease in consumer spending and consumer confidence.
- WH: Shutdown may have cost U.S. 120,000 jobs in October
- Jobs report: Economy added 204K jobs in October
Some were more measured in their optimism about Friday's report. "October's results beat expectations, but expectations were low," Jared Bernstein, formerly an economic adviser to Vice President Biden, wrote on his blog.
But despite his note of caution, Bernstein found quite a bit to like in the report. "These numbers paint a pretty different, and more positive, picture of recent job growth than even the last jobs report, which came out just a few weeks ago on Oct 22 due to the shutdown," he wrote. "Averaging over the past three months, employment was up about 200,000 per month, compared to 150,000 in the prior three months. That acceleration is more in keeping with yesterday's report of [2013 3rd quarter] GDP growth, which also came in higher than expected."
Republicans, for their part, offered qualified praise for the higher-than-expected job figures before changing the subject to the messy rollout of the president's health care law.
"While it's a good sign that more Americans found work last month than some predicted, wages are still stagnant, and millions of families and workers are facing cancellation notices and higher premiums because of ObamaCare," House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said in a statement. "That's why next week the House will vote on the 'Keep Your Health Plan Act' - a bill that gives the president a serious opportunity to honor his apology and his promise. In the months ahead, Republicans will continue to focus on reforms like this that protect Americans from this broken health care law, address the drivers of our debt, and strengthen our economy for everyone."
Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus offered a similar assessment in a statement. "While more Americans found jobs this month, I continue to worry about the millions of Americans who can't find a job despite looking for one month after month after month," he said. "Right now the biggest roadblock to job creation is ObamaCare. Republicans sounded the alarm on ObamaCare for years, but Democrats ignored those warnings. That's why American families are now feeling the impact of the law--slashed paychecks, reduced hours, lost jobs, fewer job prospects, struggling small businesses, a weak economy."