Joint Economic Committee Hears from Bureau of Labor and Statistics on January Jobs Report

Washington, D.C. – The Joint Economic Committee (JEC) held a hearing on the newly released employment figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).  BLS Commissioner Keith Hall testified to recent developments in the labor market and answered questions on national employment trends.

“During the last three months of the Bush administration, we lost an average of 727,000 jobs per month.  In contrast, during the most recent 3 months of the Obama administration, we lost an average of 35,000 jobs each month.  The trend is heading in the right direction,” said JEC Chair Carolyn B. Maloney.  

Before a hearing today of the Joint Economic Committee, BLS Commissioner Keith Hall testified, “The past three months, we’ve had essentially no change [in jobs], a dramatic improvement over earlier.”

Today's employment report included some notable bright spots:

•    The temporary help sector, an early indicator of progress in the labor market, added 52,000 positions in January, and has added 247,000 jobs since September.

•    The manufacturing sector expanded for the first time in three years, adding 11,000 jobs.

•    Average weekly hours have risen, probably driven by the increase in manufacturing hours, which have increased 1.2 hours since June.  Average weekly earnings have also risen.

•    The number of people working part time, but who would like full-time work fell by nearly 850,000 and reached its lowest level in a year.  Combined with the average work week increasing, this is a sign that there are more full-time positions available.

“Today’s jobs report makes it clear – we are making progress, but the road to recovery will be long, and it will not be easy.  While we have brought the economy back from the brink, we are not yet where we need to be in terms of job creation. The mission is to create high-quality private-sector jobs,” said Chair Maloney.