March saw a decline in job growth as the unemployment rate reached 4.5 percent.

March saw a decline in job growth as the unemployment rate reached 4.5 percent.

Given the decline in employment that took place in February, it seems paradoxical that the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a significant growth in the American employment sector. According to the figures, the growth of jobs has decreased since March. The data demonstrates that the relationship between the employed population and the 98,000 new jobs produced in the preceding month is not linear. When analyzing, one would tend to attribute the reduction in unemployment to the hiring trends across the different groups of industries while taking into consideration skills that are in demand for the middle class American citizens (Brades, Shelley & Schmidt, 2016). The trade and demographics currently shows that the source of jobs is changing. It however offers an easy landing spot to America till May. The statistics of the Labor Bureau relate to a decrease in the job demand in April and a resulting increase in the income of employees.

The author argues that the construction job reduced their positions by 6000 from 59000 positions, the manufacturing sector reduced their positions by 11000 from 26000 and the retail sector reduced theirs by 30000. But the result of all of this is an increased number of employed people. The researcher mentions that the chain stores were in fact struggling with an over capacity. He attributes this issue with the current trend of online shopping. Demand of goods from outside creates a shortage in supply for the locally produced goods and shifts the comparative advantage to the online suppliers. The authors’s argument over the figure representing the reduction in the employment is that previous statistics might have incorporated into the labor force wrong groups such as the people going to school or the already retired people or the people who already gave up in the search for jobs. When this figure is removed from the labor statistics, it would reflect a reduction in the number of people who are unemployed.

References

Brades, B. A., Shelley, M. C., & Schmidt, S. W. (2006). American government and politics today: The essentials. Belmont, Calif: Thomson/Wadsworth.

Job Gains Plummet in March as Unemployment Rate Hits 4.5 …(n.d). Retreived April 11, 2017, from https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2017-04-07/job-gains-plummet-in-march- as-unemployment-rate-hits-45-percent.