Reality-Based Engineering: Economy hits another jobs skid

Friday, June 03, 2005

Economy hits another jobs skid

We only made about 78,000 jobs last month, not including farm jobs. One thing that the reporter mentioned I thought was a little rediculous (emphasis mine):

The question is whether the drop in hiring will hurt consumer spending, which has fueled much of the economy's growth in recent years and now accounts for two thirds of economic activity. But other recent evidence concerning the labor market, such as initial unemployment claims and consumer confidence, have signaled more stable job growth.

Consumer spending has been at 2/3 for many years - or at least that's been the rule of thumb for a long as I can remember. Silly to say "it now accounts".