July 02, 2010
Morning Edition implied that there is some mystery about the weak job growth in the recovery to date, at one point referring to it as a “jobless recovery.” It then tried to blame the health care bill and other issues for the lack of jobs. There is actually no mystery whatsoever behind weak job growth.
The recovery is extremely weak, with GDP growth of just 2.7 percent in the first quarter. Final demand, which excludes the impact of inventory fluctuations, grew by just 1.0 percent. Given the severity of the downturn we should be expecting growth in the 7-8 percent range. With such weak growth, it would be a surprise if the economy was creating jobs at a rapid pace.
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