Let’s put aside the pessimism. 353,000 new jobs is a lot!! It’s even more jobs than began in December so 2024 is off to an excellent start. The economy grew 3.3%. Inflation is falling. Real wages are moving up. Unemployment stayed at 3.7% – slightly below a half-century low.
All those bills that Biden passed are working. The $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan began the effort to pull people out of the hole they had sunk into — Child Tax Credit, money for schools, vaccines, small businesses, and anti-poverty programs. Then came the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act –– the first national investment in infrastructure in decades — and next, the CHIPS Act, which brings more jobs home from overseas.
The jobs are proof that employers are willing to keep hiring because they have confidence that consumers will keep spending.
Paul Wiseman, AP News: The US didn’t just avoid a recession — it’s adding hundreds of thousands of new jobs