Saturday, January 10, 2004

Job growth came to an unexpected halt in December, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported yesterday, and rather than hunt for scarce work, tens of thousands of people disappeared from the labor force.

Most forecasters had said they thought December would be a breakthrough month for job creation, given the strengthening economy. But instead of the 150,000 new jobs they had expected, there were a minuscule 1,000. The unemployment rate dropped to 5.7 percent from 5.9 percent in November, but that was mainly because so many people chose not to look for work, a requirement to be counted as unemployed.

10:25 AM |