95.5% on Gain in Jobs is in Part-time Jobs

BLS Employment Situation Report (June 2014)

– Nonfarm Payrolls month/month  +288,000. Previous was +217,000

– Part-time Jobs +275,000.  This is 95.5% of the gain in jobs.

– Labor Participation Rate 62.8%. Previous was 62.8%

– Unemployment Rate 6.1%. Previous was 6.3% – Average Hourly Earnings month/month +0.2%

– Average Workweek  34.5 hours

A  very mediocre report.

We may be seeing the effects of ACA (Obamacare) as employers cut hours to <30 and add more part-time employees.  The “part time employees” is annotated in the BLS report as “Part time for economic reasons.”

In terms of economic health the Labor Participation Rate is more important than the Unemployment rate.  Some (about 1/3) of the drop in Labor Participation Rate is due to demographics (aging population) and some is due to people dropping out of the Jobs Market.

Initial Jobless Claims (week ended 6/28/2014)

– New Claims  315,000. Previous was 313,000

– 4-week Moving Average 315,000. Previous was 314,500.

Trade Deficit (May 2014)

– Deficit (iMports – eXports) $44.4 billion. Previous was $47.0 billion

This bodes for a slight improvement in GDP for 2ndQ2014.