Rooting for a Recession

The media is just salivating this morning over the jobs numbers posted showing only 18,000 jobs have been added to payrolls.

From CNN: Jobs weak, unemployment soars

Unemployment soars? Huh?

The unemployment rate rose to 5 percent, the highest reading since November 2005, from a 4.7 percent reading in November. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate would rise but only to 4.8 percent.

Of course, economists were wrong again (shocker!), but going up 0.3% isn't exactly soaring.

If, say, it went to a Jimmy Carter-like 10%, then you could say it soared.

AP also celebrates:
Jobless rate hits 5 percent, 2-year high

WASHINGTON - Hiring practically stalled in December, driving the nation's unemployment rate up to a two-year high of 5 percent and fanning fears of a recession.

The only ones fanning fears of a recession are the media.

Employers last month added the fewest new jobs to their payrolls in more than four years, according to the employment report released Friday by the Labor Department. The report showed that employment conditions are deteriorating, strained by a housing slump and credit crunch that are sapping economic strength.

"The economy is getting hit by some body blows. The big question is whether the economy can withstand it or will it take a fall," said Ken Mayland, president of ClearView Economics.

The unemployment rate jumped from 4.7 percent in November to 5 percent in December, the highest since November 2005 after the Gulf Coast hurricanes dealt the country a mighty blow. Payrolls — both private employers and government — grew by just 18,000 last month, the worst showing since August 2003, when the economy suffered job losses as it struggled to recover from the 2001 recession.

Of course, it was the Clinton administration that led us into the 2001 recession, followed by 9/11, but you just never see that mentioned.

It was the tax cuts from George Bush that got us out of that mess, but do you ever seen that pointed out?

Naturally, they bury the positive news.

For all of 2007, the economy added 1.33 million jobs and the unemployment rate averaged 4.6 percent, the same as in 2006. Employment growth averaged 111,000 a month in 2007, down from 189,000 in 2006.

The 5 percent rate is relatively low by historical standards. In the recession of the early 1980s, for example, the jobless rate reached double-digit levels.

So if the 5% mark is relatively low (and it is), why all the hysteria?

Sure, we've had some bumps in the road, but the reporting on the economy has been abysmal.

Just to add to the confusion, check out these dueling headlines.

Wall Street higher on jobs data

That was yesterday.

Now today: Weak jobs data sets up market for lower open

Let's see what actually happens when the markets open.