The Number of Government Employees INCREASED by 843,000
between Jan. 2001 and Aug. 2004
for an average of 19,160 per month.

U.S. Added 96,000 Jobs in September, Fewer Than Expected
By TERENCE NEILAN
NY Times
Published: October 8, 2004

The United States economy added 96,000 jobs in September, the Labor Department reported today, a weaker total than expected and a development that Senator John Kerry will surely try to exploit when he debates President Bush on domestic policy tonight.

The figures showed that the employment rate held steady in September at 5.4 percent, with 8 million people unemployed, but the increase in jobs fell short of Wall Street's expectations of 148,000 payroll additions.

"This is a weak number, no matter how you cut it," said the chief economist at Morgan Stanley, Stephen S. Roach, adding that private sector jobs are up "an average of only 65,000" over the past three months. "That's a pathetic pace of job creation by corporate America."

He added: "If you look at jobs growth over the 34 months of this recovery, then private payroll growth is up about four-tenths of 1 percent over the entire span of this recovery. Normally, the gains are closer to 8 percent, so there is a profound disconnect between this jobless recovery and anything we have seen before in post-World War II history in a U.S. business cycle."

Mr. Kerry was quick to respond to the figures today, saying in a statement: "With 1.6 million private sector jobs lost during his term, President Bush will be the first president in 72 years to face the electorate with an economy that has lost jobs under his watch. Indeed, job creation is now 7 million jobs behind where the administration projected in February 2002 our economy would now be if we followed the president's economic plan."

The economy needs to create an average of about 150,000 jobs a month just to absorb a growing labor force and keep the jobless rate steady.

The four hurricanes that swept through the southeast in August and September probably held down employment growth, the Labor Department said, "but not enough to change materially the bureau's assessment of the employment situation."

Payroll employment has risen by 1.8 million since reaching a trough in August 2003, with about half of the gain, or 885,000, occurring in March, April and May, the department report said. Since May, payroll job gains have totaled 405,000.

Employment increases in September occurred in financial activities, professional and technical services, and temporary help services.

According to Labor Department figures, the net job loss in the private sector since January 2001 is 1.6 million, but the government added 843,000 government jobs between the end of January 2001 and last month.