Employment: Growth Is Finally Coming

A Government-Induced Turn, but a Turn Nonetheless After nearly two straight years of job losses, the month of November finally caved, giving a long-awaited positive payroll reading. Declines returned in December, however, and although we will likely see another loss in January, by early spring we may see the beginning of a string of employment gains. Yet several countervailing currents—decennial, … A Government-Induced Turn, but a Turn Nonetheless After nearly two straight years of job losses, the month of November finally caved, giving a long-awaited positive payroll reading. Declines returned in December, however, and although we will likely see another loss in January, by early spring we may see the beginning of a string of employment gains. Yet several countervailing currents—decennial, cyclical and secular—will all be in play. The most temporary and perhaps largest swing factor will be the decennial 2010 Census-related hiring and subsequent layoffs. Second, as the economy recovers there will be a natural cyclical improvement in the labor market and hiring should start picking back up across several private sectors. Finally, the most lasting of influences will be the ever ongoing secular changes in the economy that drive the supply and demand for labor over the long-run. Thank you for your interest in Wells Fargo’s Economic Commentary by Email. You are receiving this message because you have requested Economic Commentary information and updates sent via email. If you no longer wish to receive these emails, please click on the following link to access the Economic Commentary by Email registration page: http://www.wachovia.com/economicsemail.