A good jobs report

Thank goodness for an aging population and a seemingly inexhaustible supply of money with which to pay for its medical costs. Health care has been the most consistent source of new employment for many years now and the trend remained intact with this morning's nonfarm payrolls data.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 157,000 jobs were created in May, led by 36,000 new positions in health care and social assistance. Not far behind health care were the 34,000 new waiters and busboys in the food service category, a continuing testament to the economic benefits of huge portion sizes at the nation's dining establishments.

Overall, there has been a distinct slowdown in job creation over the last year but, so far, the most important economic statistic has failed to show any significant signs of distress.


Unlike the second most important economic statistic, consumer prices, there appears to be little or no reality gap between what the government reports and what its citizens experience when it comes to employment. With some notable exceptions, jobs seem to be plentiful, so long as you don't mind changing bed pans or super-sizing orders.

Continuing a trend that began in the 1970s and accelerated in 2001, only to be interrupted by a three year housing boom a few years back, the goods-producing segment of the economy is again in steady decline.

The combined net change to payrolls for natural resources/mining, construction, and manufacturing has been negative for six of the last eight months and a total of 190,000 jobs have been lost. This again demonstrates the impact of globalization where about the only area of goods-producing employment growth since the turn of the century has been the three-year housing boom that came to an end last year.

On the bright side, construction employment has again failed to disappoint the many housing pessimists by posting a goose egg for the month when many had been expecting a bloodbath. And only a few thousand retail trade positions were cut, indicating that the consumer continues to spend.

Within the professional and business services category surprising strength was seen in accounting, architecture, and computer systems design where 32,000 jobs were created.

Overall, this was not a bad report, though the details make very clear the changing nature of the economy.