A common misconception is repeated that factory jobs are slowly disappearing in the United States. But there have been steady gains recently: Just last month, manufacturing created 33,000 jobs.
U.S. manufacturing in 2010 ended the year with a net annual gain of 136,000 jobs.
This latest jobs report from the Labor Department actually showed “pretty strong growth across most industries”. The private sector is adding 150,000 jobs per month and picking up steam.
It doesn’t mean the unemployment problem is over. But companies are hiring at a pace that should continue to bring down unemployment slowly. (Read more of this NPR story, here)
Other Economic Good News
• Shoppers in the US braved February’s chill to hand retailers surprisingly strong sales gains, extending the momentum from a strong holiday season and providing evidence of a strengthening economic recovery, according to an AP news report this week.
• The number of people requesting unemployment benefits last week plunged to a nearly three-year low, bolstering the likelihood that companies will increase the pace of hiring this year, says an AP report, here.