Research Briefing

Due To Large Number Of Census Hires,

Jobs Report Is Sadly Too Good To Be True

MAY JOBS INCREASE LARGELY FROM TEMPORARY CENSUS WORKERS

Today, BLS Reports That 431,000 Jobs Were Created In May.  (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed 6/4/10)

But, 411,000 Jobs Were Temporary Census Workers.  (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, Accessed 6/4/10)

“The Census Jobs, However, Are By Their Nature Short-Term, Without Any Hope Of Becoming Full-Time Positions.” (Phil Izzo, “Census Hiring Set To Go Supernova,” The Wall Street Journal, 5/28/10)

AND EVEN THE COUNTING OF CENSUS JOBS WAS DUBIOUS

A Census Worker Calling Themselves “C.M.” Reports That They Have Been Rehired Four Times By The Census. “‘I am on my fourth rehire with the 2010 Census. I have been hired, trained for a week, given a few hours of work, then laid off. So my unemployed self now counts for four new jobs.’”(John Crudele, “Two More Census Workers Blow The Whistle,” The New York Post, 5/25/10)

A Whistleblower Reports That The Census Is Firing And Rehiring Workers In Order To Report More Jobs To The Labor Department Than Are Actually Created. “Last week, one of the millions of workers hired by Census 2010 to parade around the country counting Americans blew the whistle on some statistical tricks. The worker, Naomi Cohn, told The Post that she was hired and fired a number of times by Census. Each time she was hired back, it seems, Census was able to report the creation of a new job to the Labor Department.” (John Crudele, “Two More Census Workers Blow The Whistle,” The New York Post, 5/25/10) 

BUT THAT DOESN’T STOP OBAMA FROM CLAIMING SUCCESS ON THE ECONOMY

Obama: “This Report Is A Sign That Our Economy Is Getting Stronger By The Day.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks In Hyattsville, Maryland, 6/4/10)

• Obama: “What These Numbers Do Mean Is That We Are Moving In The Right Directions. The Economic Policies We Put In Place Are Working.” (President Barack Obama, Remarks In Hyattsville, Maryland, 6/4/10)

THE TRUTH IS JOBS REPORT WAS A DISAPPOINTMENT

CNBC’s Carl Quintanilla: “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For … Which Is Job Growth.” (CNBC’s, “Squawk Box,” CNBC, 6/4/10)

CNBC’S Steve Liesman: “[N]ot A Lot Of Good News In This Thing – No Matter How You Slice And Dice It. It Was A Whiff And All You Can Do If You're An Optimist Here Is Wait For Next Month And Hope These Are Revised Up And The Private Sector Job Machine Kicks Into Gear.” (CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” 6/4/10)

Politico Headline: “Job Growth Disappoints” (Eamon Javers & Ben Smith, Politico, 6/4/10)

• Politico: “The Government Said That 411,000 Of The Jobs Created In May Were Temporary Positions With The Once-A-Decade US Census, And Not The Kind Of Employment That Can Drive A Sustained Economic Recovery.” (Eamon Javers & Ben Smith, “Job Growth Disappoints,” Politico, 6/4/10)

NPR: “Job Growth: A Big, Disappointing Number” (“Job Growth: A Big, Disappointing Number,” NPR’s “Planet Money” Blog, 6/3/10)

Reuters: “Instant View: May Payrolls Short Of Expectations” (“Instant View: May Payrolls Short Of Expectations,” Reuters, 6/4/10)

Vassili Serebriakov, Wells Fargo: “It's Mainly Disappointing. The Number Of Private Jobs Created Was Well Below Expectations.” (“Instant View: May Payrolls Short Of Expectations,” Reuters, 6/4/10)