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| The American Economy: Working for us! |
April 09, 2004 |
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Last week`s announcement that the economy created 308,000 jobs was good news in itself. But this week`s announcement by the Department of Labor on jobless claims is confirming evidence that the American economy is working for us again.
Economic Indicators Are Promising to Americans` Pocketbooks
Initial jobless claims in the week ending April 3 declined by a larger-than-expected 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted level of 328,000-the lowest level in 3 years.
The 4-week average also dropped by 3,250 to 366,750-the lowest level since November 25, 2000.
The U.S. economy created 308,000 jobs in March-the largest one-month gain since January 2000.
March marked the 7th straight month of job creation (Source: White House).
Over 759,000 jobs have been created in this economy since September 2003 (Source: White House).
 The household survey shows an increase in employment of 978,000 since August 2003. This number is even more telling because it includes the self-employed and business startups-not just payrolls (Source: White House).
Over the past year, the unemployment rate has fallen in 45 of the 50 states (Source: White House).
Unemployment, at 5.7 percent, is lower than the average of the 70s, 80s and 90s (Source: White House).
Homeownership is at an all-time high-nearly 7 in 10 American families own their homes (68.6 percent), (Source: Census Bureau).
The manufacturing sector has grown for the 10th straight month. |
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