Job Watch: Added Jobs Fall Short Of Forecast -- February 4, 2015

Reuters is reporting:

U.S. private employers added 213,000 jobs in January, falling short of the median forecasts of analysts, a payrolls processor report showed on Wednesday.

Economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast the ADP National Employment Report would show a gain of 225,000 jobs.

December's private payrolls were revised up to 253,000 from the previously reported 241,000.

Remember, these are the magic numbers:

First time claims, unemployment benefits: 400,000 (> 400,000: economic stagnation)

New jobs: 200,000 (< 200,000 new jobs: economic stagnation)

Economists estimate the labor market needs to create about 125,000 jobs a month to keep the unemployment rate steady, though estimates vary -- Reuters.

Note: new jobs less than 200,000 portends economic stagnation; I don't see a big difference between 200,000 and 213,000 in the big scheme of things, especially in the 7th year of a recovery following the greatest recession since the Great Depression and gazillions of dollars in stimulus.

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Really Good News For Washington State

BizJournal is reporting:

Construction has started at Boeing's $1 billion 777X wing plant, after months of site preparation and thousands of dump truck trips.

The first steel is tangible evidence of the rapid progress Boeing (NYSE: BA) is making on this building, which will be a cornerstone of the 777X's advanced wing technology.
The building itself will be the largest single manifestation of Washington state's win of the 777X jet assembly.

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Meanwhile In The Bakken

The Billings Gazette is reporting:

Oil field investments now represent 30 percent of all investments in the U.S. economy because the practice known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has become so prevalent.

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Video Of The Day

I used to do this when I was in Yorkshire, England, with the USAF -- but not on my bike. LOL: