First of all, when looking at the chart remember you are looking at ALL NON-FARM employed positions, which does not take into account reduced hours. Then look at the chart below it to see the output per hour… it tells the rest of the story..
Employment, Hours, and Earnings from the Current Employment Statistics survey (National)
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 127480 | 127890 | 127996 | 128372 | 128585 | 128851 | 129142 | 129334 | 129536 | 129944 | 130238 | 130532 | |
| 2000 | 130781 | 130902 | 131374 | 131660 | 131885 | 131839 | 132002 | 132005 | 132127 | 132116 | 132347 | 132485 | |
| 2001 | 132469 | 132530 | 132500 | 132219 | 132175 | 132047 | 131922 | 131762 | 131518 | 131193 | 130901 | 130723 | |
| 2002 | 130591 | 130444 | 130420 | 130335 | 130328 | 130373 | 130276 | 130260 | 130205 | 130331 | 130339 | 130183 | |
| 2003 | 130266 | 130108 | 129896 | 129847 | 129841 | 129839 | 129864 | 129822 | 129925 | 130128 | 130146 | 130270 | |
| 2004 | 130420 | 130463 | 130801 | 131051 | 131361 | 131442 | 131489 | 131610 | 131770 | 132121 | 132185 | 132317 | |
| 2005 | 132499 | 132720 | 132841 | 133153 | 133365 | 133624 | 133946 | 134136 | 134223 | 134321 | 134701 | 134861 | |
| 2006 | 135155 | 135429 | 135711 | 135862 | 135886 | 135956 | 136142 | 136291 | 136438 | 136520 | 136781 | 137000 | |
| 2007 | 137180 | 137216 | 137400 | 137435 | 137591 | 137645 | 137580 | 137552 | 137652 | 137817 | 138032 | 138152 | |
| 2008 | 138080 | 137936 | 137814 | 137654 | 137517 | 137356 | 137228 | 137053 | 136732 | 136352 | 135755 | 135074 | |
| 2009 | 134333 | 133652 | 133000 | 132481 | 132178 | 131715 | 131411 | 131257 | 131118 | 131007(P) | 130996(P) | ||
| P : preliminary | |||||||||||||
The following table as a historical reference follows periods of output for employment in non government
Major Sector Productivity and Costs Index
| Year | Qtr1 | Qtr2 | Qtr3 | Qtr4 | Annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 3.9 | 0.3 | 3.3 | 7.1 | 3.3 |
| 2000 | -1.5 | 9.4 | 0.1 | 4.0 | 3.4 |
| 2001 | -1.3 | 7.4 | 2.5 | 5.8 | 2.9 |
| 2002 | 8.8 | 0.5 | 3.8 | -0.3 | 4.6 |
| 2003 | 3.7 | 5.3 | 9.7 | 1.5 | 3.7 |
| 2004 | 0.9 | 3.7 | 0.7 | 0.8 | 2.8 |
| 2005 | 3.9 | -0.6 | 2.9 | -0.4 | 1.7 |
| 2006 | 2.8 | 0.6 | -1.9 | 2.4 | 0.9 |
| 2007 | 1.2 | 2.8 | 5.5 | 2.0 | 1.8 |
| 2008 | -0.1 | 3.1 | -0.1 | 0.8 | 1.8 |
| 2009 | 0.3 | 6.9 | 8.1 |
Output strained through… If you haven’t guessed already, fewer hours, same number of workers = Higher output…
Right now, the Obama administration is looking at the November numbers and cheering that only 11,000 jobs were lost in that month. It will be interesting to see if the output remains as high, and it will also be interesting to see how badly the preliminary numbers get fudged for permanence.
An example of fewer doing more easily found in the relationship to the beginning of the Iraq war in 2003 (march) and corresponding high numbers with people doing the work of the soldiers deployed.
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