The March 2012 Jobs Report

A few thoughts in light of the disappointing (though not surprising) March jobs report out today:

Today's numbers throw cold water on the enthusiasm sparked by the more positive numbers of the last several months. The economy added only 120,000 new jobs in March after adding more than 200,000 in each of the previous three months. Unemployment dipped 1/10% lower, to 8.2%, largely because fewer people sought work. This is not good news for the economy or for the reelection campaign of President Obama.

Lost in the political banter amongst the punditry is the grim reality that the previous three months positive numbers were, really, not so positive. This is in part because the jobs that have been added are, by and large, not good paying jobs. As Robert Reich points out, this is reflected in the very slow increases in consumer spending in the first quarter of 2012. Public sector employment (see The Fiscal Times here) and good middle class private sector jobs are simply not growing or are, in fact, shrinking.

Amid all the back and forth about what today's numbers may or may not mean for the President, as well as what they may or may not mean for Mitt Romney, it is important to remember that real recovery depends on middle class job opportunities. Good paying, permanent middle class jobs are necessary for sustainable economic growth. Put simply, people with good stable jobs spend, and when they spend the economy grows.