Jobs

Obamacare Fails to Kill Jobs as Unemployment Drops Below 5 Percent

Written by SK Ashby

It's a "job killer" they said.

Payrolls grew less than expected during the month of January, however the unemployment rate has reached the lowest level in 8 years according to the Labor Department.

Perhaps more importantly, wages increased more than expected

Job growth settled into a more sustainable pace in January and the unemployment rate dropped to an almost eight-year low of 4.9 percent, signs of a resilient labor market that’s causing wage growth to stir.

The 151,000 advance in payrolls, while less than forecast, largely reflected payback for a seasonal hiring pickup in the final two months of 2015, Labor Department figures showed Friday. The jobless rate fell to the lowest level since February 2008. Hourly earnings rose more than estimated after climbing in the year to December by the most since July 2009.

It's amusing to think that former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney promised to reduce the unemployment rate to 6 percent during his first four-year term. We haven't even reached the four-year mark yet and unemployment has dropped below 5 percent.