The unemployment rate for December came in at 9.4% down from 9.7% in November and the lowest in 19 months. The economy added 103,000 jobs in December and for the year 2010 over 1.1 million new jobs were created. One can compare that to the average of almost 1/2 million jobs lost a month in the last 14 months of the Bush administration.
The Labor Department announced the economy added 210,000 jobs in October, up from 172,000 previously reported and November's job creation was revised up from 39,000 to 71,000. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told a Senate panel he sees evidence that a "self sustaining" recovery is taken place.
According to an AP report dated Jan 10, Morgan Stanley economists said 4% GDP is likely in 2011. The growth had been projected to be between 2.25-2.50% earlier by many economist. The unemployment, job growth and the GDP is now coming in line with this writers predictions as published in politidose long before the economist changed their mind. The economic recovery is taking place despite the opposition by the republican party to the President's policies. The deal the President made with republicans to extend the Bush tax cuts has nothing to do with the economic recovery and the republicans just say no attitude for the past two years has once again made them a bystander to the recovery.
Like Clinton, once again it is a democratic President and his policies who turned around the greatest economic failure and record job losses since the great depression. The President needs to continue to be vigil and monitor the progress of the recovery and do those things necessary to continue a "sustained recovery" and job creation. Anything less is unacceptable.
