a href="http://www.econbrowser.com/archives/2008/12/the_employment.html">Econbrowser: The Employment Situation in Pictures: Rather than engage in long commentary, I thought a set of pictures would be sufficient to convey the deteriorating macroeconomic situation, at least as reflected in the labor market.
First, the decline from peak in nonfarm payroll employment at 2007M12 (1.911 million), and how revisions have continued to be in a negative direction. Whereas in the past, commentators could say that the job loss figures were not consistent with recession, I think that is no longer a plausible assertion.
Second, note that the decline in hours of employment has been much more drastic than the decline in employment (2.9% vs. 1.4%, in log terms).
Comments