Report Shows US Economy Creating More Jobs, But They’re Part-Time

Last week, the Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) released its monthly employment report, which painted a conveniently rosy economic picture just ahead of the election. The report showed the official unemployment rate was down (4.9%) with 161,000 new jobs added in October. Average hourly earnings and wages also jumped up 0.4%. There was some bad news to report as well, mainly in the form of full-time job losses, part-time job increases, and the rise in the number of multiple (two or more) job holders. Simply put: we’re creating more jobs, but those jobs are increasingly part-time. More and more Americans have to find more than one job to make ends meet.

The BLS reported that in October 103,000 full-time positions had been lost while 90,000 part-time jobs were added. Historical analysis going back to September 2015 shows full-time jobs are “giving way to part-time jobs in recent months as Obamacare starts to bite, and as retail hiring picks up,” according to ZeroHedge.

Of the 103,000 full-time positions lost, 7,000 were manufacturing and 2,000 were in mining and logging, accounting for almost 9% of the total jobs lost. Those well-paying, productive careers that make goods are being lost to low-wage, service industry part-time positions.

Government regulations like Obamacare force businesses to move to part-time employees because they can’t afford to pay employee premiums. Part-time work isn’t likely to make up for individual premium increases and inflation; so many individuals could be forced to sacrifice their health insurance one way or another. The “donut hole” Obamacare looks to close for workers and employers who can’t afford health insurance is growing larger by the month.

Taken at face value, the 161,000 new jobs seem positive until you factor in that most are part-time. Peter Schiff uses the restaurant industry as an example of how the October report numbers show a failing rather than thriving economy, in his recent podcast. Since 2014, the food industry has created 523,000 server and bartending jobs despite recent bankruptcies along with lower earnings and stock prices. Why are they hiring so many workers while their industry is tanking? Peter explains:

“They’re just hiring so many part-time people. That’s why the number is so big. They’re completely transitioning their workforce from full-time workers to part-time workers. That’s why this whole thing is a lie. When the labor secretary goes on television, he’s spreading fiction if he’s talking about this robust economy where we’re getting all of these jobs.”

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