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Townhall Finance...
Gas Prices Skunk Jobs
Again
by Bob Beauprez
High gas prices may be hitting the economy right in the gut. For
the month of March, the pace of new job creation was cut by more than
half compared to the last several encouraging monthly reports.
According to the Labor Department just 120,000 new jobs were created in
March. Over the previous three months an average of 246,000
new jobs were added. Analysts generally believe at least 200,000
new monthly jobs are necessary for the economy to expand.
Stuart Varney, business analyst at Fox News and Fox Business Network,
says these disappointing numbers “suggest the recovery has stalled.”
A little deeper look at the numbers reveals further troubling news – a
great many Americans walked away from the workforce.
The number of America’s employed or looking for a job (157.7 million)
declined by 164,000 in March even though the total age eligible
workforce population (242.6 million) increased by 169,000 people– a net
shift in the wrong direction of 333,000 people. The effect
of the shrinking size of the workforce was decline in the Labor Force
Participation Rate to 63.8%, and a slight drop of the unemployment rate
to 8.2%.
The skunk at the modest economic recovery party that seemed to have
begun can be found at your nearest gas station. The national
average price of gas has increased 18% (59 cents per gallon) in just
the last 90 days. That kind of shock to the family budget and to
the cost of producing and transporting goods is like putting a noose
around the neck of an already choking economy.
Worse, the full impact of the rapid rise in the cost of gas is just
beginning to be manifested in the economic numbers, and the peak
driving season and historically associated price increases is still a
month away.
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