Your first look at the latest JOBS REPORT and where the jobs were created (or not). This was NOT a good month for employment!

The latest jobs report for December 2013 is out and it is not good by any measure.  My very informal survey of various economics blogs (Left and Right) had guesstimates of between 175,000 to 235,000 new jobs projected. The official measure from the Bureau of Labor Statistics as a net 74,000.

Here is the section of the report that shows the major sectors of the economy and the number of jobs businesses have reported to have created in December. There is also the prior two months AND the jobs created one year prior.  This helps give perspective to the current number.

I highlighted in RED the areas where there was significant job LOSS(!) and in YELLOW the areas of significant job gains. In BLUE is "Health care and social services". This one is unusual because in prior periods this category of employment has been most always positive. For it to turn negative is unusual.

The increase in Retail jobs is not unexpected. What is worrying is that the 55,000 new jobs in this sector are relatively low-paying jobs.  The same can be said, for the most part, of the 40,000 in "Temporary Helps Services".

These jobs are certainly good for the people who got them.  However, no one can claim the quality of these jobs are ones that are going to significantly boost the economy.  Certainly they are not going to address the issue of inequality.

 Significant shrinkages in Construction, Information and Government were a drag on employment market.

One notable area was the very small decrease in "Healthcare and social services" (In BLUE).  This area of employment has been the workhorse for job creation for many years.  Seldom does it go negative!

January has to be better...RIGHT???