Jobs Day 2012, By the Numbers

Today is Jobs Friday.

Here’s the rundown on the monthly employment report from the Department of Labor.

-647,000…the number of jobs created lost in state and local governments since August 2008.

-22,000…the average number of public sector jobs created lost each month in 2011, thanks to ongoing spending cuts at all levels of government which in turn continue to drive layoffs at the state and local level.

-14,000…the number of construction industry jobs created lost last month, something which could have been avoided and turned into a net positive for the economy if Republicans had not blocked the infrastructure investments in the American Jobs Act.

-6,000…the number of public sector jobs created lost last month, thanks to ongoing spending cuts at all levels of government which in turn continue to drive layoffs at the state and local level.

3…the number of consecutive months with more than 200,000 jobs gained.

24…the number of consecutive months of private sector job growth.

31,000…the number of manufacturing jobs created last month.

61,000…the additional jobs created during the months of December and January, according to revised figures released today.

61,000…the number of new health care jobs created last month.

227,000…the number of net new jobs created in February.

233,000…the number of private sector jobs created in February.

245,000…the average number of new jobs created over the past three months.

444,000…the number of jobs in durable goods manufacturing added since January 2010.

GOP Austerity in Action: Public Sector Job Losses Drag Down the Recovery

While Republicans are calling for tens or even hundreds of thousands more public sector workers to be axed, it’s clear that the public sector has already severely contracted even as the private sector recovers.  Check out this chart (red is public sector employment, blue is private sector employment):

If Republicans had not blocked further aid to state and local governments and insisted on deep spending cuts, it’s almost certain that hundreds of thousands of public workers would still be gainfully employed and helping to fuel a strong recovery thanks to their own personal consumption. Instead, the 647,000 public sector jobs lost since August 2008 continue to provide a drag on the overall economy, in addition of course to creating untold hardship for those who lost their jobs.

(In case you’re wondering, that spike in public sector employment was due to the hiring of temporary census workers in 2010.)

Opposite Day: GOP Uses Improving Economy to Attack the President

When the news on jobs day was less encouraging than in recent months, the GOP had a singular strategy: blame Obama.  And now in the face of months of solid job growth, the GOP’s strategy: ignore reality, find a way to blame Obama.  Here’s a sample of some of the reactions to today’s good news on the economy:

Mitt Romney: “This president has failed.”

Speaker Boehner: “It is a testament to the hard work and entrepreneurship of the American people that they are creating any jobs in the midst of the onslaught of anti-business policies coming from this administration.”

RNC Chair Rience Priebus: “Today’s jobs report is yet another reminder that far too many Americans are out of work, and the situation is clearly not improving.”