Employment news -- 2

I got an e-mail in response to the initial post which reads as follows:

"One point worth noting is that the ADP report does not include the birth/death adjustment. So Friday's results net of census workers are still likely (if ADP is a valid harbinger) to be in the 150K range, not great but much better than ADP looked at in isolation. Of course, the birth/death adjustment numbers are, themselves, suspect."

This is certainly correct. The birth death adjustment usually makes the number this time of the year better -- although it will likely make them worse in the fall just in time for the elections. The key, however, is not the numbers of jobs, but the lack of sterling productivity growth.