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"Today's report that the economy created 248,000 jobs in September, pushing unemployment to a six-year low of 5.9 percent, is "real good news but not great news," says William K. MacReynolds, an economist and founding dean of Greensboro College's School of Business.
According to figures on nonfarm payrolls released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate is down substantially from the 7.2 percent rate at which it stood a year ago.
Also, employment revisions for the previous two months show there were almost 70,000 more jobs created than previously reported.
"With the increase in average hours worked to 34.6 (per week), this means that there is an increase in income in September, a good sign for moderate economic growth in the future," MacReynolds added.
Moreover, MacReynolds said, growth is strong in the retail employment sector. "This suggests retailers are getting ready for strong Christmas sales," he said.
The economy has yet to add enough jobs to reach pre-recession totals. "In this context, adding 300,000 jobs would be great news," MacReynolds said.
The bureau releases preliminary employment statistics on the first Friday of each month for the previous month, based on incomplete surveys. Those figures are revised a few weeks later after more detailed data are obtained.
MacReynolds, formerly an economist for the Federal Trade Commission, director of economic forecasting for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and a Blue Chip Economics forecaster, taught part-time at Greensboro College from 2010 until joining the full-time Business Administration and Economics faculty earlier this year.
Greensboro College, an independent, coeducational college affiliated with the United Methodist Church, is an academic and social community that unites the liberal arts and Judeo-Christian values in an atmosphere of diversity and mutual respect.
Founded in 1838 and located near downtown Greensboro, the college enrolls about 1,250 students from 32 states, the District of Columbia and 24 nations in its undergraduate liberal-arts program and four master's degree programs. In addition to rigorous academics and a well-supported Honors program, the school features a 16-sport NCAA Division III athletic program and dozens of service and recreational opportunities."
- A Press Release
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