'Obama stock market rally' hits record Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500 on big job number, U.S. stocks on Friday rose to record heights, with the Dow industrials soaring above 15,000 and the S&P 500 index above 1,600, and the NASDAQ as Wall Street celebrated the April jobs report. The continuing "Obama stock market rally" is reaching new heights with each passing week, as President Obama inherited a quickly dropping stock market in late 2008 and early 2009. President Obama also inherited an unemployment situation reminiscent of the "Great Depression of 1929," in which the stock market crashed and millions of Americans lost their jobs.
The quick turnaround of the stock market and the job market has result in rising confidence in the economy.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPX) advanced 1.1 percent to 1,614.42 at 4 p.m. in New York, topping 1,600 for the first time. The Dow gained 142.38 points, or 1 percent, to 14,973.96 after earlier climbing as high as 15,009.59. More than 6.4 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, in line with the three-month average.
In a statement by Alan B. Krueger, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, he said that "while more work remains to be done, today’s employment report provides further evidence that the U.S. economy is continuing to recover from the worst downturn since the Great Depression. It is critical that we remain focused on pursuing policies to speed job creation and expand the middle class, as we continue to dig our way out of the deep hole that was caused by the severe recession that began in December 2007."
Yesterday's report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed that private sector businesses added 176,000 jobs last month. Total non-farm payroll employment rose by 165,000 jobs in April. The February and March employment estimates were revised up by a total of 114,000 jobs. The economy has now added private sector jobs every month for 38 straight months, and a total of 6.8 million jobs has been added over that period. Over 800,000 private sector jobs have been added over the last four months.
The household survey showed that the unemployment rate edged down from 7.6 percent in March to 7.5 percent in April, the lowest rate since December 2008. The labor force participation rate was unchanged at 63.3 percent in April.
Alan B. Krueger said that "now is not the time for Washington to impose self-inflicted wounds on the economy. The Administration continues to urge Congress to replace the sequester with balanced deficit reduction, while working to put in place measures to create middle-class jobs, such as by rebuilding our roads and bridges and promoting American manufacturing. The President will continue to press Congress to act on the measures he called for in his State of the Union address to make America a magnet for good jobs, help workers earn the skills they need to do those jobs, and make sure their hard work leads to a decent living."
According to the establishment survey, in April employment rose notably in professional and business services (+73,000), bars and restaurants (+37,900), retail trade (+29,300), and health care and social assistance (+26,100). Construction declined by 6,000 (due to a fall in nonresidential construction employment), after growing for 10 consecutive months and adding 181,000 jobs in that period.
The Administration is stressing every month, the monthly employment and unemployment figures can be volatile, and payroll employment estimates can be subject to substantial revision.
But this economic jobs report is reflected in the continued "Obama stock market rally."
Send John Presta an email and your story ideas or suggestions to johnpresta@att.net.
John is the author of an award-winning book, the 2010 Winner of the USA National Best Book award for African-American studies, published by The Elevator Group Mr. and Mrs. Grassroots: How Barack Obama, Two Bookstore Owners, and 300 Volunteers did it. Also available an eBook on Amazon. John is also a member of the Society of Midland Authors and is a book reviewer of political books for the New York Journal of Books. John has volunteered for many political campaigns.
The quick turnaround of the stock market and the job market has result in rising confidence in the economy.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPX) advanced 1.1 percent to 1,614.42 at 4 p.m. in New York, topping 1,600 for the first time. The Dow gained 142.38 points, or 1 percent, to 14,973.96 after earlier climbing as high as 15,009.59. More than 6.4 billion shares changed hands on U.S. exchanges, in line with the three-month average.
In a statement by Alan B. Krueger, Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers, he said that "while more work remains to be done, today’s employment report provides further evidence that the U.S. economy is continuing to recover from the worst downturn since the Great Depression. It is critical that we remain focused on pursuing policies to speed job creation and expand the middle class, as we continue to dig our way out of the deep hole that was caused by the severe recession that began in December 2007."
Yesterday's report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed that private sector businesses added 176,000 jobs last month. Total non-farm payroll employment rose by 165,000 jobs in April. The February and March employment estimates were revised up by a total of 114,000 jobs. The economy has now added private sector jobs every month for 38 straight months, and a total of 6.8 million jobs has been added over that period. Over 800,000 private sector jobs have been added over the last four months.
The household survey showed that the unemployment rate edged down from 7.6 percent in March to 7.5 percent in April, the lowest rate since December 2008. The labor force participation rate was unchanged at 63.3 percent in April.
Alan B. Krueger said that "now is not the time for Washington to impose self-inflicted wounds on the economy. The Administration continues to urge Congress to replace the sequester with balanced deficit reduction, while working to put in place measures to create middle-class jobs, such as by rebuilding our roads and bridges and promoting American manufacturing. The President will continue to press Congress to act on the measures he called for in his State of the Union address to make America a magnet for good jobs, help workers earn the skills they need to do those jobs, and make sure their hard work leads to a decent living."
According to the establishment survey, in April employment rose notably in professional and business services (+73,000), bars and restaurants (+37,900), retail trade (+29,300), and health care and social assistance (+26,100). Construction declined by 6,000 (due to a fall in nonresidential construction employment), after growing for 10 consecutive months and adding 181,000 jobs in that period.
The Administration is stressing every month, the monthly employment and unemployment figures can be volatile, and payroll employment estimates can be subject to substantial revision.
But this economic jobs report is reflected in the continued "Obama stock market rally."
Send John Presta an email and your story ideas or suggestions to johnpresta@att.net.
John is the author of an award-winning book, the 2010 Winner of the USA National Best Book award for African-American studies, published by The Elevator Group Mr. and Mrs. Grassroots: How Barack Obama, Two Bookstore Owners, and 300 Volunteers did it. Also available an eBook on Amazon. John is also a member of the Society of Midland Authors and is a book reviewer of political books for the New York Journal of Books. John has volunteered for many political campaigns.
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