The Patriot Post® · January Jobs

The U.S. economy added just 113,000 jobs in January, failing for the second straight month to keep up with population growth. The headline unemployment rate fell again to 6.6%, but the better news is that the bigger-picture number, known as the U-6 rate, also fell to 12.7%, the lowest since December 2008. Workforce participation rose slightly but is still at a historic low. Still, the Associated Press called it a “surprisingly weak” jobs report, indicating that the economy is slowing again. In fact, it’s not surprising at all. CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf warned this week that “a slower rate of growth of the labor force” – caused at least in part by ObamaCare – “is the central factor in slowing economic growth.” Slower growth is leftism’s central tenet.