The Patriot Post® · Obama Regs Keep Stalling Job Creation

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday morning that the U.S. economy added 211,000 jobs in November while the headline unemployment rate cruised at a low 5%. This most likely means the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates later this month as Chairwoman Janet Yellen told the Senate Thursday that the board was going to examine the report, hoping to see “a continued solid trend of job creation.”

Additionally, average hourly wages increased four cents to $25.25, which puts wage growth this year at 2.3%, ever so slightly outpacing inflation. But not everything is solid, though. The U-6 measure of unemployment edged up to 9.9% because 319,000 people were forced to move to part-time work. As for the kinds of jobs created, much of the growth occurred in construction (46,000 jobs) and professional and technical services (28,000). The mining industry, however, continued to bleed from its peak last December, losing 11,000 jobs. This economic depression in the landscape of moderately good news can be attributed to the Obama administration’s regulation. Its crusade against coal has decimated the economy of West Virginia, and he did unions no favors in blocking the Keystone pipeline.

Furthermore, despite rising wages, the Left is still insisting on a $15-an-hour minimum wage, which will only increase unemployment and smother the meager gains in the average wage. So whatever happens in the coming weeks, the Obama administration cannot take credit for leading the economy out of the great recession because its regulation-happy tendencies have exacerbated the problem.