Jobs, By the Numbers
2…the number of years of consecutive employment growth in manufacturing, after not one single year of growth between 1997 and 2010.
8.5 percent…the unemployment rate, the lowest since February 2009 just after President Obama took office.
22…the number of consecutive months of private sector job growth.
12,000…the number of public sector jobs lost in December of 2011 alone.
212,000…the number of private sector jobs created in December of 2011 alone.
280,000…the number of public sector jobs lost in 2011.
315,000…the number of health care jobs created in 2011.
673,000…the number of private sector jobs lost during the entirety of the eight-year Bush presidency.
1,080,000…the number of net jobs created during the entirety of the eight-year Bush presidency.
1,600,000…the net number of jobs created during 2011, after accounting for job losses in the public sector.
1,900,000…the number of private sector jobs created during 2011.
IN TWO SENTENCES: In either of the past two years alone, President Obama created more private sector jobs than President Bush did during the entirety of his eight-year presidency. While today’s jobs numbers are a promising sign, it’s no time to get complacent when 14 MILLION Americans are still out of work.
Evening Brief: Important Stories That You May Have Missed
The Florida GOP refused to admit a Muslim man in its ranks, labeling him a “terrorist.”
What science can learn from forecasting science.
Why conservatives can’t do journalism.
States passed a record number of abortion restrictions this year.
How Mitt Romney’s firm drove a steel plant into bankruptcy, but still profited thanks to a federal bailout.
Santorum tells the mother of a cancer survivor that people with pre-existing conditions should pay more for health insurance.
Rick Santorum used to have a centrist record on education, and now he’s running away from it as fast as possible.
Those much-sought-after New Hampshire independents, says one expert, are “really not a bloc of voters.”
Alyssa Rosenberg likes Stephen Colbert’s “uncomfortably aggressive” gags and pranks.
Top 10 U.S. Government Investments in 20th Century American Competitiveness
Today, Commerce Secretary John Bryson held an event at the Center for American Progress to release a comprehensive report, “The Competitiveness and Innovative Capacity of the United States.” In conjunction, CAP’s Jennifer Erickson put together a top 10 list of government investments in 20th century American competitiveness:
- Ellis Island
- Panama Canal
- Hoover Dam
- GI Bill
- Marshall Plan
- Interstate Highway System
- DARPA
- Apollo Space Program
- Elementary and Secondary Education Act
- Humane Genome Project