Wall Street Journal (04/02/12) Justin Lahart
For the three months through February, the U.S. added an average
of 245,000 payrolls, marking the strongest gains since 2006.
Economists are expecting Friday’s jobs report for March to
show a gain of 210,000 jobs. Observers say the actual employment
picture may be even better than the headline job figures have
shown.
The jobs data can have a hard time capturing the scope of
employment gains when the job market is recovering, and evidence
is increasing that is what is now happening. The payroll survey
only polls established firms, and so misses employment gains at
the very young companies that have historically fueled U.S. job
growth. A separate survey of households that the unemployment
rate is based on suggests stronger job gains, as does a census of
employment in the third quarter that the Labor Department
released last week, covering nearly the entirety of the U.S. job
market.