Unemployment Drops To 8.9 Percent, Lowest In Almost 2 Years
NEW YORK (CBS 2) – Calvin Gordon lost his job at a consulting firm three months ago, and he's hanging on, hoping his situation will turn around soon.
"I eventually believe I'll get a job. It's just when, and that when—that underdetermined thing—is what's a little concerning," Gordon said.
Despite the unknown time frame, Gordon may have a little bit to celebrate as the job market slowly bounces back. New evidence on Friday morning revealed that the economy added 192,000 jobs in February, and the unemployment rate dropped to 8.9 percent—the lowest in almost two years.
Wall Street executives are hoping that one good month will lead to another after February showed the fastest hiring growth pace in nearly a year. When companies see the economy gaining strength, they're more willing to add to their payrolls.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said things are going in the right direction.
"I think the key here is that instead of unemployment stagnating or going up that we see a sustainable recovery moving forward and I think we're beginning to see that," Bernanke said.
The strongest hiring was in factories, education and health care. Meanwhile, retailers cuts jobs and so did state and local governments. Despite the progress in February, more than 13.5 million people are still looking for work, which is taking its toll on everyone, including Calvin Gordon.
"I'm not a person who's made to stay home. I can't. So this is really driving me crazy," Gordon said.
The economy has been growing for six straight quarters, but in the job market there's a long way to go. There are still twice as many unemployed as there were before the start of the recession.
The Labor Department also revised its count of the number of jobs created in January to 63,000—up from the original estimate of 36,000.
Tell us about your experience with the job market over the past two years.
