Bush Economy Absorbs Katrina Job LossesWell, the much-heralded
rise in unemployment after Hurricane Katrina is proving much smaller than anticipated.
The Department of Labor reported yesterday that the economy lost 35,000 jobs in September, the first contraction since May 2003. The unemployment rate rose for the first time in seven months, inching up to 5.1 percent in September from 4.9 percent in August.
Job losses appeared to be concentrated in the disaster area. They were offset by strong employment growth in the rest of the country, which confirmed the continued strength of the economic expansion.
"The United States economy continues to impress with its resilience," said Scott Anderson, senior economist at Wells Fargo in Milwaukee. "The economic expansion will survive the hurricanes intact."Not only that, but it will probably show increasing strength in the next several months as the huge task of reconstructing New Orleans begins to hit. Question: How will the Lefty bloggers spin this into bad news?
