Chart of the Day - Lowest decade job growth on record

Chart of the Day

Today, the Labor Department reported that nonfarm payrolls (jobs) decreased by 85,000 in December while the data for November was revised upward and now shows a gain of 4,000 jobs. For some perspective, today's chart illustrates the percent increase in the number of jobs for every decade since the 1940s (the data goes back to 1939). As today's chart illustrates, the number of jobs at the end of a decade has been anywhere from 20% to 38% greater than 10 years prior. That 20% plus growth has been the case until the decade just passed during which the number of jobs basically ended the year where it began. This subpar job growth is particularly noteworthy due to the fact that the US population has increased by 10% in addition to a significant increase in global wealth during the same time frame.

Notes:
- Where's the Dow headed? The answer may surprise you. Find out right now with the exclusive & Barron's recommended charts of Chart of the Day Plus.

Rate today's Chart of the Day
Excellent 5 4 3 2 1 No good
By voting every day you help us get you the charts you want to see.

Quote of the Day
"Not only our future economic soundness but the very soundness of our democratic institutions depends on the determination of our government to give employment to idle men." - Franklin D. Roosevelt

Events of the Day
January 17, 2010 - Golden Globe Awards
January 18, 2010 - Martin Luther King Jr. Day (observed) - Australian Open Tennis Tournament begins (ends Jan. 31st)

Mailing List Info
Chart of the Day is FREE to anyone who subscribes.
To ensure email delivery of Chart of the Day, add mailinglist@chartoftheday.com to your whitelist.

-- To subscribe, enter your email address
-- To unsubscribe, simply fill in our unsubscribe form.
-- To change your email address, first subscribe with your new email address and then unsubscribe your old email address (as described above).

Chart of the Day is provided to subscribers without warranty of any kind and accepts no responsibility for its accuracy or for any consequences of its use.

Journalists and bloggers may post the above free Chart of the Day on their website as long as the chart is unedited and full credit is given with a live link to Chart of the Day at http://www.chartoftheday.com. If your site provides a list of helpful links, we would appreciate it if you added a link for Chart of the Day at http://www.chartoftheday.com. However, Chart of the Day Plus charts are to be viewed by paying Chart of the Day Plus subscribers only and may not be republished.