The government report that 236,000 jobs were added last month comes from a long controversial model. An actual private count, as reported here, has a number nearly 58% lower than that:
For all the optimism of the government's report Friday, there were other weaknesses in the data.
More than 100,000 of the new positions came through the Labor Department's Birth/Death Model, which approximates the number of positions created through new business creation and failure.
The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, also from the government, showed a net of 145,000 new positions filled, which is at or just below the level associated with bringing down the unemployment rate.
Market research firm TrimTabs said its independent count, which relies on income tax withholdings, showed just 100,000 new jobs.
"The U.S. economy is not as strong as the conventional wisdom believes." said TrimTabs CEO David Santschi.
