The jobs numbers released this morning show that 2012 has gotten off with a bang: The economy added 243,000 jobs in January, the most for any month in almost a year. The unemployment rate dropped from 8.5 percent to 8.3 percent; that's the lowest that figure has been since February 2009. The private sector added 257,00 jobs in January.
The employment categories showing the biggest gains were professional and business services, which added 70,000 jobs; manufacturing, which added 50,000 jobs; and hospitality, which added 44,000. The hospitality sector, driven by what the government calls "food service and drinking places," has added 487,000 jobs to the economy over the past year.
The economy has now added at least 200,000 jobs in back-to-back months, and at least 100,000 jobs in five straight months. It's probably premature to say we're in full recovery, since we've been here before: The economy added more than 200,000 jobs in each of the three months from February to April of last year, before faltering over the summer. But we're certainly moving in the right direction.
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