Hourly Wages Fell Again, Reducing Demand, Slowing Job Creation.

The latest jobs report is deceptive. Sure it’s the same old stuff; unemployment is down because workers gave up looking (8.3 to 8.1), job creation is slow (96,000) and industrial futures fell, before they regained their lost yields. Yawn.

But it’s what came after the above standard AP rhetoric that tells the real story:

Hourly pay fell, manufacturers cut the most jobs in two years and the number of people in the work force dropped to its lowest level in 31 years.

When pay falls, so does consumer spending. That in turn kills demand. Manufacturers are forced to cut jobs, which then produces the lowest number of people working in 31 years.

Nowhere in the Romney/Ryan plan do I see any mention of raising worker wages.

After the Great Recession, a new business model swept industry; keep full time employment down, but hire part-time workers only during times of high demand. That changed everything forever. In fact, it’s an employer’s market right now. They’re in the driver’s seat, with an oversupply of desperate workers to choose from, and that drags wages down.

This isn’t Obama’s fault, but the fault of small government Republicans who don’t want to see a national plan for manufacturing. But there is good news...

The report marks the 30th straight month of private-sector job gains. Jim O'Sullivan, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, noted that hiring has improved slightly in the past two months. Job gains averaged 119,000 in July and August, up from an average monthly gain of 67,000 in the April-June quarter. "There's no sign of momentum fading," he said. "That said, it's not much better. ... What you're left with is an economy that's still growing, but pretty modestly."

But getting back to the real problem, wages:

Figures suggest that companies are seeing less demand for their services and need fewer workers.