Job growth in rural counties continued to lag metropolitan areas in the closing months of 2019, according to the latest employment figures compiled by the federal government.
The nation’s largest metropolitan areas gained the most jobs. And rural counties located farthest from large urban centers had the slowest rate of job growth.
The economists, who were speaking at a panel called "Beyond GDP," made clear they think that's a huge mistake. GDP misses a lot. It doesn't, for instance, count the cooking, cleaning, and childrearing done in households. It doesn't count the value of people's health or a clean environment. It doesn't pay attention to the distribution of income or wealth. It doesn't pay attention to quality of life.
Washington’s influence industry, including former Trump officials and allies, has made big money helping companies get exemptions from tariffs — sometimes by undercutting small business owners like Mike Elrod.
Hiring slowed somewhat in December, as U.S. employers added 145,000 jobs. According to the Labor Department, that's down slightly from the three previous months, when employers added an average of 200,000 jobs. But the unemployment rate held steady at 3.5%, matching its lowest level in 50 years.
For all of 2019, the economy added 2.1 million jobs — the slowest pace of annual job growth since 2011. Job gains for October and November were revised down by a total of 14,000.
Average wages have increased 2.9% over the last year, outpacing inflation and boosting workers' buying power. Wage gains are still relatively modest, however, given the rock-bottom jobless rate.