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The May jobs report released by the U.S. Department of Labor this morning was disappointing enough based on the fact that about 95 percent of the new jobs created last month were government jobs, and only 41,000 private sector jobs were created. But according to an analysis released this morning by economist Larry Lindsey, the news gets even worse for out-of-work Americans: as much as 20 percent of those 41,000 private sector jobs may be attributable not to renewed economic growth, but to the BP oil spill clean-up operation.
According to Lindsey:
Employment in support activities for the mining industry was up 3 percent in the month, or 8,000 workers on top of a 5,000 job gain last month. Given the otherwise flat performance of this sector prior to the start of the spill in April, it is safe to assume that much of these jobs are being created to clean up the mess [in the Gulf of Mexico]. So, it could be that as much as 20 percent of the net private sector job creation in May was due to the oil spill. This is not the type of job creation that is the kind that makes one cheery about the long term prospects for the economy.
Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) today reacted to Lindsey’s analysis:
The simple fact is, the policies of the Obama administration are hurting private sector job creation in America, not helping it. For the president and vice-president to suggest that their massive ‘stimulus’ spending bill and job-killing government takeover of health care are helping our economy create jobs is disingenuous and misleading. To help our economy create jobs, we need to repeal the job-crushing health spending law and take action now to rein in government spending. But the Obama administration is heading in the opposite direction, digging in on implementation of ObamaCare while congressional Democrats punt on even passing a budget - the first time in modern history that such a failure of leadership has occurred. Mr. President, where are the private sector jobs you promised our nation?