National | March 7, 2016

Jobs Report: Employers Surprise Economists

The labor market bounced back from a momentary pause, providing evidence that global economic woes and market volatility weren’t big enough deterrents for businesses to add workers. Employers added 242,000 jobs in February, though the unemployment rate held steady at 4.9 percent, according to the Labor Department.

The sharp rise in employment was offset by a similar-sized increase in the labor force (those working and looking for jobs). The Labor report tracked 230,000 jobs added in the health care, retail and restaurant sectors. Federal, state and local governments added another 12,000 positions.

The broader measure of joblessness — part-time employees who prefer full-time jobs, and discouraged workers who have given up looking, as well as the unemployed — fell from 9.9 percent to 9.7 percent.

Inside The Story

About Dennis Kaiser

Dennis Kaiser is Vice President of Content and Public Relations for Connect Commercial Real Estate. Dennis is a communications leader with more than 30 years of experience including as a journalist and in corporate and agency marketing communications roles. He is responsible for Connect’s client content operations and is involved in a range of initiatives ranging from content strategy, message development, copywriting, media relations, social media and content marketing services. In his most recent corporate communications roles, he led a regional public relations effort across Southern California for CBRE, played a key marketing role on JLL’s national retail team, and was responsible for directing the global public relations effort at ValleyCrest, the nation’s largest commercial landscape services company. In addition to his vast commercial real estate experience, Dennis has worked on communications and launch strategies for a number of residential projects such as Disney’s Celebration in Florida, Ritter Ranch in Palmdale California (7,200 homes, 22,000 acres), WaterColor in Florida and PremierGarage in Phoenix. Dennis’s agency background included firms such as Idea Hall and Macy + Associates. He has earned an outstanding reputation with organization leaders as a trusted advisor, strategic program implementer, consensus builder and exceptional collaborator. Dennis has developed and managed national communications programs for Fortune 500 companies to start-ups, both public and private. He’s successfully worked with journalists across the globe representing clients involved in major-breaking news stories, product launches, media tours, and company news announcements. Dennis has been involved in a host of charitable and community organizations including the American Cancer Society, Easter Seals, BoyScouts, Chrysalis Foundation, Freedom For Life, HOLA, L.A.’s BEST, Reach Out and Read, Super Bowl Host Committee, and Thunderbirds Charities.

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