2004 Economic Report of the President
Av Mellen
Employment
The unemployment rate decreased this year, and employers created over 2 million new jobs. In December 2004, the unemployment rate was 5.4%, and is expected to drop closer to full employment/unemployment levels at 5.3% by the end of 2005. This reverses the previous unemployment rate trend for the Bush administration, which culminated in a peak unemployment rate of 6.3% during the second quarter of 2003. The service sector experienced the bulk of this expansion, providing 85% of total job growth. This is consistent with the 83% market hold that the service sector holds on the economy. The goods-producing sector provided 15% of total growth, consistent with its 17% hold. Growth was observed particularly in construction, which may be due to significant increases in new home purchasing credited to low mortgage rates. (an average of 5.8% for 2004)
Nonfarm payroll employment grew at around 180,000 per month during 2004,......
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