Jobs Growth

Jobs growth is a figure measured by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) that tracks how many jobs are created in the country on a monthly basis. The figure is used as a measure of economic expansion and regarded as a litmus test for national economic health. The Bureau of Labor Statistics compiles the data by sending out a survey and publishing the results every month. Jobs growth can be measured by comparing many of the statistics compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, but the most common one is Total Nonfarm Payrolls, which tracks the total number of people in the country being paid for work that is not farming. 

The jobs growth figure is expressed as the gross number of jobs created in the American economy in the previous month. Jobs growth data can be found many places since it is such a popular test of the nation's economic well-being. The data is available on the Bureau of Labor Statistics website, as well as in the Employment Situation Summary issued by the Bureau of Labor Statistics each month. Many newscasts and newspapers also report the figures. A job growth figure between 100,000 and 150,000 new jobs per month is considered to be the minimum level of job growth needed to mitigate the effects of new entrants to the workforce.