Along with every decent employment report comes the efforts to debunk that report. I see that an article from Pedro Nicolaci Da Costa at Business Insider is making the rounds tonight. In it Da Costa directs us to this in particular from Komal Sri-Kumar:
The plight of low-income workers is underlined by yet another statistic. According to BLS numbers, 7.6 million workers held multiple jobs last month, up 2% from 7.4 million in July 2016. The principal reason workers hold more than one position is that no single job provides a sufficient income. In a robust economic recovery, the number of full-time workers should be rising, and the number of workers employed part-time or holding multiple jobs, should decline. The rise in the number of multiple job holders is troubling, and is yet another signal that there is still slack in the labor market. Are we there yet? No, we are still far from full employment.
Let's look at a picture of this one:
Sri-Kumar claims that in a robust economic expansion, the number of multiple job holders should be declining. In other words, multiple job holders should be a countercyclical indicator. But even the most cursory look at the data tells you that the number of multiple job holders is a procyclical indicator. It should rise as the economy gains steam and there is more opportunity for those who need or want second jobs to find such employment.
The trend of multiple job holders is very clearly not a sign of weakness in the economy, but a sign of strength.
It is also worth noting that as a percentage of the employed, the number of multiple job holders has been in a two decade decline:
Note that the job market of the late 1990's is considered one of the best, yet at the same time the percentage of multiple job holders was rising and high. A decline in the number of multiple job holders, both in absolute and percentage terms, was actually a leading indicator of recession. In other words, if you are concerned about opportunities for those who need or want multiple jobs, you should be hoping these metrics move higher, not lower.
Bottom Line: The rise in the number of multiple job holders is a sign of economic strength, not weakness. Regardless of what the bears might say, the July employment report was solid. Get over it. Worry about the inability of this Administration to deal with a crisis like North Korea instead.
