(I am a blogger not someone offering financial advise. I don’t even listen to myself most of the time)
Jobs Report Numbers
The jobs report came out this morning.
The report showed 130,000 jobs created in January. Many news sources are cheering this number.
Hold on. The same report shows revisions to 2025 and 181,000 jobs created for the entire year. What makes anyone think the January report won’t be revised downward too? Of the 130,000 jobs 124,000 were in social services and the healthcare industry. What about hospitality, construction, retail and etc, etc? It’s great if you are seeking a job working to help the disabled (bless you) and great if are in healthcare (bless you again), but what about other job seekers?
The 2025 downward revisions are troubling. So many people have been laid off and despite the unemployment dip most of those laid off don’t count as unemployed so those numbers are skewed too. I really feel for anyone looking for a job. Policy and the media reporting of the difficulties job hunters are having is abysmal. Like cheerleaders hoping if they write Rosie Scenario stories they will surely come true.
What we could do to create jobs. Let’s get rolling now!
Infrastructure Spending That Creates Jobs Now
Fast, targeted infrastructure investment is one of the most effective tools government has to support employment during periods of weak job growth. Unlike long-term policy initiatives, infrastructure projects can put people to work quickly—ifthey focus on repairs and modernization rather than new megaprojects that take years to launch.
The highest-impact projects include road and bridge repairs, port and rail improvements, water and sewer upgrades, electric grid modernization, and infrastructure that enables housing development. These investments rely heavily on domestic labor and support a wide range of middle-skill jobs, including construction workers, engineers, electricians, and logistics workers.
The primary obstacle is not funding but timing. Infrastructure spending often lags economic slowdowns due to lengthy approval and permitting processes. To function as an effective jobs policy, governments need pre-approved project pipelines, streamlined permitting for maintenance and upgrades, and faster release of already-authorized funds.
When deployed quickly, infrastructure spending acts as a counter-cyclical stabilizer—supporting employment precisely when private-sector hiring slows and job growth disappoints.
According to analysis from the Congressional Budget Office, infrastructure investment has one of the highest employment multipliers among fiscal policy tools.