‘Gig’ economy nixed with Trump’s jobs & bennies

FOR eight crummy years, Americans have had to endure the perpetually promoted, partisan proclamations of a healthy job market.

In reality, the Obama economy delivered very little in terms of job security, let alone career stability, but it did deliver a preponder- ance of part-time work mostly with zero benefits. That has become known as the “gig” economy.

Last week’s jobs numbers kicked off Thursday with the ADP National Employment Report, which showed very strong and sustainable job growth for the month of February. That was confirmed on Friday morning by the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ report. February was the first full month under President Trump.

Well the “gig” is up. The private sector, which is what ADP reports on, added a potent 298,000 jobs in February, an exceptionally strong number by any measure.

The BLS reported a gain of 235,000 nonfarm payrolls. The best part about it is that the jobs created look to be just that: jobs not gigs.

It is a welcome sign that Trump’s approach is on course and our economy is turning from a temporary, Fed-infused one to one that’s self-sustainable and private sector-led. We are now entering Trump’s “Jobs-Jobs-Jobs” economy — one with benefits.

There is a strong statistical difference between ADP’s report and the government’s BLS report, although after the third revision, Uncle Sam eventually gets it close.

For one, ADP is a payroll company, so it calculates using actual data on increases and decreases in payrolls.

By comparison, the bureaucratic BLS just phones it in — literally. It bases the bulk of its “data collection” on telephone call responses.

And while much of the time their numbers correlate relatively well — in the abstract, at least — I feel it is better to analyze the underlying raw and bona fide data on which ADP depends. It’s more statistically reliable.

Additionally, the detail, or granularity, is far more robust and economically rich in texture.

So far, just seven weeks into his presidency, Trump hasn’t yet passed any legislation to aid job growth. But he has used his pen to take several targeted executive actions.

These actions are designed to remove regulatory overreach that has cost businesses time and money and makes it harder to grow.

For now, I’m calling it the Trump Bump.

Buh-bye, “gig” economy.