The job market has roared into the fast lane, powered by a national economy that generated 288,000 new payroll jobs in April.
The gains were far more than the 185,000 jobs predicted by analysts. The surge in the employment market was so strong that the jobless rate improved to 5.6 percent, the Labor Department reported Friday.
The department also said the economy produced 337,000 jobs in March, a much stronger gain than the initial estimates for that month.
The surprising jobs expansion means the economy has created 1.1 million jobs since last summer, starting with the employment gains reported in September. What's more, payroll jobs have increased for eight months in a row. So far in 2004, the economy has produced 867,000 new jobs, primarily propelled by expansions in private sector jobs, rather than government employment.
"This is clearly not a jobless recovery any more," said Brian Wesbury, chief economist with investment firm Griffin, Kubik, Stephens & Thompson Inc. "It seems the economy has reached a point where we are in a sustainable, accelerating period of growth."
It's also possible the economic rebound has begun to enjoy a virtuous circle.
"Consumer demand will lead to increased hiring, which leads to increased consumer demand for business products and services," Wesbury said. "It's very clear the Bush tax cuts are responsible for the recovery. Virtually the minute the tax cuts went into effect, the economy accelerated. And last year, the economy expanded at its fastest pace since 1984."
This kind of a turnaround is especially welcome for the Bay Area, which has lost more than 408,000 jobs in the last three years -- a stunning 22 percent of all the jobs lost in the country during the same period.
Susan Howell, who lives in San Ramon, said a jobs recovery can't come too soon. Howell is looking for a job to finance her education and training for a nursing career.
"It's been tough," Howell said. "I'm trying every avenue I know of to find work. I'm faxing, phoning, doing computer searches, looking in the newspaper. I just need to pay my bills while I go to school."
Arthur, an Antioch resident who lost his job as a bank manager a few months ago, hopes to parlay his job skills into an accounting or finance position at a hospital. He volunteers at a state government-sponsored job networking center in Pleasant Hill and thinks even the battered Bay Area job market has improved.
"I believe things are picking up," said Arthur, who asked the Times not to use his last name. "I'm getting more interest in my applications. A lot of it has to do with having the right skills to search for a job."
Now that the employment market appears to have turned around, analysts believe job gains could continue for a considerable period.
"We have two engines now, consumers and businesses, that are powering the economy," said Sung Won Sohn, chief economist with San Francisco-based Wells Fargo Bank. "The U.S. economy is like an aircraft carrier. Once it has momentum in one direction, it's hard to turn it around."
The improved employment trends occurred amid a presidential campaign that has the economy as a centerpiece issue after three years that included terrorist attacks, a recession, war jitters and corporate fraud scandals.
"The economy has overcome a lot," President Bush said Friday during a campaign swing through Iowa. "The tax relief is working."
Yet despite the gains of 1.1 million jobs in the past eight months, the nation still has about 1.5 million fewer jobs than when the Republican president took office.
"Any step forward in the job market is good news for America's workers, but let's be clear: We still have a long way to go to get America working again," said Sen. John Kerry, the presumptive Democratic nominee.
If the job gains persist, however, it may become tougher for the president's challengers to criticize him over a sluggish employment market, said Bruce Bartlett, an economist with the National Center for Policy Analysis.
"There's every reason to think these positive job trends will continue," Bartlett said. "That pretty much could take the economy off the table as far as John Kerry is concerned."
Perhaps the most surprising improvement came in the manufacturing sector, which has been hit harder than any other industry group. About 21,000 factory jobs were added in April, which meant manufacturers have created jobs for the past three months, ending a four-year slide.
"Things look great in every industry," said Mark Zandi, chief economist with Economy.com. "The Monster.com index and the help-wanted index are rising, and initial jobless claims fell substantially this week. All the leading indicators are pointing higher."
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