Jobbish recovery

Not quite "job-rich" yet, but getting "jobbish." Aggregate hours worked rose at an annual rate of 4.1 percent from November-January. This happened because average hours worked rose from 33.0 to 33.3, which looks small but gets us almost half way to where we were before the recession hit (33.8). So yes, productivity growth has been extraordinary, but businesses are starting to actually have to have people work more hours to produce the stuff they've been selling. That bodes well for employment numbers in coming months.

The big rise in hours could be a temporary blip, but it's worth noting that following the 2001 recession hours didn't rise this much until mid-2004.