State Employment 1995: Slowing to a Recession?

Employment in 1995 began with a bang and ended with a whimper, inspiring some to prognosticate a recession. A February 1996 spurt in employment growth (with 631 ,000 new jobs added, the highest monthly gain since 1983) has silenced many of the bears. The sudden boom came largely from new job starts that were delayed by bad weather or, possibly, missed when the government shutdown forced survey dates to be rescheduled. More subtly, the rebenchmarked state employment numbers have cast a rosier light on 1995.