Zandi: Jobs Report Is ‘Disappointing’

Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Analytics, called the latest jobs report — 8.2 percent unemployment and 80,000 new jobs — “disappointing,” but predicted the economy will see robust growth in the future.

“Eighty thousand jobs — that’s pretty disappointing,” Zandi said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “If that’s the reality of what’s going on, then unemployment’s going to rise.”

While the figures are negative, they are outweighed by positive news, he said.

“The stock market is only 10 percent away from its previous all-time high, house prices are starting to rise again, and we’re creating jobs,” Zandi said. “We’re not creating them fast enough, but we are creating them.”

He said economic crises historically take a decade or more to heal, but the crash of 2008 will heal much faster.

“We’re only three years, four years after the nadir of all of this,” Zandi said. “I think our economy is on the precipice of very strong economic growth. It’s a matter of confidence. It’s not a matter of ability to go out and expand, and I think they will.”

Former Congressional Budget Office Director Douglas Holtz-Eakin, also appearing on the television talk show, disagreed.

“The really troubling issue is that this report came on the heels of some other reports that showed manufacturing slowing,” Holtz-Eakin said. “We could have further trouble down the road, and I’m worried about the outlook for that reason.”

He said Congress needs to abandon its temporary-fix methodology and tackle the root of the problem.

“It’s time to do the thing we haven’t done, which is serious tax reform, serious entitlement reform and a serious signal to the business community that this is how we’re going to live our lives — go do your thing,” Holtz-Eakin said.