"Two More Jobs!"

President Bush finally makes a realistic financial forecast. Job growth resulting from his tax cuts: two.

Actually, he's underestimating for a change. But not by much. The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the employment situation report for February this morning:

"Nonfarm employment was little changed (+21,000) in February, and the unemployment rate remained at 5.6 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Employment levels in most of the major industries were little changed over the month."

And while the unemployment rate remained essentially unchanged, to total employment declined:

"Total employment was down in February to 138.3 million, and the employment-population ratio -- the proportion of the population age 16 and older with jobs -- declined to 62.2 percent. The ratio was at or near that level for most of 2003. Over the month, the civilian labor force decreased by 392,000 to 146.5 million, and the labor force participation rate fell to 65.9 percent."