GENRE (PART 14)

n. Commentary

1. Social function: to give comment about something.

2. Generic structure:

a. General statement to position the reader or point of view about argument.

b. Sequenced explanation about argument.

c. Conclusion.

3. Example:

U.S. Job Market still in Low Gear

(General statement) The non-farm payrolls report ushered in 2005 with a whimper. Only 146,000 jobs were created in January, well below expectations that straddled the 200,000 mark. What’s more, annual benchmark revisions reduced the tally of job creation over the previous three months by 59,000 positions. As a result, the overage six – month gain in payrolls now stands at 168,500, a sub – par performance for an economy that clocked in growth in excess of 4 percent in 2004, which would normally be consistent with average monthly increases in the 250,000 to 300,000 range. The bottom line is that irrespective of the strength in U.S. economic activity firms remain cautious in their hiring intentions.

It looks like this trickled down to a more discouraged worker in January, as a contraction in the labor force helped pull the unemployment rate down to 5,2 percent. (Sequenced explanation) In spite of the disappointing headline in janyar, the details of the report imparted some good news. The service, side of the economy was the mainstay of job growth (+ 171,000 positions) and, equally important, the gains were evenly distributed among sectors. Education, transportation, leisure/hospitality, financial, and professional services each realized job gains in the 20,000 to 35,000 range. In contrast, goods producing sectors did not fare well, with a 25,000 reduction in manufacturing jobs accounting for the bulk of the weakness in January.
(Conclusion) Although we believe that U.S. economy will expand by 3.5 percent in 2005, we doubt corporate America will break from its cautious hiring intentions. We look for another 2 million new jobs this year, and while this would not be a bad outcome. It would not be a great one either for an above potential economic performance. That said, we doubt today’s report, or even a continuation of below – trend job growth in 2005, would alter the Fed’s desire to reduce the amount of monetary stimulus in the U.S. economy. However, it would lend itself to a continuation of measured rate likes and increase the possibility that the fed funds rate will remain below the 4 percent mark by year-end.