Late 90s Monthly Job Creation Nearly as High as Annual Job Creation Since - Looking at the Latest Jobs Numbers

In June, the American economy created 195,000 jobs.

Based on the average through the first half of the year, 2013's job creation will total 2.4 million.

The good news is that this will make 2013 tie (with 2005) for the best year for job creation since 1999. This seems like further proof of a recovery.

The bad news is that a relatively unimpressive 2.4 million jobs ranks so high for the last decade and a half of economic performance.

In 1999, the American economy created 3.1 million jobs. (And that was the third year in a row that job creation had been over 3 million.)

Since 1999, annual job creation has averaged one-tenth of that, only 311,000 jobs.

Let me put that a little differently. In the late 1990s, we created nearly as many jobs per month as we have created since then per year.

So while 195,000 is not bad, it still isn't enough to make up for a lost decade.