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Interview with Thomas Perez; Hiring Picks Up Pace In February; Surprise Jump In February Jobs Number; Long Term Unemployed Still At 3.8 Million; For The Second Day, Armed Men At Checkpoint Turn Back Observers From Entering Crimea; NPR: New Fears Snowden Stole "War Plans"

Aired March 07, 2014 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and thank you for joining me. I'm Brianna Keilar in Washington in for Carol Costello.

Our top story this hour, growth in the economy, 175,000 jobs added to payrolls in February. That's higher than expected and the unemployment rate ticked up slightly to 6.7 percent from 6.6. To discuss, we are joined now by Labor Secretary Thomas Perez. Mr. Secretary, thanks so much for joining us. Appreciate it.

THOMAS PEREZ, LABOR SECRETARY: Pleasure to be with you, Brianna. How are you?

KEILAR: I'm very good, thank you. I want to ask you, when we are looking at some of the hiring here, you are looking at really strong hiring in professional services. That would include jobs like accountants, architects, lawyers. What do we read by looking at those strong numbers and also perhaps where we wish we had some stronger numbers?

PEREZ: You identified those areas, accountants, professional services, and that shows that businesses are bullish about the future. When I go around the country and I spend a lot of time on the road, what I hear from the business community is that we are bullish about the future. We want to add jobs and what we need to work with you, Tom Perez, on, is making sure that we have the skilled workforce to expand.

So when I see growth in professional business services, I'm not surprised because that's part of the ramp up. So I'm very heartened to see that. Private job growth to the tune of 8.7 million jobs. Last month was a tough weather month. There were roughly 7 million people who were out of work for at least part of the week because of the weather. So we are still seeing that progress notwithstanding that. Undeniably, we have more work to do.

That's why the president's budget outlines additional investments in infrastructure. Additional investments in skills such as growing our apprenticeship programs, because there is a bright future in this country for people that want to work with their hands and many businesses need those electricians and pipe fitters and others. There is a formula for picking up the pace.

KEILAR: That's certainly where you are looking for more job growth, 175,000, that's higher than expected. A lot of projections said 150,000 or less than that. That's good news. I know that you are pointing to weather as an issue in some of our past months. December wasn't great. January wasn't great. Should we be concerned that there is a slowing in the momentum of what really is still just kind of this steady but not really gangbusters recovery?

PEREZ: We have gained over the last year. We have been averaging about 180,000 jobs a month. This report is 175,000 in a very bad weather month. So you look at the trend lines. You see 48 consecutive months of private sector job growth to the tune of .7 million jobs --

KEILAR: Sir, I'm sorry to interrupt you. What I'm wondering is, when you look at the last few months, and I know there has been some weather effects. The last few months compared to the last 12 months as a snippet of that, not excellent. Should we be concerned that there is a dip here in the momentum? You don't think so.

PEREZ: I look at longer trends. When we have a really good month, I don't get too giddy. When we have a really bad month, I don't get too down. I think you have to look at trend data to see where we are going. A year ago, the unemployment was 7. Now, it is 6.7. That's good trend data. That's still too high. We need to do more. We need to invest and pass immigration reform and raise the minimum wage and put money in people's pockets so they will spend it.

We need to do all those things to pick up the pace. I look at the trend data and see an economy that is steadily moving in the right direction, but needs to move faster. That's why we are so focused on these investments that I've been discussing and the president has been going around the country discussing.

KEILAR: Labor Secretary Tom Perez, thanks so much for joining us to break that down. We appreciate it.

PEREZ: Pleasure.

KEILAR: Let's dig a little deeper now on today's numbers. We are going to bring in Alison Kosik. Alison, when you are looking at the big picture here on this jobs report, is it as good as it seems on the surface? It was better than expected?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It was better than expected. Listening to what the secretary was just talking about, yes, this was a good month. February was a good month for job creation. You look at the big picture and you think, it was just OK. Here, let's put it in perspective. I want to put up that chart that you put up during his interview showing the growth over the past year or so.

If you look at the end of last year, November to be more specific. Job growth was topping 200,000, almost close to 300,000. That's where we really want to be every single month to bring down unemployment. We are not seeing that happening. Also, you look at how many people are actually actively looking for work. That's called the labor force participation rate.

It is really low. It is at its lowest level since the late 1970s, early '80s. A lot of people are still not looking for work. They are discouraged. Also, you have new businesses. They are not hiring as many as they did in the past. It is important to note the bulk of job growth tends to come from start-ups. In years past, they are hiring eight new people. Companies are getting more efficient. There is more automation.

If you look at the big picture and look at where we are, almost five years out of a recession. One trader told me, we should be at a much stronger rate of growth in the job market than we are seeing. He says the economy is still in the doghouse. Brianna, it seems, Alison, there is a bit of a disconnect. The Dow is near an all-time high. You are dealing with long-term unemployment. How do you make sense of the disconnect?

KOSIK: By the way, the unemployment, full-time people out of work, that's more than 12 percent from the all-time high yesterday. The fed can continue. As we see economic growth, GDP in the fourth quarter, only at about 2.4 percent and the first three months of this year are expected to be just this week. You have that disconnect. You have the fed continuing to pop up the market, which is continuing to help your 401(k) -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes, at least that much. A lot of people not feeling the relief of those still. Alison Kosik, thank you so much.

Well, beyond the jobless number are people who are suffering, not just from a hit to their pocket book, but a knock to their self-esteem. Those feeling the greatest pain may be the nearly 4 million long-term unemployed. CNN's Zain Asher spoke to one man who has not given up.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am not used to not working. It is something that's ingrained in me.

ZAIN ASHER, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE/BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Harry Thompson has been unemployed for over a year.

HARRY THOMSON, JOB SEEKER: You start to think you are not of any value to anybody. When I start to feel like that, I feel like I have to get out of the house and do something.

ASHER: After 21 years of experience, two college degrees, Thompson became one of 68,000 manufacturing workers in New Jersey who have lost their jobs since 2007.

THOMSON: It gets you down for a couple of days, maybe a week. You realize that you are not going to do yourself any favors by getting real upset and depressed.

MARC ROBBINS, JOB SEEKER: You can't give up. You have got to keep hanging in there. I'm a firm believer that you have to keep trying.

ASHER: These two men represent nearly 4 million Americans that are considered long-term unemployed, out of work for six months or longer. Nearly half the jobless fall into this category, one of the highest rates in the country.

JOHN FUGAZZIE, FOUNDER, NEIGHBORS HELPING NEIGHBORS: The impact goes deep into their family. Families are suffering when people are out of work. There is a lot of emotional stress and damage.

ASHER: Thompson now attends "Neighbors Helping Neighbors," a weekly counseling session for the unemployed to share leads on jobs.

FUGAZZIE: The job effort that you have to put in today is intensive and we really need to have a check in point every week to see how you are doing.

ASHER: But the longer you are out of the workforce, the harder it is to get back in. According to a recent study, a person unemployed for eight months or more, will get contacted for an interview about half as much as someone who has been unemployed for just one month.

Today, Thompson is hopeful after attending this jobs fair in New Jersey. One company invited him for a follow-up interview. We'll check back in with him the next few weeks to see how it went.

THOMSON: I'm feeling good about it. I really am. I really am.

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ASHER: One thing that Harry Thompson and a lot of other people in that group expressed to me, if you are in a job interview and long- term unemployed, how do you explain that gap in your resume? Some piece of advice that they were given is you have to keep up your skills, through volunteer work, through freelancing to consulting that kind of thing. The bottom line is you don't want to see people suddenly drop out of the labor force, because they have given up finding work.

KEIALR: One of the things that you will notice is that people will put on their resume that they are a consultant and you also get the sense that those who are hiring see that and they think, consultant, I think you were unemployed for a very long time?

ASHER: When you have a year gap or two years gap, one person showed me their resume and they had a six-year gap. Volunteer work is a good way to keep up the skills.

KEILAR: Exactly and show where you have tried to do that, projects you worked on.

ASHER: Right. They have to see that you are trying to find work or keep up those skills. The bottom line is you are not going to just stay idle and not do anything about it. You have to show some effort at least.

BALDWIN: Zain Asher, thank you very much.

ASHER: Of course.

BALDWIN: Now, to the crisis in Ukraine and the many events that are rapidly unfolding. Just last hour, this U.N. Naval destroyer passed through the Bosphorus Strait on its way to military exercises in the black sea. He was scheduled to be there long before the Russian intervention. Just after dawn, Russia sank a second of its old navy vessels to completely sale off a Ukrainian naval base.

The blockage means several Ukrainian naval ships are trapped and essentially out of service. For the second straight day, international observers are blocked as they try to enter Crimea. New lawmakers say monitors from Russia and other countries will be welcome to observe this month's election where voters will get to decide whether the region will split from Ukraine and join Russia. We'll expecting that mid-March.

More details on the international monitors being turned away. CNN Matthew Chance has spent the day traveling with those observers. He is joining us live. Matthew, it sounds like you are hearing perhaps that monitors may be welcome here in a week or so, closer to the election but not right now. What can you tell us?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There is certainly a bit of double speak going on. I'm talking to you here from the absolutely freezing checkpoint that we've found ourselves on. Manned by these masked loyalists to the renegade Crimean authorities. They are manning this roadblock preventing some traffic from going through and allowing others to go through. Within the last hour, a delegation, a mission of 43 members of the OSC, a European security organization, Russia was invited to be on the mission but declined to report on the security situation.

You may feel there are no military abuses taking place. They were prevented by these individuals and the paramilitary troops. Negotiations took place but they will eventually have to turn around and go back to their base -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Matthew, can you explain what you mean. You are saying there is some double speak between we are hearing that monitors would be let in later for the elections but not right now. Is there a sense that they are needed now? I there

The people of Crimea. The Russian authorities are in de facto control. They think that is not necessary. International monitors in some forms are deployed. It won't be heard today from the renegade in parliament, is that there would be a referendum on international monitors coming into Crimea to observe whether they should join Russia or not. Those monitors would most likely be from Russia itself. So that's what I was trying to say. They were trying to play lip service to this idea of international monitors, it seems.

Certainly, you can imagine how they will vote if they do on international monitors. Matthew chance for us on the ground there in Ukraine. Thank you so much. NEWSROOM" back in just a moment. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Well, the days of seeing sham moo perform at SeaWorld may be numbered. A California law maker has proposed a ban on using killer whales in performances. He says the decision was based on the CNN documentary, "Black Fish." Tory Dunnan is following the story. A lot of people took notice when this documentary aired.

TORY DUNNAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sure. The director of "Black Fish" told me she wanted to inspire change with this documentary. Now, today, she is going to be standing next to a California state lawmaker as he proposes new legislation for killer whales. Richard bloom says he is going to unveil the landmark orca welfare and safety act, calling for major improvements to killer whale protection laws in California. SeaWorld does have this major presence in San Diego, California.

The legislation would prevent sea world from using killer whales and potentially ban captive breeding and prohibit the import and export of killer whales. Bloom was moved into action after watching this documentary, "Black Fish," a documentary acquired by CNN films. This controversial documentary focused on how SeaWorld kills its killer whales and they have dubbed it as propaganda, calling the film grossly one-sided.

SeaWorld filed a federal complaint claiming the movie's producers were leaking documents in a biased government inspector. I reached out to SeaWorld for their reaction. A spokesman tells me they haven't seen the legislation yet but plan to have some sort of response later in the day after this announcement comes a little later on in California.

KEILAR: We know you will be following that and we will go to you when we have it. Tory Dunnan, thank you so much. We will be right back after this.

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KEILAR: U.S. officials may have known about the events in Crimea before it happened. He was granted asylum in Russia. Officials worried he may have stolen sensitive information about war plans. CNN Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, joining us now. A lot to break down here. What's going on?

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Let's first talk about who the man is that gave this interview to the national public radio. Lieutenant general Michael Flynn is the director of the defense. All the questions in Congress about whether the intelligence community missed the signs of what Russia was up to. He says about 7- 10 weeks before.

He began to see Russian trooping moving around. He thought that something might be imminent. He addresses that. The U.S. will be dealing with for years the sensitive information, the potential. He even has information about war plans. Have a listen to what General Flynn had to say.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As far as capabilities, are we talking about U.S. war planes? Are we talking about intelligence gathering methods? What exactly is it?

LT. GEN. MICHAEL FLYNN, DIRECTRO OF THE DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCY: It is sort of an all of the above. It is intelligence capabilities, operational capabilities, technology, weapons systems.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think that Russia has access to the kind of materials we are talking about here?

LYNN: You have to assume that if they don't have access, you have to assume they are going to fight against the system.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STARR: They have to look at the potential worse case scenario. They have to tell the administration what the real risks are here. That's what they are doing with the Edward Snowden case. You have to assume he had it all. If the Russians don't have it, they are trying to get their hands on it from Snowden. A fascinating tidbit that I hadn't heard before. He may be trying to get information from Snowden about how the U.S. deals with IEDs, the roadside bombs and how they deal with that is some of the most sensitive information. Brianna.

KEILAR: When you are listening to that, you hear Flynn lists off the different things he has access to, intelligence. Weapons systems. Is that a particular concern to defense officials?

STARR: Well, having covered General Flynn as a reporter for a number of years, I think he is very concerned about it. This is a guy -- if you're the head of U.S. military intelligence, you worry about everything. He does. He is going to be most worried about this key question of technology. What are the classified U.S. military technologies the Russians may be getting their hands on?

KEILAR: That's stuff they want to know? CNN Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr, thank you so much. We'll be right back.

STARR: Sure.

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