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Good News And Bad News For The U.S. Economy; Population Documents From 1950; Conservation Efforts In Tanzania. Aired 4-4:10a ET
Aired April 05, 2022 - 04:00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CARL AZUZ, CNN 10 ANCHOR: Good news and bad news concerning the U.S. economy headlines today`s show. I`m Carl Azuz. It`s great to have you
watching.
According to the latest jobs report from the U.S. government, which gives a snapshot of how things looked in March, more than 430,000 new positions
were added nationwide last month. Economists had predicted growth of 490,000 jobs. It fell short of that but the numbers are still considered a
sign of strong growth.
Another measurement economists pay close attention to is the unemployment rate. This is an estimate of the percentage of American workers who don`t
have a job and that number for March was 3.6 percent, the lowest it`s been since the 1960s is 3.5 percent and that happened in February of 2020, just
before the effects of the COVID pandemic hit America.
So, what`s the bad news here? Inflation is a major problem. Housing prices, new construction, existing homes and rent have all gone through the roof.
By the end of last year, the prices of the things we buy had risen by their biggest margin in 40 years. Gasoline prices rose steadily throughout 2021,
and they jumped even higher after Russia invaded Ukraine in late February.
If you add up the costs of groceries, gas and many other things that American families usually buy Bloomberg Economics expects the typical
household will pay $5,200 more this year than it did last year for the exact same things. That`s why even though wages have been increasing in
many jobs, Americans aren`t feeling those raises because the increase in prices is greater than the additional money in their pockets. What they are
feeling is reflected in consumer sentiment, how people perceive their own money and the economy as a whole and that measure for March was at its
lowest level in more than a decade.
So, what are the upsides to the U.S. government`s latest employment numbers?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, they`re saying there was strong hiring across the board and an unemployment rate that fell
to the lowest of the pandemic, 431,000 jobs added back into the economy, 3.6 percent is the jobless rate.
Also, some very good news for January and February. Those numbers were revised higher. Look at February, 750,000 jobs added back in that month.
That is much stronger than we expected. That has been the trend, hasn`t it, as they`ve been trying to grapple with all of this flux in the American job
market. When they go back and really look at those numbers they tend to revise them higher.
So, a strong performance here in the beginning of the year. In fact, if you look at the average, it`s about 562,000 jobs added back on average in the
first quarter of this year. In normal times, you would be screaming from the rooftops. We know that those are jobs being added back after a huge
washout at the beginning of the pandemic. The U.S. economy is still down about 1.6 million jobs since it all began.
The story is really in the jobless rate here. This is 14.7 percent at the worst. This was a really, really ugly moment. Last year, you were still at
6 percent. Now, 3.6 unemployment, that shows you that people are being hired, people are being employed and the unemployment rate is tumbling
quite quickly here.
In fact, when you look at these numbers, you can see that 480,000 people came off the sidelines and went back into the labor market. That`s what you
want to see, they`re hearing about rising wages. They`re hearing about all this job hopping that`s providing people with this great opportunity in the
American jobs market and they`re coming back into the labor market.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ (voice-over): Ten-second trivia:
Which of these events occurred in 1790?
First U.S. census taken, Washington was elected president, the U.S. Constitution was ratified, or slavery was abolished?
1790 was the year of the first U.S. census. It found that just under 4 million people lived in America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
AZUZ: 1950 was the last time a census of most U.S. households was taken by people going door to door. After that, the Census Bureau started mailing
Americans the forms to fill out. The findings from the 1950 Census have just been made available to the public, a database of almost 7 million
records is now online.
A spokesman for the National Archives says the project`s been in the works for a decade. The original paper documents these records came from no
longer exist. They were destroyed in the 1960s, so what you can see was scanned from microfilms that the bureau took in 1952.
It`s not a complete list of everyone who lived in America. After the census was taken, the bureau estimated that the count missed more than four
percent of the population. But for most people whose ancestors lived here in 1950, it`s an interesting genealogical snapshot of their family`s
history.
Next story recalls one of the great lines of literature the old man was dreaming about the lions. Across the Atlantic and across the African
continent, old men aren`t the only ones who are dreaming of big cats. Conservationists are working to balance tribal safety, livelihood and
traditions with the preservation of a powerful creature. Lions are considered to be a vulnerable species whose numbers are reportedly
decreasing in the wild.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL WEIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sunrise on the edge of Ruaha National Park. Here in Central Tanzania, livestock is life.
STEPHANO ASECHEKA, HUMAN-WILDLIFE CONFLICT MANAGER, LION LANDSCAPES (through translator): Our tribe believes livestock is part of the family
and we cannot live without them.
WEIR: Another day another deadly threat for livestock and people.
Stephano Asecheka is part of the batter big, a little-known tribe with a long history with lions.
ASECHEKA (through translator): In our tribe, our customs and traditions raised us to have pride in killing a lion as a young man and we are made to
believe that once you kill one, it at least reduces death rate.
WEIR: Traditionally, young warriors like this would gain rewards and status from killing lions.
Part of the lion defenders program, Asecheka is showing them ways to protect the tribe while preserving the pride.
ASECHEKA: The lion defenders work in the village areas and their task is to survey the borders early in the morning for lion tracks and to inform
elders of the safety grazing areas.
WEIR: The lion defenders are part of the Ruaha Carnivore Project founded by Amy Dickman in 2009. When she first came here four years previously,
things were bad. She said she had to work hard to gain the tribe`s trust.
AMY DICKMAN, RUAHA CARNIVORE PROJECT: We said we are just here to find out why you`re killing these lions and if there`s a way you could achieve
whatever you achieved through it through conservation rather than killing.
WEIR: And eventually, persistence paid off.
DICKMAN: They really opened up to us and since then it`s really been a transformative relationship in working with them for conservation. We
certainly know the lion killings have decreased by over 70 percent in the core area that we`re working in.
WEIR: The project offers financial incentives to protect lions by funding community services like education, doctors and vets.
DICKMAN: We`d love to collaborate with you guys. It really can be a way of uplifting people and making sure that wildlife is a way to get people out
of poverty as well.
WEIR: Asecheka also gives tours of the park to help his tribe see wildlife from a new perspective.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: The streets of Long Island, New York, are probably not the best place for a baby seal to wander. But, well, residents called police when
they saw this little guy making his way through a parking lot. Officers believe he swam up the Peconic River, climbed out and somehow got lost,
winding up in a traffic circle.
This is a federally protected species. He`s cute but you can`t take him home as a pet. Police were able to pick him up though and take him to a
rehabilitation center. The seal`s in good shape and will soon be returned to the beach.
We mustn`t walrush to judgment. We don`t know how long he was there for her or if he was blubbering about being lost. The ocean is filled with killer
whales and so if he`s trying to go-go on land to get away, our lips are sealed. We just hope he waits until the walk signal flippers on, so he
could safely use the pin and pedestrian crossing. All right.
Today`s show takes us to the Park. Park High School is located in Cottage Grove, Minnesota, and I`m Carl Azuz for CNN 10.
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