of the government shutdown. and later, jon gertner discusses how climate change is impacting glaciers in an -- in antarctica. "washington journal" is next. ♪ host: good morning and welcome to "washington journal." the news on the u.s. economy ,urned positive on friday capping off the best year of job gains since 2015. wages are showing impressive gains with average our -- average hourly earnings up 3.2%. do these numbers mean it is easier for you to find a job or get a raise? that,l start off with what do you think your job prospects will be in 2019?

if you recently found a job, call (202) 748-8000. if you are looking for a job, call (202) 748-8001. if you plan on staying in your current job, call (202) 748-8002 . if you are unemployed, we want to hear from you at (202) 748-8003. you can always reach a son social media at c-span wj on twitter and on facebook at facebook.com/c-span. journal" broket down the recent job gains, writing the u.s. employment has -- as job at a robust pace and post their big -- posting a strong counterpoint to wall street worries. stock prices rose on the economic news with the dow jones

industrial average closing friday with a 3.3% gain. anfarm payroll rose seasonally adjusted $312,000 -- 312,000. average hourly earnings rose 3.2% in 2018, their biggest full-year gain of the expansion. on the phone with us this a bloombergave economy reporter who will break down some of these numbers. guest: good morning. host: 312,000 jobs added. the unemployment rate rose 3.9%. explain how that worked out. guest: i am happy to. as you mentioned, it was a surprising report and blowout numbers really.

the other surprise we found as we were going down the data is the unemployment rate rising. you want to see that number ticking down. that means fewer people are unemployed on average, but in december it ticked up, and for the right reasons. it is almost like a technicality . the way to calculate the data on average as they take the average pool of people, so if there are fewer people looking for work, there are more people employed who went from unemployed to employed. in that case, the number moved up just a little bit. economists call those technical reasons they moved up because more people were employed. the pool shrank. in this case, what we saw was the most jobs added in 10 months.

it took the average up to about 220,000 jobs for the year, much higher than 2017, the prior year. month, reflective -- the i should say was just surprisingly strong. we survey about 60 to 70 economist each month and none of them expected the number to be that high. overall, it does cap what has been a solid year for jobs. we can get into some of the reasons for why that is. the entire year was actually robust for job gains in the u.s. host: we have 312,000 jobs added in december and job growth increasing all year long. was this consistent across all sectors or are these only certain jobs showing up? guest: this is another really surprising thing.

we saw the gains were broad-based. industries that were unexpected, everything from retail to construction, manufacturing, private payrolls surged. the only categories we saw they did not do as well in the month were federal government workers and postal workers. those went down just a little bit. , oner every other industry of the things we have been tracking this year as the housing market. it has been significantly softer in 2018 than the prior year. sales have been a bit slower. price gains have been weaker. we have seen and the last couple of months first-time homebuyers able to get back into the market, but overall it has been a much softer market than prior years, especially since the

recession. it is surprising to see construction numbers going up, because clearly that means there is construction going on so those numbers surged. the same thing with manufacturing. we have been talking about this trade war since last january, so people have been trying to figure out, economists have been trying to figure out to what extent our countries -- companies feeling that trade war pain? might be hiring few people, but it seems like the tax cuts, among other factors, it really helped, and there were a lot of jobs added in that department. host: last night, sarah sanders, spokesperson for the white house tweeted out -- a menu -- american manufacturing is back under president trump. did we see an increase in manufacturing jobs? guest: we did say jobs added in

manufacturing, but it is hard to go from that to manufacturing is back, because these are not the only numbers that show the manufacturing industry. we had some factory data coming out on thursday, the prior day, earlier in the week. the issue we saw was a very clear issue that we see in other manufacturing data. the surgery -- the gauge as weekend w --eakened. they are concerned about the trade war and business as slowing down -- business investment is slowing down. these are pushing us in the other direction. everything else in the economy is good, yes. the tax cuts definitely helped companies spurring investment, helped with buybacks and reinvesting in themselves.

it did help with some companies looking for more work. they could potentially have more money to play with but on a whole, the trade war is still looming for 2019. it is something the fed is keeping in mind when raising interest rates and dealing with inflation. the jobs numbers were robust for the month, but it is just one month of data versus a mountain of data in another direction starting to pile up. host: average hourly earnings increased 3.2% from the year before. does that mean people are seeing more money in their paychecks or the new jobs are paying more than old jobs do? guest: that is a good question, and it is both. i am happy that you mentioned new jobs are paying more. we are seeing a lot more people leaving their jobs.

we have seen this phenomenon of ghosting where people just do not show up to work because they are confident they will find another job for they are ready have a job. people have left their job in unemployed,ho are looking for work, or transitioning, that surged to a one-year high. we are seeing more people confident in leaving their jobs which means they should be getting higher wages elsewhere. we see this when the unemployment rate is so low. it is still below the range the federal reserve considers long-term, that they would consider sustainable. we are seeing definitely people leaving more for better pay, for better prospects. the caveat to all of this is that inflation is eating into a lot of it so even though we are seeing 3.2% wage gains, the

highest since 2009 -- the biggest jump since 2009, not everyone will feel it. there are still people working jobs -- i am sure you will get a lot of colors as well -- jobs who have not seen a raise or have seen minimum raises. you have food costs going up, education costs. areis constantly, when you pumping your oil at the gas station, those numbers have been low recently but they could go back up again. it is not necessary that people are feeling it now, because we have only had about five months of this more than 3% wage gains. we have a lot more catching up to do. host: two more quick questions. first of all, is there any indication that the stock market

volatility or the government shutdown will affect jobs or the economy overall? if not, when will we know whether this will affect jobs or not? do think theists shutdown will start to affect the economy. it will take a little bit longer, so right now, we are a couple weeks in and economists start looking that impacts around the quarter mark, three months of a government shutdown. it will start to affect gross domestic product. , 75% ofveats to that the government is funded and it is a solid enough job market that if folks wanted to look for jobs elsewhere, it is probably a better time than before. if we start getting into a prolonged government shutdown, it is an interesting question

because donald trump said yesterday he was happy to keep shutdown in place for months, if not years, as well as opposing emergency funding for a wall. -- imposing emergency funding for a wall. host: will these positive jobs numbers and this positive unemployment rate number, well that allay fears -- will that allay fears of a recession in 2019? guest: it has helped somewhat. some economists are calling for the federal reserve to cut interest rates because they want to cut interest rates when the economy is not doing so well in order to stimulate growth and have that in their back pocket. it is only one month of data, but it was so strong that some traders and investors who had been making the federal reserve

would cut interest rates, those were scaled back. people are not necessarily seeing more federal reserve interest rate hikes. four in 2018 and we are still at about two in 2019. people are still seeing a recession -- economists, i should say, are seeing a recession around 2020. we are not talking of about best talking about something like 2008. what they are seeing is more gradual slowdown. job gains averaging one hundred 70,000, 180,000 per month -- 170,000 per month, and dealing with these headwinds including the trade war. wet: bank you to the -- would like to thank the economy reporter from bloomberg. guest: thank you for having me.

host: let's go to the phones and talk to charles calling from alexandria, virginia, looking for a job. caller: good morning. i am an unemployed person looking for work. things are looking up. that are sort of more or less on hold. whove a recruiter in boston is trying to set me up with the job in stafford, virginia, and a recruiter and florida who is going to hook me up with a job in arlington, virginia. they tell me, hang tight, interview is on the way. i hopeget the interview, the offer will come shortly after. i am a telecommunications engineer and system specialist, and there is plenty of work in the local area. i am confident i can find something very soon.

one short remark about economists, i am a technical person myself, not an economist. one person said, i wish all economists could only have one arm so they could not say on the other hand. host: kenny is calling from columbus, ohio, and plans to keep his current job. caller: how are you doing? host: just fine. caller: i hope anybody and everybody who has a job plans to keep it, because in this country if you do not work, you do not have nothing. i would like to also comment on the president this morning talking about nafta. he said that before nafta was even signed, mexico got 17% taxes. he can go read

nafta. if i'm going to go to the bathroom and urinate and defecate and put it on a plate, i know it is not good for me to eat. this is crazy. host: kenny, what industry do you work in? in -- but myk thing is this, we have a president that is out of control , the talks crazy to his cabinet and the other cabinet and everybody is scared to speak up to him. he is ill literate -- illiterate. we go along with it. all of the races people, lack and white, -- racist people, black and white, blue and green,

are supporting him, and the good people are sitting back and letting him destroy the company. i do not even call him the president. you do not win nothing by cheating. before nafta, before the common law era, it was understood he was making billions of dollars, so he say, but he can't pay his taxes. host: benjamin is calling from grenada, mississippi, staying in his current job. caller: good morning, how are you? host: just fine, go ahead. caller: i'm going to stay at my job. i have been there 30 years. anybodyant to ask, if ,ould maybe do a survey on this he said hourly rates have went up since trump has been in office.

and we got a tax break and i have not gotten any tax break. host: what industry do you work in? work in the mail industry -- mill industry. host: are you thinking about retirement? caller: yes, sir. host: about how long before you are ready? caller: about 10 more years. host: you see about a 40 year career in your same industry? caller: yes, sir. host: what has the industry been like for you in mississippi? have you seen more people being hired, more people being laid off? caller: more people are being hired. don't get me wrong, i love the job and they have been great to me, but i have not seen a raise,

the race they have been talking about. i have not seen the tax break on my check. callingt's go to mike from cary, north carolina, and mike recently found a job. caller: good morning, how are you? host: i am fine. go ahead. caller: recently, five months ago i changed positions. i was a little bit nervous about it. tomorrow, so be 63 obviously, at that age changing jobs requires a lot of thought. i work in a wonderfully expanding industry. i work3-d printers and for one of the major u.s. manufacturers. the industry has been on a tear for over a decade, double growth almost every year, new

applications, better materials and machines. it is exciting and i consider myself to be blessed in the industry i am in, especially at my age. what we are experiencing is a lack of good talent, so the industry is growing, salaries are rising, but we do not have enough skilled applications engineers, material experts. i am in sales and i manages seven state territory in the southeast, so we have partners that sell our products and i so iwith clients directly, feel very blessed and excited to be in the industry i am in. host: you said you found this job about five months ago. were you switching industries or working for a similar company and just changed companies? caller: i was working in the same industry representing a different manufacturer, except

in my previous position which i held for almost six years, i was working for a reseller or a partner. we did not make the 3-d printers . we were a value added reseller. this is how most of the industry works, it is like buying a car but not at the dealership. thatuy it through a dealer has the equipment, teaches you how to use the equipment, so forth and so on, so now i am working for the oem as opposed to the var. it was a move up for me in my career. thank you for the question. i watch your show a lot. i get to call in a lot and you guys take my call frequently, and i appreciate that. , we areer two calls ago

talking about jobs and the guy just went off on tearing into president trump. he has a right to his opinion, but it would be nice if when that happens, you as a host when trying to get the person back on track and keep the people on topic. if they want to rail about something else, just shut them off, for god sakes. they know what the topic is about when they call in. you are kind enough to give them airtime, but they cannot get over the fact that we are having such financial and economic success under this president that they just go crazy. love the show, thank you for letting me speak, and have a wonderful day. host: we are talking about job prospects in 2019, and we are opening up special lines. if you recently found a job, we want you to call in at (202) 748-8000.

if you are looking for a job, we want to hear from you at (202) 748-8001. if you plan to stay in your current job, (202) 748-8002. if you are unemployed, (202) 748-8003. we are always rating on social media, on twitter and facebook. daniel is calling from saranac lake, new york, and daniel is unemployed. how long have you been looking for a job? caller: a couple months now. the issue that comes up with me -- i am an arborist. i do tree trimming and removal, stuff like that, i guess kind of a smaller -- not a lot of people do it anymore. i am from a rural area and it is unfortunate, but the issue is there is no work. a lot of youngke

folks my age -- i am a millennial, unfortunately, which has a lot of bad connotations with it -- and it is no one's fault. in these rural areas, there is so much rampant crime and issues of that nature -- i'm trying to be very kosher with what i say -- and it does get frustrating at times. i just happened to turn the tv on and i heard someone railing our president and it is like, you got to have some respect for the man. you got to have some respect for the system because that system allows you to come on tv and insult the president. mind you, i am not quite sure if my talking points are valid, but i definitely think that maybe the fact that i am unemployed, and this happens a lot in this industry, it frustrates me

because i spent 10 years trying to learn this trade and now at the height of my experience when i am still young enough to do it real well, i cannot find the work, and it is frustrating. workk at other people who and have all these opportunities and it is like, it puts a bleak outlook on the future for me. host: is it the industry or the location? would you be able to find a job as an arborist in another location? is it because you are in a rural area or is it the tree trimming industry that is the problem? caller: i think it is the industry that is the problem, honestly, because a lot of contracts like line clearance, clearing our lines and stuff, they go through the state and the state does not want to pay so they lay off guys. bute it is the rural area, it is something i've experienced

a lot over the last nine or 10 years, maybe i work a year and get laid off. it is kind of weird, because nine times out of 10 i tend to be the youngest worker on the crew. it is just a dying trade. i think it is sad. i almost feel like i made a mistake with my life, anyway. host: would you consider re-training for another industry or perhaps moving to another area, or do you plan to stick it out? caller: i don't know, man. it is kind of do or die now. i am getting up there in age and it is crunch time, so i don't know. i feel like i should bite the bullet, sit back, and learn something else. it is very frustrating. i very much enjoy what i have done for the past 10 years. tie that with the town, i am

from the adirondack park and unfortunately, the adirondack park, the local citizens are getting driven out because the taxes are so high. there is no work, the taxes are high, and you have imminent nearn going and the government is pulling parcels of land back from the taxpayers because they cannot afford it -- new york government is pulling parcels of land back from taxpayers as they cannot afford it. a lot is going on that people do not know about, eminent domain and the lack of economy and the drug problem. people are wondering why. there is no work in the rural areas. what i'm saying to you is a small fraction of what is going on in america, because there is a million small towns in america. host: chris is calling from grove city, ohio, looking for a job. caller: the caller before his kind of right.

it is a hard thing to do, being arborist. i am a tree farmer so i am an arborist also. i live in grove city, which has high taxes like he was talking. the thing is, people are thinking of us as being nothing anymore when we have got one of the hardest jobs. can anybody on the internet today go climb a tree, trim a tree, and take a chance of a broken branch? you will die. i weigh 155. i get up there and do what i have to go and share evergreens. have you ever been passed a white pine that is so ugly and is supposed to be sheared every year? they bring blockage, wind block. you get them for a purpose in

train age. and theythese big gaps do not drain anymore as people do not do maintenance to trees. they do not care how they grow. he is having the same problem i am having. host: you are a tree farmer. what type of trees do you farm? we wereew weeks ago hearing about the lack of christmas trees, the shortage of christmas trees. what kind of trees do you farm? grove: i have worked at city tree farms for just a few years, but they closed down. in newd at mr. tree farm the ownerich is where of the highest -- you know who wexner is -- that tree farm, to buy a tree from that tree farm,

you know how much a tree is? a 50 foot tree is $400. host: what type of job are you looking for? landscaping some and stuff, but it is not making enough money. i cannot even buy my own truck to start my own thing. . cannot get stuff together do i got to sell everything i built in my life? i am 41 now and i'm not going forward, my mom has cancer so i take care of her. i don't know what to face in life anymore as this is what i know. it is what i know. i try to get education and my mind don't work like it used to because i'm hyperactive and adhd. i do not want to take social security or government money. the government uses the money for so many nasty things there is that it is worth it, like

science, like certain sciences. it is just wasted. wasted, andgs, just a lot of stuff make no sense, the things government puts money to, monopolies that do not pay taxes. if i go out and make $20,000 a year and i have to pay taxes, and someone making $20 billion a year does not have to pay one tax dollar? it don't make no sense to me. do i just lay back? it kind of depresses me. when all to get a job these big companies do not have to pay taxes or anything? it makes me sad. host: bryant is calling from winston-salem, north carolina, and bryant is unemployed. caller: hello? host: how long have you been unemployed? between -- iin

have a degree in computer science and i was a state employee for 15 years, and the job that i had, i was only trying to make ends meet. now i am in the hospital and my issue right now is i can't work because of my injury. -- theury that i have job i had when i was employed as a state employee. the problem i'm having is when i was looking for work before i became hospitalized, because i found work with a degree -- host: what kind of job where you looking for before you were in the hospital? reach i'm to stay in government work or private sector?

-- were you trying to stay in government work or private sector? caller: government work, i'm trying to get back into that. host: what do think your job prospects are? caller: god is good. it is not looking good right now. that depends on my health. i am in the hospital as we speak and what i'm supposed to do and have to do, is i have to heal my thought. -- foot. i tried, i called social security and a lawyer, and they said i was going to get denied because i can still work. they will not be able to represent me, so this is an issue. , my question is

workwhen i was looking for before i was hospitalized, i was having a hard time getting employment because i had a and my bills were $600 for mortgage, and then i have a car payment and utilities. i needed at least $1500 to make ends meet. people saw that when they were out looking for full employment, and they made me feel like if stay,ire me i will not knowing i would not get the money i was used to making. host: yesterday, president trump at the white house spent some time talking about the positive job numbers and the positive economy overall. here is a little of what he had to say. >> i think a lot of this has to

do with the fact that are ready companies are moving back into our country have liked our country in some places -- cases. they are moving back, and in many cases these are automobile companies that have left and are coming back to the united states. one of the things that is so beautiful to watch is 3.2% wage growth, that hasn't happened in so long for our country. .hat is an incredible thing it means people are actually getting more money, taking home more money, and that is something that is really nice to see. a lot of you have been following me when we were on a thing called a campaign. it was an exciting campaign, a great campaign. i used to talk about wages going down, not going up, going down

for 19 years and they just went up 3.2%, and yet there is no inflation goes other things are going down like the price of your gasoline at the tank. it is low, and that does not happen by luck. i work hard on that. it is like a tax cut for people. participation rate increase to 16.1. that is an incredible number, so i wanted to bring that out. from the time of my election, the stock market has gone up close to 30%, and that is with all of the things that are happening -- and there are a lot of things happening. we have a massive trade negotiation going on with china. president xi is very involved and so will my, so we are doing well. -- so am i, so we are doing well.

we have taken in billions in tariffs from china and others. the steel industry has come roaring back that makes me very happy. we will have to build a steel wall as opposed to a concrete wall because we have steel companies again. there is something awfully nice about that. host: chris is calling from florida, plans to stay in his current job. caller: i do plan on staying in my current job. the economy has definitely taken off. i have been offered a few jobs to drive a semi truck with an $18,000 signing bonus. if you are looking for a job, truck driving is really booming. they are really looking for people. you have to have a high school degree. somebody will hire you right now.

this economy is really starting to take off, especially with the system we have now, the on-time delivery system with amazon and stuff. we need people like that. there is jobs out there for people. they need to make a little bit of sacrifice. the gentleman who just called and said he was in the hospital, you can drive over the road. inside the cab, there is a place to live, sleep. you can try for a year -- drive for a year without having to pay rent, car, anything. you have to make a little bit of sacrifice. ,f you are looking for a job try the truck driving industry. host: how long have you been driving trucks? are you talking about driving semi's or vans like we see inside the city? caller: driving anything, anywhere. they call it over the road.

host: are you still there? caller: i am still here. what i was saying was -- host: go ahead. caller: they have over the road jobs and regional jobs where you go to a few states, and the have local jobs for people who drive -- i cannot hear you. host: i am not talking, i am listening to you. go ahead. i am just saying, right now the economy is looking very good. it is starting to pick up. this industry is really looking for people to try to get in. the best thing you can do, all you have to do to prove to an employer is that you are willing to do the job and stay in the job. people that go to college, i don't know if i'm smart enough. you do not have to be smart to go to college. you have to prove you can get a diploma and they say, this is a

person who can get the job -- finish the job. you suggest for people who want to get into driving, how do they do it? do they have to get a cdl? are there classes? iller: what happened to me as was looking around and there was a headhunter. you can get a job hiring people to drive trucks and make good money. a guy came to me and offered good money. they offered to pay for my school. they sent me to florida and i did a two-week course. i stayed with them for a year and they pay for the schooling. asooling can cost as much $2000 to get into a cdl, but companies will pay for it. i was just offered a lot of money for a sign on bonus, more than i have ever made in my first year working. you say no and

stay at your current job? caller: family. particularetty -- things going on with my grandmother that would make it really hard to leave this area, because i would be going up to where you are at. it is a job in baltimore. i am in florida now and i'm still wearing sandals. host: dexter is calling from dayton, ohio, and recently found a job. caller: good morning. host: go ahead. caller: good morning. i recently found a job but the job that i hold is really a seasonal type job. from what i am seeing, the benefits are not there. claimed topparently increase the job growth but when you have employers that make millions of dollars and have

minimal employees and when it comes time for health insurance, you see more than 50% of the cost. if the employee gets an hourly wage, a minimum wage, roughly about $12 an hour or $14 an hour, does not pay much of the bills especially when everything has gone up in price. the advantages of all of these jobs being created, the cost of living. host: michael is calling from smyrna, tennessee, and plans to stay in his current job. caller: good morning. i do not plan on staying very long because i am fixing to retire, but i've been there since 1984 in the automotive industry. we build cars and trucks in smyrna. i do love c-span. you guys are very patient with people when they call in,

especially when they get off track and start rambling. i am thankful to c-span that we have a platform to call in and talk. i do love my president. he is the greatest thing that is happened to us in a long time. he is finally doing what he says he is doing, he is doing his job. i worked construction as a seasonal thing. we were painters. houses, schools, industrial, residential. it was seasonal. sometimes we did not work during the winter if we did not have inside work, so we got laid off and we got unemployment. we had to learn how to crunch the numbers. do not live above your means. stay within your means and do not get above your head, and you have to sacrifice sometimes. i have only had two jobs and the only other one was the automotive industry.

it paid good money. that wethrough a period did not get a raise for 5, 6 years. the supervisors and plant managers and vice president's got their big bonus checks. we might have complained and grumbled, but that is what it is about. they have to make big money to keep those companies going, so worry about yourself. have some integrity. if you are flipping hamburgers at mcdonald's, do it with integrity and do not complain because you have a job. there are so many jobs in smyrna and around smyrna, there are jobs everywhere here. they are trying to hire at the automotive plant i am at. i never thought i would ever see a sign outside saying "hiring." we have jobs of abundance in tennessee.

i feel started for people who do not have a job. do not complain about it and do not look for the government to give you a handout, because that is exactly what they want to do, the democrats want to have two type of people -- rich people, poor people. they do not want middle-class people because they can control for people by giving them handouts. controlple, they cannot , and you are only talking about 1%. do not look for the government to do it. do it with pride. do it because you want to bring a paycheck home to your family. host: colin is calling from alan's milk, maryland -- owings mel, maryland and is unemployed. caller: item -- i am unemployed until monday. i found a job making six figures with amazing benefits. host: what industry is that? caller: i do data analysis for

health care and insurance providers like sequel reporting and stuff like that. i have over 10 years experience. host: how long did it take you to find a job? how long were you unemployed? caller: i quit my job in september because i hated it. i was unemployed since september, except i worked -- i had taken on some consulting, working from home. host: did you get a raise by finding this job or you are back at your same pay level or lower? caller: i am making a lot more with his job. host: how long do you think you will stay? caller: it is a pretty great company, so i will probably stay for a long time. my average is about two years

with companies, but this one, i will probably stay five to 10 years. host: tim is calling from columbus, ohio, staying in his current job. caller: how are you doing today? host: just fine, go ahead. workingi am right now in the job issue is if people want to work hard, i know it is challenging to work on commission, but i recommend people to do it. it brings you to the next levels in life. when i called for is regarding child and the wall -- trump and the wall, i think all of that is deception. then there will be a canada wall and how are they going to stop

all the boaters? i think the american people have to understand the truth and i do not think what donald is doing is being honest to ourselves. host: before i let you go, what industry are you working in? for those who do not know, how do you get paid when you work on commission? explain a little bit about what working on commission is like. caller: commission is an art to understand. any car salesman would understand sales, or any loan officer. ,ny kind of high salesman anybody that sells all the time, they get a percentage of the total sale. it could be 1%. the gross agent gets 6% to 7%.

you have to really love to sell and i love to sell. have just something that i gotten into and i really enjoy. host: what and do you work in? caller: at this particular time, i am reforming the educational system across america. abby froms go to stone mountain, georgia, looking for a job. how long have you been looking for a job? caller: i have been unemployed since august of last year. host: what industry are you looking for a job in? caller: i was in the mortgage industry for about 20 years. i am a college graduate, 58-year-old female, and i have looked high and low. i tried to stay in my field, no luck. i started reaching out, customer

service, being a receptionist. i have looked everywhere and i have not been able to find full-time employment. in fact, i have not even been able to find part-time work. host: go ahead. caller: the new year has started. i have had people review my resume, i have of interviews. i don't know if it is age discrimination. . am willing to do anything i cannot drive a semi truck across the country, i am too old for that, but i should be able to find some work in this so-called great economy but i have not been able to find anything. calling from is georgia and plans to stay in his current job. what and do you work in? caller: and the automotive industry. host: sales, construction, what

exactly do you do? caller: manufacturing. host: does that mean you do not think there are other manufacturing jobs out there or is your company so good you plan to speak -- stick with them? caller: i like the company i work for. we are doing great things, and expanding and growing exponentially. i have no intention of leaving. we have had huge growth recently. towent from 400 employees 600 employees in the last year, and we continue to grow our business. in the area i am at, we do not have a lot of high-tech type jobs. it is kind of a rural area with a lot of farming, but with this company we are able to pull in a lot of high-paying jobs. i think our economy is much

better than it was under our previous administration. host: we are seeing numbers saying the average hourly wage is growing up -- going up. are you seeing raises or is the pay staying steady? caller: we are seeing some raises. we are trying to hire more people. part of our problem is getting people to work. we have jobs available, we are posting jobs every day, but for some reason people cannot pass the preemployment screening or they pass and they do not want to work. host: how long have you been at this particular company? caller: five years. when i started, i have looked and looked. it took me about a year to find a job. i had a difficult time and i feel like that was part of the problem under the previous

aministration, there were whole lot of this type of job available. a lot of the manufacturing type industry was having hard times with the economy. i think the economy is much better under trump and i look forward to the future. host: matt is going from baltimore, maryland, and recently found a job. caller: actually, i am a science consultant. i have retired as a navy director of science and technology. under this administration, the company seemed really interested real data to work in their environmental areas and firefighting. for the last six months, i have had seven new offers of consulting jobs.

overwhelming, since i am 91 years old. i am really enjoying it. host: let me make sure i understand you. you are 91 and still working? caller: yes i am. i am a world war ii vet. i am not too good physically, but the head boat seems to be operating well and people seem to recognize it. host: thank you for your service. what type of job -- you are doing consulting. what area are you consulting in? was a supposedly design,n seaplane high-speed ships, and the environment. seaplane design, i have been

trying to get the state of to rise the 1800 bombers, which could take care of the entire problem may have. high-speed ships, i have a contract to get the navy to counter a type of attack from ships called swarm boats. in the environment, i am working with an outfit called science and environmental policy program , trying to overcome all the bs that we seem to be getting. are a new class of brokers trying to collect money, swapping carbon dioxide quotas. it is a lot of fun. as long as god wants me hanging

around, i think i will stay in and keep tugging. host: do you ever plan to retire completely or do you enjoy what you do too much? figure i will i keep working until somebody calls me to a better place. i have no intention of retiring. it is what keeps everything going. i just percolate along. at 91, i do not buy green bananas. i like it, i like the work, i like contributing, and i like the respect and recognition i get. host: monique is calling from washington, d.c., and will stay in her current job. caller: good morning. thank you for c-span. i enjoyed listening to a lot of fellow residents.

i wanted to say that i have had about 26 jobs. my last job that i am currently on, i have been there for 17 years. , i am a d.c. resident. during the clinton administration, i moved through about 12 jobs during his administration because the economy was booming so fast, and each job that i went to was more money. now, i hear a lot of callers saying the economy is booming under the current president. the only reason the economy is booming under the current president is because of the foundation that president obama nextout for the administration.

it behooves me that a lot of callers get on and say "under this administration." president obama did everything he was supposed to do as a president to make sure we have jobs now, and the reason why i am still in my job is because of the contract, the union contract that my company was able to agree upon for the current employees. we now have a better annual salary. our insurance is much better under the current contract that we have. i am not going anywhere. i congratulate a lot of those guys that say they are enjoying their new jobs, or they are glad that they have employment. stuff is not in

all states. a lot of people who cannot find jobs, start looking into washington, d.c., maryland, virginia. moved from those states you are not finding employment. there are a lot of states that are not offering employment. move to washington, d.c. there are an abundance of jobs appear. is calling from st. paul, minnesota, staying in his job. what industry do you work in? caller: i do project and procurement management, so i can basically transform my skill set anywhere across the country. i contracts for my skills across the country. great job in the last recession, was unemployed for 18 months. i applied to 500 jobs. i have been fortunate to be in a

great job. every now and again, i look out to see what the market is like. in, i sawa i live some statistic that this area has the lowest unemployment rate in the country. i guess the purpose of my call was for people who are frustrated because they cannot find a job or don't know the next steps, get out there and sell yourself. you have to go to the players and say here is what i can bring to the party. don't look for other people to give you a hand out. the economy is doing well. i'm sure it could be doing better. it could be doing worse. you have to take some accountability on yourself to make sure you are out there in the market to bring value. that means in the private or public sectors. that was a great conversation from our callers.

coming up, we will continue that discussion on the economy and the impact of the government --utdown from amenable to you romina boccia and seth hanlon. later, we will look at glacier melting with jon gertner. we will be right back. >> in her book, dark commerce, louise shelley talks about how illegal trade is growing globally with the emergence of new technologies. >> last year, 60,000 americans died from buying fentanyl. fentanyl is not something you buy on every street corner. locally, somebody has probably bought it over the

web. it is killing more americans than are dying in automobile accidents. this is a form of illicit trade that is deadly to our population. if you have somebody who has bought tools that allow them to penetrate financial accounts, it has an enormous impact on the ordinary citizen. shelley, sunday night at 9:00 p.m. eastern on c-span2's booktv. >> the senior members of the trump campaign, don jr., paul manafort, jared kushner meeting --h a russian embassy rate emissary, who they were told was bringing them dirt to harm hillary. they said we will meet with you and take your information and presumably use it.

they were at least agreeing to conspire or collude with russia. throughout the rest of the campaign, trump and his lieutenants again and again denied the russians were doing anything. >> david corn, best-selling author, and washington pure magazine willer be our guest. his most recent book, russian roulette, the inside story of putin's war with america. his other books include blond ghost and showdown. watch that on sunday on c-span2's booktv. >> c-span, where history of full staley. in 1979 -- on full staley.

unfolds daily. in 1979, c-span was created as a public service. we bring you up policy events in washington, d.c., and around the country. c-span is brought to you by your cable or satellite provider. >> "washington journal" continues. host: we're back with romina bo ccia of the heritage foundation and seth hanlon of the center for american progress. we will continue this discussion on the economy and the government shutdown. yesterday's job figures, and unemployment get lower in this economy? guest: i don't know if unemployment can get lower, but labor force participation can get higher. can more