Hundred and forty. Five thousand is the number of the day on this thursday. At of course is the number of new applications for state unemployment benefits filed last week astronomically high as i think i've been saying every single thursday for going on a year now. The bureau of labor statistics is going to hit us with the jobs report for the month of february tomorrow. Another snapshot of how this economy is doing as a whole good in parts. Not so good in others. One part of the labor market. That is doing all right. Actually manufacturing marketplace's andy euler going where the jobs are. The john deere engine in tractor museum in waterloo iowa celebrates the history of mechanized agriculture but the museums hosting an event. This weekend. That is very much about the present a job. Fair randy venzke labor relations manager at john deere's waterloo works where they make those big yellow and green tractors the jobs that were currently focusing on our your general assembly. Some well living in some machining jobs. He says the company started its hiring push back in december quickly had over a thousand applicants. And we're able to fill more than two hundred jobs since then you know. The number of applications have really dropped off fact. We've received about hundred hundred ten applications in the past two weeks. He says they're trying to hire about three hundred more people by april problem is there's only about one hundred thirty thousand people in the county in unemployment is currently under four percent across the. Us manufacturing activity is up increasing three year high in february as consumer demand rebounded after the early stages of the pandemic manufacturing's been growing not quite for a year but for the last nine months. David berson is chief economist at nationwide insurance. Because it's been growing has needed workers and they're starting to run out of workers for whom manufacturing jobs or the appropriate physician and jed cocoa chief economist. The job website indeed dot com says. There's a skills mismatch between those hiring. And those seeking employment sectors have laid people off service leisure tourism and the sectors that have done a lot of hiring endemic manufacturing warehouse. Construction do require somewhat different skills and he says those industries that initially lay people off this time last year are starting to hire people back. I may dealer for marketplace a little bit lost in the news. Firehose today was data on fourth quarter worker. Productivity widgets produced for our work to is the very simple formula down four point two percent october through december the biggest drop in forty years. Not great. no but this is a little bit misleading in terms of understanding. What's going on you aren't s. Q is at the university of pennsylvania school of social policy and practice businesses that were not as productive normally just by the nature of the activity such as restaurants and so on have started reopening. So that drags down the average productivity and today's numbers not entirely unexpected. Well that's happening. There is what we call a regression to the mean. Now why are we telling you. This is amount of zilder is at the conference board. It is a basis for future living standards if productivity rises sustainably. That means that down the line Wages are going to be increasing on a more steady stable basis and so from the history matters filed this bit of context. Productivity growth was really sluggish after the great recession wage growth back then also super sluggish as well