May 6, 2005 -- (WhatTheyThink.com) -- As implied by the GDP rate being higher than productivity and a string of good initial jobless claims reports, unemployment held steady at 5.2%, payroll employment was up 274,000, and February and March payroll employment were raised by 100,000 more. The household survey showed an increase in employment of 598,000! My tracking of net new businesses is now up to 71,500 per month on a 12-month moving average. Compared to April of last year, net new businesses are up 14%. This probably means that the first quarter GDP estimate will be revised up as well. It's small business that's "doing it" and the mechanisms that track the small business economy used by the government are not that good. There's nothing like making the "experts" upset, and this report does just that. Premium Access Members at WhatTheyThink.com can view more analysis in Dr. Joe Webb’s weekly column on Friday, appropriately called "Fridays with Dr. Joe".