This Jobs Report Is Horrifying
The June jobs report, which you can read here, is terrible. Employers added only 18,000 jobs last month.
That number obscures the fact that 272,000 people simply gave up on their job search and dropped out of the labor force. If they hadn't, the unemployment rate would be worse. The labor force participation rate shrunk to 64.1%, the lowest since 1983.
Median duration of unemployment went up to 22.5 weeks, from 22. The broader unemployment rate, including discouraged and underemployed workers, rose to 16.2% from 15.8%.
Over 14 million people are unemployed right now. Those without a job for more than 27 weeks, 6.3 million. The number of people unemployed for less than five weeks grew by 412,000, something that hasn't happened since August 2008.
The share of adults with jobs is down to only 58.2%, the lowest since 1983.
For a historical comparison, over the 8 years of Clinton's presidency, unemployment averaged 5.2%. Under President Bush, the average was 5.3%. Today's rate is 9.2%
I know people represented by each and every one of these numbers. I am related to them or very good friends with them.
When I read this report this morning, I broke down in tears. Let's take a moment to consider the men and women who don't know how they're going to provide for their children or what their future looks like as this unemployment situation continues with no end in sight.
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Jan '11
Re: This Jobs Report Is Horrifying
I'm confused. What were the unemployment numbers Rob was talking about yesterday?
It seems ADP was expecting something very different.
I agree these are unbelievable numbers, and I think your reaction is the appropriate one. I really hope conservatives watch their tone in talking about unemployment and are careful not to sound like they are gloating over this failed presidency.
Edited on Jul 8, 2011 at 6:42amJun '11
Re: This Jobs Report Is Horrifying
Plus, the prior months' numbers were adjusted downward by 44,000 jobs.
Re: This Jobs Report Is Horrifying
From Jim Pethokoukis on Twitter, I learn that the economy needs to add 225,000 jobs each month to get to 8% unemployment by 2012 elections.
Sep '10
Re: This Jobs Report Is Horrifying
Even after the labor department massaged with the birth/death numbers according to zerohedge. to the tune of what seems to be 155k. The real numbers happen to be much worse.
Disclaimer, venturing to zerohedge is not for the faint of heart.
Aug '10
Re: This Jobs Report Is Horrifying
Don't fourteen million unemployed equal the number of illegally employed ? Is it racist to say that ??
Edited on Jul 8, 2011 at 7:09amAug '10
Re: This Jobs Report Is Horrifying
Mar '11
Re: This Jobs Report Is Horrifying
The report says: Americans are out of work, and many who have jobs are struggling to keep their companies afloat.
Our candidates must start pushing an aggressive growth, job-centric message.
Sep '10
Re: This Jobs Report Is Horrifying
U6 is at 16.2% I haven't seen what Shadowstats has said about this recent newscast.
However for most of the year Shadow stats has us at 22.5% unemployment. Note that Shadowstats uses the measurements that the gov't has stopped using because they want everything to look nicer for public dissemination.
Edited on Jul 8, 2011 at 7:17amSep '10
Re: This Jobs Report Is Horrifying
Mollie Hemingway, Ed
When I read this report this morning, I broke down in tears.
What did you do when we got the -700k report a couple of years ago? I hope Bachmann or anther tea-party type starts running against the Bush/Obama fiscal policy. The B&O deficits didn't work, the B&O stimuli didn't work, the B&O bailouts didn't work, and the B&O government is the answer approach didn't work. One thing for sure we didn't need a Bush on steroids, but it looks like that's what we got.
Oct '10
Re: This Jobs Report Is Horrifying
Don't worry, the President is on the case. As soon as he rescinds tax breaks for corporate jet owners, unemployment will plummet.
Oct '10
Re: This Jobs Report Is Horrifying
flownover: Don't fourteen million unemployed equal the number of illegally employed ? Is it racist to say that ?? · Jul 8 at 7:07am
Edited on Jul 08 at 07:09 am
It's not racist, just irrelevant.
Re: This Jobs Report Is Horrifying
liberal jim
Mollie Hemingway, Ed
When I read this report this morning, I broke down in tears.
What did you do when we got the -700k report a couple of years ago?
To be clear, it's the duration that's the problem. I'm not saying my family hasn't had job loss before, although it's been very rare. What's unprecedented is going more than a month without a job, much less six months or more. And I know the stress it's causing my loved ones, and the fear they have that things will never get better. And that makes me scared, too.
May '10
Re: This Jobs Report Is Horrifying
It's only unexpected if you somehow believed a socialist with no executive experience at all could be a competent president of the United States.
and you expected a starry-eyed media would honestly vet him...
Edited on Jul 8, 2011 at 7:36amRe: This Jobs Report Is Horrifying
More Pethokoukis:
Oct '10
Re: This Jobs Report Is Horrifying
This is what happens when you pay people not to work.
Aug '10
Re: This Jobs Report Is Horrifying
Todd
flownover: Don't fourteen million unemployed equal the number of illegally employed ? Is it racist to say that ?? · Jul 8 at 7:07am
Edited on Jul 08 at 07:09 am
It's not racist, just irrelevant. · Jul 8 at 7:22am
Darn ! I was shooting for racist ;~<
Re: This Jobs Report Is Horrifying
I'm sure there are many people who are taking advantage of unemployment insurance, but I have a dear sibling who has a wife with serious medical problems and two kids whose college he would like to be saving for. He's been out of work for six months. He went to a military academy and is one of the smartest and most hard-working people I know.
This is not a function of him being paid not to work. Neither is that the case with a single other one of my friends and family members.
The scope of this problem is much larger than grand unemployment benefits. An economy that has no job for my brother is a seriously sick economy indeed.
Nov '10
Re: This Jobs Report Is Horrifying
I am with Ms. Hemingway on this. I have had a daughter (a single mother with no child support whatever) recently suffer through six months of unemployment. Had it not been for her mother and me, I fear that sleeping under a bridge was about the only option for her and my grandchild.
The toll in human suffering and loss of self respect and incentive is incalculable. We shall be paying the price as a society for many years.
Somehow we have got to awaken the country to the destruction of our economy being caused by this socialist madman and his lackeys and Rasputins and then purge the Republicans of the Washington-is-all crowd that dominates them, along with the lobbyists for the corporate world.
Re: This Jobs Report Is Horrifying
M1919A4: I am with Ms. Hemingway on this. I have had a daughter (a single mother with no child support whatever) recently suffer through six months of unemployment. Had it not been for her mother and me, I fear that sleeping under a bridge was about the only option for her and my grandchild.
The toll in human suffering and loss of self respect and incentive is incalculable. We shall be paying the price as a society for many years.
I'm sorry to read this. I hope that things are improving for her.
Nov '10
Re: This Jobs Report Is Horrifying
Thank you, Ma'am. She was fortunate in that we were able to see her through and has now found other employment. It was a rough time for her, though, and for me: fathers do not like seeing their children and grandchildren on a precipice.
I grieve for those not so fortunate.