Unemployment "Only" 8.8%
The U.S. economy is such that today's job report is good news. It wouldn't normally be good news that unemployment has dropped to 8.8%, but I'll take what I can get. I have a half dozen family members or in-laws who are seriously underemployed or unemployed right now. Here's CNNMoney:
The job market continued to improve in March as strong business hiring took the unemployment rate to its lowest level in two years.
The economy gained 216,000 jobs in the month. That's better than the gain of 180,000 predicted by economists surveyed by CNNMoney, and also a significant improvement over the 194,000 jobs added in February.
"Almost two years after the recession officially ended, the labor market appears to finally be picking up," said Kathy Bostjancic, director of macroeconomic analysis for The Conference Board.
The unemployment rate continued to edge down, dropping to 8.8%, the lowest level since March 2009. The unemployment rate has shed a full percentage point in the last four months....The number of discouraged job seekers who want to work but have given up actively looking was down slightly, as was the number of workers who wanted full-time jobs but had only been able to find part-time work.
In other news, and despite the strong private sector hiring this month, more Americans work for government than in manufacturing, farming, fishing, forestry, mining and utilities combined.
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Sep '10
Re: Unemployment "Only" 8.8%
During the 2004 election, when the unemployment rate was somewhere between 5% and 6%, Democrats told us that we were in the "worst economy since the Great Depression." What exactly are they saying today?
Oct '10
Re: Unemployment "Only" 8.8%
Considering that virtually every economics story over the past 2 years includes words like "unexpectedly" and "experts were surprised" regardless of whether the news was good or bad, I think I'll hold off trusting any predictions from the likes of Kathy Bostjancic.
Nov '10
Re: Unemployment "Only" 8.8%
Gallup’s number is 10%. The spread between the two seems to be increasing. The kind of jobs being created is also relevant. Government jobs don’t add growth to the economy. In fact, they do the opposite, especially when they overwhelm job creation in the private sector.
That private sector jobs are hurting is also shown by Gallup’s underemployment number of 19.2%.
The 8.8% number is more spin than good news.
Edited on Apr 1, 2011 at 10:00amMay '10
Re: Unemployment "Only" 8.8%
Can we please stop helping politicians play this game?
"Underemployment" is nonsense. It doesn't matter how many people would look for work under different conditions. You're either employed or you're not. It doesn't matter how many could be working in better-paying jobs. They're not in those jobs! They are where they are.
Real unemployment is 16 to 20 percent. Let's talk about that number!
Why do conservatives help politicians cover up real unemployment numbers by accepting and sharing such blatant propoganda?
Dec '10
Re: Unemployment "Only" 8.8%
216,000 jobs claimed to be gained for the month, roughly 380,000 new applicants for unemployment, every week. The drop from 400,000 to 380,000 per week is touted as a positive!
Thought experiment: 380,000 times 4 weeks is 1.52 million new unemployed, per month, offset by 216,000 jobs gained, for the month. And the unemployment rate went down? I doubt it.
Jul '10
Re: Unemployment "Only" 8.8%
As TeeJaw points out, the federal numbers and Gallup numbers for unemployment have been sharply diverging. This may indicate finagling of the numbers or it may indicate a market so bad that job candidates can no longer meet their interview requirements to stay on unemployment. Gallup does show a 0.7% improvement over underemployment numbers from last month, but when BLS claims a net increase of 216K new jobs in a month, it must be remembered that the young tend to enter the workforce at 150K per month. A net gain of 66K over the base demand for employment.
CJRun: I read the 216K claim as an overall net gain for March. EIther way it is weak, if your numbers are right than the federal and Gallup numbers are both misleading. From BLS: "Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 216,000 in March." The BLS table here shows the labor contracting by 489K over March 2010, while the "noninstitutional" population increased by 1.841M. That's 2.33M more Americans not active in the labor force over March 2010.
Speaker Boehner tried to claim victory on last month's numbers. The Tea Party is watching Mr. Speaker, get it right!
Edited on Apr 1, 2011 at 10:33pm