Job growth an anemic 115,000; jobless rate ticks down
The American economy added a lackluster 115,000 jobs in April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate dropped to 8.1 percent.
The only good news in the report is that job estimates for previous months were revised upward, meaning more jobs had been created than initially thought.
For example, the initial March release reported 120,000 jobs created; the revised figure is 154,000.
The February number, originally reported at 227,000, has been revised upward twice and now stands at 259,000.
If that pattern holds for April, today’s numbers will also be revised upward. But such revisions won’t be enough to turn a disappointing number into a strong number. This continues to be a long, hard slog.
– Jay Bookman
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540 comments Add your comment
JamVet
May 4th, 2012
10:53 am
“Stop acting all high and mighty.”
Get your talking points straight.
The proper term is uppity.
Ask Lynn Westmoreland…
Brosephus™
May 4th, 2012
10:53 am
- My 401k is down significantly.
- I pay $3.80 a gallon for gas.
Gotta suck to be you. My TSP is up and still climbing and I just filled my tank up at $3.56 a few days ago…
Peadawg
May 4th, 2012
10:53 am
“his new campaign slogan “Forward” was and is a prominent slogan for communists and marxists all over the world.” – You must listen to (and take seriously) Neal Boortz. I heard him talking about this the other day.
Recon 0311 2533
May 4th, 2012
10:54 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2kGPdxkofo
Compliments of Nancy Pelosi’s little girl. Living life on Obamanomics
getalife
May 4th, 2012
10:54 am
I see cons crying about unlimited donations.
Join the OWS movement and change it cons.
Stop crying about it.
Jefferson
May 4th, 2012
10:55 am
The cat that sold that house is smiling.
Adam
May 4th, 2012
10:55 am
By the way, I don’t suppose any con wants to engage on the facts I have presented? Anyone? Anyone?
(crickets)
….that’s what I thought.
ByteMe - Political thug
May 4th, 2012
10:55 am
How can you deny these numbers Jay?
Who’s denying it? Labor force participation has been falling for 12 years now. The boomers are retiring. I own my own one-person company… am I included in those statistics, since I’m not part of a “labor force”?
And why don’t they ever survey me to see if I’m still working??
Jefferson
May 4th, 2012
10:56 am
3.41 today.
Brosephus™
May 4th, 2012
10:56 am
Paul
Think I’d be able to use this blog in working towards that masters and/or doctorate in psychology?
JamVet
May 4th, 2012
10:56 am
“I wonder when the American people will finally realize how the dems and Obama are cooking the books on the jobless numbers”
Your argument would be stronger,
SinkwichJoseph, if you were more specific.Brosephus™
May 4th, 2012
10:56 am
Jefferson
Dammmit!!!!! I got hosed….
UNCLE SAMANTHA
May 4th, 2012
10:57 am
Adam
May 4th, 2012
10:42 am
HELLO MCFLY’S
SO not helping your cause… again.
no worries Adam
i fully understand my cause is hopeless at this moment
but in the near future
when the BABY BOOMERS start enrolling into MEDICARE by the 10’s of MILLIONS
and ALL our tax revenues are being SUCKED into that OPEN-ENDED entitlement
and the DEMS and REPS have to stand before the AMERICAN PEOPLE and answer
WHY DIDN”T YOU DO ANYTHING?
then my cause will be helped
ByteMe - Political thug
May 4th, 2012
10:57 am
I heard him talking about this the other day.
It was Monday’s talking point. Got so bad, Wikipedia is going to take down the page about the term as being unreliable and unverified.
getalife
May 4th, 2012
10:57 am
We are still not losing jobs like w.
Gas prices are dropping.
Economists are saying the future is brighter.
Facts.
Adam
May 4th, 2012
10:57 am
but in the near future
when the BABY BOOMERS start enrolling into MEDICARE by the 10’s of MILLIONS
and ALL our tax revenues are being SUCKED into that OPEN-ENDED entitlement
and the DEMS and REPS have to stand before the AMERICAN PEOPLE and answer
WHY DIDN”T YOU DO ANYTHING?
THE END IS NIGH! THE END IS NIIIIIIIIIGH!
ByteMe - Political thug
May 4th, 2012
10:58 am
3.41 today.
Really? Was 3.56 up near me yesterday morning.
Good thing I don’t fill up but once every 3-4 weeks.
They BOTH suck
May 4th, 2012
10:58 am
Recon
Yesterday you posted that video and mentioned “fair and balanced”……….if I am not mistaken
So I will be “fair, balanced and unafraid” and link the other video that Pelosi’s daughter made
Enjoy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuI2LEKHGiQ
Figured you would want the entire depiction and not just one side of her documentary
UNCLE SAMANTHA
May 4th, 2012
10:58 am
jamvet
the nile is a river in egypt
denile is a dam to the river of common sense
http://www.factcheck.org/2012/02/whats-the-real-jobless-rate/
both parties manipulate
Paul
May 4th, 2012
10:59 am
Bottom Line:
– the policies and practices of two terms of the Republican administration contributed to the financial collapse.
- the bulk of the effort of the current administration has been to correct this. They’ve had some successes, some failures, but the situation is better than it was.
- Republican supporters are loathe to admit the basis of this recession was in the last administration.
- Republican supporters dispute any positive results to correct that have occurred post-Bush.
- Republican supports advocate, as corrective measures, those same policies that contributed to the recession in the first place.
There are minor pluses and minuses each side can make that will give support to their side, but overall, that’s how it seems to me.
Generation$crewed
May 4th, 2012
10:59 am
Adam
May 4th, 2012
10:45 am
That 1/2 million folks who had jobs upon President Obama being sworn into office no longer have jobs.
Jay,
When did I ever claim they weren’t real jobs.
Simple stats show more people are without a job now as oppossed to when President Obama took office. FACT, yes or no?
Adam
May 4th, 2012
11:00 am
So gas prices are down?
Thanks Mr. President!
(seriously though, the President has nothing to do with it, unless you believe he made it worse and then made it a little better like one crazy-ass con said the other day)
Kepp on poutragin! When gas prices start to climb again, guess what the talking point of the day will be? Right now though? It’s “THINGS ARE BAD! THE END IS NIGH! WHY ISN’T ANYONE TALKING ABOUT THIIIIIIS (whine)”
Paul
May 4th, 2012
11:01 am
Brosephus
“Think I’d be able to use this blog in working towards that masters and/or doctorate in psychology?”
I’d be careful about that. Your faculty advisor might change you from being a psychology student to being a psychology subject…..
Recon 0311 2533
May 4th, 2012
11:02 am
The left seems to think that high unemployment, low GDP and anemic job growth represents economic progress. I guess that’s why they call themselves progressives.
UNCLE SAMANTHA
May 4th, 2012
11:02 am
adam
you are only PARTIALLY correct
the end is nigh
but not for the U.S.
the end is high only for you democraps and repugnants
JamVet
May 4th, 2012
11:02 am
“both parties manipulate”
That is your point, UNCLE?
Here is another one, water is wet.
I though the whole gist of your argument was to take exception with my post that we don’t have 15% unemployment in this country.
Adam
May 4th, 2012
11:03 am
That 1/2 million folks who had jobs upon President Obama being sworn into office no longer have jobs.
So about 86.5% of all the people who lost their jobs between November 2008 and December 2008. Got it.
Adam
May 4th, 2012
11:03 am
the end is high only for you democraps and repugnants
So you’re just a whack-a-doodle Libertarian then. Carry on….
Paul
May 4th, 2012
11:03 am
Adam
So Democrats should be neutral about Pres Obama and declining gas prices, since they said he had nothing to do with the rise.
While Republicans, who thought Pres Obama responsible for rising gas prices, should thank him and heap accolades upon him because prices are declining.
Me, i want Republicans to explain to the rest of us thick-headed ignorant types just what it was Pres Obama actually did to bring gas prices down.
Joseph
May 4th, 2012
11:04 am
ByteMe – Political thug:
I don’t blame the President for falling home prices. I blame the democrap party for it because they are the ones who forced banks to give mortgages to people who couldn’t afford them and eventually it came back to bite us all in 08’ and 09’. Of course the high energy cost is a whole different story because the enormous amount of regulations has a direct effect on this. Before President Bush left office he eased many of these regulations and issued many more permits for exploration on federal lands. Obama has stopped this and is being disingenuous in saying that he has anything to do with increased production. That’s all from private lands.
Oblama
May 4th, 2012
11:04 am
And now Jay is an expert on real estate. Real estate cycles from boom to bust and back are usually 5 to 8 years. You are correct that this was a created real estate bubble aided by Fed government pressure on banks to give loans to those that could not afford them. Bonnie Fwank is on record for that and now he has tucked tail and run. That said, real estate should have rebounded by now based on history. There has been little to zero rebound. The banks should have been done the same way the Savings and Loan debacle was done. The accounts (customers) should have been protected and moved to successful banks and the failed banks closed. Instead, we still have the failed banks being run by the greedy that help cause this problem to start with.
Mighty Righty
May 4th, 2012
11:04 am
I don’t know where Jay gets his numbers, but below is where I got mine:
http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/surveymost
Per the above source, total non farm employment at end of January 2009 was 133,561,000. The same measurement at the end of April 2012 showed total non farm employmnet of 132, 989,000. I think even Jay will have to admit there are fewer employed today than when Obama took office. Sorry Jay.
Adam
May 4th, 2012
11:05 am
Paul: Democrats are basically doing what you say they should be doing, while Republicans are not at all following what you think they ought to be doing, in both cited cases
I am joking, btw, when I thank Obama for gas prices dropping. In case that was lost on anyone.
Jay
May 4th, 2012
11:06 am
“How can you deny these numbers Jay?
Well, Joseph, I suppose I could do what YOU do. I could claim, on the basis of no evidence whatsoever, that those numbers are fabricated. I could use your little mind trick of WISHING those numbers were wrong, and then pretending that my wish had become reality. I’m sure the world would be a more comforting little space if I could convince myself to create my own reality.
(BTW, the numbers that you now cite were compiled by the very same people whom you accuse of cheating on the job numbers.)
Second, I don’t deny those numbers in any way. They confirm exactly what I wrote earlier: Labor force participation peaked in 2000 and has been declining ever since, and is about what it was in Reagan’s first term. So what’s your point?
Joseph, you are a classic case of someone beginning with a purely emotional point of view — in this case, “I hate Obama!” — and then inventing, distorting, fabricating and creating “facts” that will confirm how correct you are to feel that way.
You have not arrived at your conclusions via rational thought and facts, and thus you cannot be dissuaded from your conclusions via rational thought and facts.
Brosephus™
May 4th, 2012
11:06 am
Paul
There is that!!! Walking the fine line between genius and insanity….
JamVet
May 4th, 2012
11:07 am
“the democrap party for it because they are the ones who forced banks to give mortgages to people who couldn’t afford them and eventually it came back to bite us all in 08’ and 09’.”
And George W. Bush and Dick Cheney never criticized Democrats while in office.
Lie after lie after lie.
Kudos, Joseph…
Adam
May 4th, 2012
11:07 am
Per the above source, total non farm employment at end of January 2009 was 133,561,000. The same measurement at the end of April 2012 showed total non farm employmnet of 132, 989,000. I think even Jay will have to admit there are fewer employed today than when Obama took office. Sorry Jay.
LOL. Mighty Righty using facts, but ignoring the trend. Let me repeat this:
http://blogs.ajc.com/jay-bookman-blog/2012/05/04/job-growth-an-anemic-115000-jobless-rate-ticks-down/?cp=5#comment-944058
Baseline, number of total jobs on January 2009: 133,561,000
Total Change as of January 2010: -4,282,000
Total Change as of January 2011: -3,105,000
Total Change as of January 2012: -1,100,000
Total change as of April 2012: -572,000
Notice a pattern yet?
ByteMe - Political thug
May 4th, 2012
11:08 am
I blame the democrap party for it because they are the ones who forced banks to give mortgages to people who couldn’t afford them and eventually it came back to bite us all in 08’ and 09’
How exactly do you explain away the part where the banks under the CRA had significantly fewer subprime loans on their books than the banks who weren’t under the CRA? How do you explain AIG, was that a “democrap” conspiracy to make them write billions in derivatives that they couldn’t back?
Facts, boy. Let’s see some facts to go along with that sausage you’re trying to create.
Adam
May 4th, 2012
11:08 am
(BTW, the numbers that you now cite were compiled by the very same people whom you accuse of cheating on the job numbers.)
Yep. As I’ve pointed out the the “Real Unemployment rate” people.
UNCLE SAMANTHA
May 4th, 2012
11:09 am
jamvet
no its only about 13%-14% unemployment now
that was from january
but you can live in denial at 8%
its your choice
Towncrier
May 4th, 2012
11:09 am
Good news, everyone. I think we can now put to rest all our wrangling over objectivity in the various
television news media. Happily, Al-Qaida has resolved this for us.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/03/al-quaida-cunning-methods-us-news
So liberals, next time you want to stop arguments about the objectivity of FoxNews or MSNBC, just point to this source. The judgement of this terrorist group almost matches yours, so you should feel like you are in good company. After all, as the article points out, they are only interested in showing “…the fairness of [their] case to the whole world and the European peoples in particular”.
A little sarcasm but all in good fun, guys
Recon 0311 2533
May 4th, 2012
11:09 am
TBS, josef might like to see that video.
Adam
May 4th, 2012
11:09 am
<iI blame the democrap party for it because they are the ones who forced banks to give mortgages to people who couldn’t afford them and eventually it came back to bite us all in 08’ and 09’
So what you’re saying is we should have had MORE REGULATION to deal with that, right?
They BOTH suck
May 4th, 2012
11:11 am
He is welcome to do so………….. But he doesn’t like Maher, so I would guess he could careless about the one you or I posted
Jay
May 4th, 2012
11:11 am
Take it up with those liberals at the Wall Street Journal, Righty:
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/05/04/private-jobs-turn-positive-for-obama-presidency/
Adam
May 4th, 2012
11:11 am
Towncrier: So liberals, next time you want to stop arguments about the objectivity of FoxNews or MSNBC, just point to this source.
Even a broken clock is right twice a day.
Oblama
May 4th, 2012
11:12 am
I want to hear from you socialists for Oblama. Is he “big government” enough to suit you? Who should be the boss- the government or the citizens that pay for their salaries?
UNCLE SAMANTHA
May 4th, 2012
11:12 am
adam
once again you are incorrect
libertarians are even worse
let wall street regulate themselves
let deep sea oil rig builders and operators regulate themselves
housing markerts will self correct
legalize drugs
not a libertarian
JKL2
May 4th, 2012
11:12 am
jamvet- And now, you fake conservatives are getting ready to nominate a proven socialist. The very author of socialized medicine
So your point is we’re voting for for a fake instead of the real thing?
The difference between Romney and obama is with Romney we still have Hope.
Good to see you have thrown in the towel.
John Birch
May 4th, 2012
11:12 am
Jay – If the unemployment and job creation numbers are facts, why are those “facts” inevitably revised to different numbers the following month? Fact is we need almost 200,000 jobs to be created every month to keep unemployment steady because that is normally how many new worrers enter the work force. The reported unemployment decrease is due to workers going on disability instead of unemployment, less people entering the work force, and less people actively looking for work.
Adam
May 4th, 2012
11:13 am
Jay: Take it up with those liberals at the Wall Street Journal, Righty:
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/05/04/private-jobs-turn-positive-for-obama-presidency/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1Y73sPHKxw
Finn McCool (The System Isn't Broken; It's Fixed ~ from an Occupy sign)
May 4th, 2012
11:13 am
Excellent article on how Wall Street is manipulating gas prices.
this fixation on blind market forces ignores the fact that Wall Street is financializing the commodities markets – especially oil – as it seeks new ways to pick our pockets. The same greedy swindlers who puffed up the housing bubble and then milked it dry are now hard at work doing the same with gasoline. What is financialization and why is it coming to the oil industry?
Here’s a chilling definition provided by economist Thomas I. Palley
http://www.salon.com/2012/05/04/wall_streets_oil_scam/
UNCLE SAMANTHA
May 4th, 2012
11:13 am
adam
obviously from my name i am CONFUSED
so i am self aware
Generation$crewed
May 4th, 2012
11:14 am
Adam
May 4th, 2012
11:03 am
Do you just make things up in your mind? Why accuse me of claiming that?
You asked me a question I gave you a factual answer.
Sorry if you don’t like the fact that over 1/2million folks who had a job in Jan. 2009 now do not have one.
ByteMe - Political thug
May 4th, 2012
11:14 am
Fact is we need almost 200,000 jobs to be created every month
* WHISTLE * Moving the goal posts. Five yard penalty. Repeat the down.
Don't Tread
May 4th, 2012
11:14 am
Jay 10:21 “We have a million more private-sector jobs today than we did in February 2009″
Jay 10:42 “Since Bush left office, we have gained 35,000 private-sector jobs.”
Wow. A lot can change in 21 minutes. Or January 21, 2009 to February 1, 2009, depending on how you look at it.
Adam
May 4th, 2012
11:15 am
Fact is we need almost 200,000 jobs to be created every month to keep unemployment steady
And yet, the unemployment rate continues to drop despite not meeting this number. COOKED BOOKS! CONSPIRACY! TELEPROMPTER (oh sorry got my talking points mixed up again).
JKL2
May 4th, 2012
11:16 am
Let’s see what obama’s good friend is up to today:
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/bill-ayers-to-university-students-americas-game-is-over-and-another-world-is-coming/
I’m sure it’s nothing since the “great uniter” doesn’t listen to anyone.
JamVet
May 4th, 2012
11:16 am
“no its only about 13%-14% unemployment now”
That is expounding? Please show your work. (And understand that I’ve read about and known about the six types of unemployment, U1–U6, for many years)
“but you can live in denial at 8%
its your choice”
Yep, I choose to live in the non-parallel reality that the overwhelming consensus of informed people live in.
The worst government that mountains of dirty money can buy…
Some things just can’t be bought. There are some places that a “For Sale” sign simply doesn’t belong. But apparently the message hasn’t got around among the 1%. In what kind of country is there a price tag on democracy? On justice? Unfortunately the U$A is becoming that kind of country, where it’s hard to find anything that doesn’t have a price.
What does it cost for the highest office in the land? Depends on who you ask. Mitt Romney has already ran up an expensive bill; at the end of March he had spent $126,000.00–per delegate–with 607 in all. That’s a total of $76,600,000.00. Who could imagine that kind of money, let alone compete with it? Enter Barack Obama. He has raised nearly $200,000,000.00 for this year’s race. And, oh yeah, we don’t want to forget about Super PACs: they’ve already spent almost $100,000,000.00 this election cycle. (And we’re just entering “general election” season!)
Recon 0311 2533
May 4th, 2012
11:16 am
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/05/04/sickly-job-growth-sets-up-unhappy-choice-for-obama/
They BOTH suck
May 4th, 2012
11:16 am
“If the unemployment and job creation numbers are facts, why are those “facts” inevitably revised to different numbers the following month?”
Are these “revisions” new since the Obama Administration or is it common practice for the numbers to be shown based on available data then to be adjusted as all info has been gathered?
If it is new,,,,,,, we have a problem
If it is not, what is your point
I suspect a smart man like yourself already knows the answer
Good day
Adam
May 4th, 2012
11:16 am
The reported unemployment decrease is due to workers going on disability instead of unemployment, less people entering the work force, and less people actively looking for work
As I have REPEATEDLY pointed out, this is incorrect. See trending numbers here:
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t15.htm
You’re welcome. Let me know if I have to help you clean up the brain splatter when your head explodes/
Oblama
May 4th, 2012
11:16 am
here tomorrow – gone today.
Steve
May 4th, 2012
11:17 am
Read. I dare you.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/04/opinion/krugman-plutocracy-paralysis-perplexity.html?_r=2&hp
Before the Great Recession, I would sometimes give public lectures in which I would talk about rising inequality, making the point that the concentration of income at the top had reached levels not seen since 1929. Often, someone in the audience would ask whether this meant that another depression was imminent.
Well, whaddya know?
Joseph
May 4th, 2012
11:17 am
JamVet:
If I start up a new business and hire 100 people to start I will be at 100% employment and 0% unemployment right? After a year or so I decide that I can run my business with only 90 employees so I lay off 10 of those. That would mean the unemployment would be 10% now instead of 0%. Those 10 employees’ decide since the dems have extended unemployment to 2 years that they could sit at home and draw a check. After it runs out and they are not counted anymore and I still have 90 employees’ so magically my numbers would climb back to 100% employment and 0% unemployment. It’s simple math…
Is that simple enough for you?
Steve Atl
May 4th, 2012
11:17 am
Bottomline is that the majority of Americans are not better off than 3.5 years ago…voting for Romney.
I think a lot of Americans are catching on to Obama’s tomfoolery.
Adam
May 4th, 2012
11:18 am
Sorry if you don’t like the fact that over 1/2million folks who had a job in Jan. 2009 now do not have one.
Sorry if you don’t like the fact that Obama is not responsible for that, and that 150k MORE people have jobs than did in February 2009.
See, we could do this all day. Why don’t you just admit you’re cherry picking data to support your pre-existing position?
Poor Boy from Alabama
May 4th, 2012
11:18 am
JB @ 10:42. You wrote:
And to review the numbers:
In the eight years in which Bush was president and in which GOP economic theory was in play, we lost more than 600,000 private sector jobs.
Since Bush left office, we have gained 35,000 private-sector jobs.
As I’ve said in the past, trying to gauge a president’s performance by such measures is pretty silly. But if you want to play the game, those are the numbers. Deal with them.
You’re post is a bit misleading. Total non-farm payroll went up under Bush and has fallen under Obama.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
Total non-farm employment as of January 2001 = 132,466,000
Total non-farm employment as of January 2009 = 133,561,000
Total non-farm employment as of April 2012 (preliminary figures) = 132,989,000
Series Id: CES0000000001
Seasonally Adjusted
Super Sector: Total nonfarm
Industry: Total nonfarm
NAICS Code: -
Data Type: ALL EMPLOYEES, THOUSANDS
You can pull these numbers using this link:
http://data.bls.gov/pdq/SurveyOutputServlet
Jobs creation under Bush wasn’t great, but his time in office was book-ended by two recessions. Fair is fair, however. There was net jobs creation on his watch. There has been a net loss of jobs under Obama so far.
Steve
May 4th, 2012
11:18 am
When Obama clearly wins this fall, I can’t wait to read the posts in here.
ByteMe - Political thug
May 4th, 2012
11:18 am
Bottomline is that the majority of Americans are not better off than 3.5 years ago…voting for Romney.
Bottom line is that you just made up a bottom line.
Peadawg
May 4th, 2012
11:19 am
“Take it up with those liberals at the Wall Street Journal, Righty:
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/05/04/private-jobs-turn-positive-for-obama-presidency/
Lawyered
JamVet
May 4th, 2012
11:19 am
If the unemployment and job creation numbers are facts, why are those “facts” inevitably revised to different numbers the following month?
This took about 45 seconds to find…
The Current Employment Statistics (CES) program (also known as the payroll survey or the establishment survey) is designed to measure trends in employment, hours, and earnings by industry. Each month BLS surveys approximately 141,000 businesses and government agencies representing approximately 486,000 worksites throughout the United States. The monthly Employment Situation news release provides national CES data on employment, hours, and earnings, as well as labor force and unemployment estimates from the Current Population Survey (CPS), also known as the household survey.
The Employment Situation is typically released on the first Friday of the month following the reference month. For example, the February 3, 2012 Employment Situation published CES first preliminary employment estimates for January 2012. CES estimates represent information reported by survey respondents for their pay periods that include the 12th of the month.
Not all sampled firms are able to report their data in time to be used in the first preliminary estimates. Therefore, BLS continues to collect sample responses after the release of first preliminary estimates for incorporation into second preliminary and final sample-based estimates. Second preliminary estimates for a reference month are published the month following the initial release, and final sample-based estimates are published two months after the initial release.
http://www.bls.gov/ces/cesregrevtec.htm
They BOTH suck
May 4th, 2012
11:19 am
Speaking of blaze.com
Lets see what Karl Roves electoral map looks like and published in the BLAZE last week
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/karl-roves-electoral-map-if-election-were-held-today-obama-would-win/
Steve
May 4th, 2012
11:19 am
Alabama – that’s a very clever way to fudge numbers, my man…you just keep telling yourself that.
JamVet
May 4th, 2012
11:21 am
Bottomline is that the majority of Americans are not better off than 3.5 years ago…
Your argument would be stronger,
SinkwichSteve Atl, if you were more specific.ByteMe - Political thug
May 4th, 2012
11:21 am
Total non-farm employment as of January 2001 = 132,466,000
Total non-farm employment as of January 2009 = 133,561,000
Total non-farm employment as of April 2012 (preliminary figures) = 132,989,000
And yet… private labor is 1 million jobs higher now than in Feb 2009.
The losses came from GOVERNMENT JOBS. The ones you hate and want to cut.
Conservatives should be cheering, right?
Oblama
May 4th, 2012
11:21 am
Chavez government gives huge campaign contribution to his good comrade Oblama.
Adam
May 4th, 2012
11:23 am
Steve: When Obama clearly wins this fall, I can’t wait to read the posts in here.
One of them will be me quoting oodles of people here who said Obama was basically doomed.
Oblama
May 4th, 2012
11:24 am
In return for campaign contribution (or so it appears) Chavez government is granted right to build 341 additional Valero gas stations in the U.S. at exclusive locations. Huckabee Report.
They BOTH suck
May 4th, 2012
11:24 am
Joseph
Let us all know when Issa has had enough of the “manipulated numbers” and he has hearings to call the Obama Administration and the Labor Dept to task
I’m sure you will not let us down
Thanks in advance for doing this public service
ragnar danneskjold
May 4th, 2012
11:24 am
Dear Byte @ 10:12, good morning, you err. Private nonfarm employment on Jan 2009 – 133,561,000. Private nonfarm employment on Mar 2012 – 132,821,000. You are wrong only by three quarters of a million people, roughly the population of Memphis, Tennessee.
Oblama
May 4th, 2012
11:25 am
No Oblama isn’t doomed – he’s rich like the 1%. That leaves the rest of us to be doomed.
Mighty Righty
May 4th, 2012
11:26 am
The labor force rate — all workers more than 16 years old — climbed above 66 percent in October 1988. It stayed there throughout the term of President George H.W. Bush, and topped 67 percent for 40 consecutive months during President Clinton’s two terms. The rate stayed above 66 percent for almost all of President George W. Bush’s two terms.
But the month Mr. Obama was elected, the rate dropped to 65.8 percent. By the end of his first year in office, the BLS said the labor participation rate was just 64.6 percent. And last month, for the first time in nearly 30 years, the rate dropped all the way down to 63.7 percent.
Still, month after month, the mainstream media laps up reports of a falling unemployment rate.
This administration does not use the same method for determining the unemployment rate as other administrations did. To lower the reported rate they simply don’t count the work force the same way. In spite of those who claim all administrations have done it the same way, the above pres otherwise.
Joseph
May 4th, 2012
11:26 am
Why is Obama campaigned with Sherrod Brown? A known wife beater..
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2012/05/03/Sherrod-Brown-Divorce-Obama
JKL2
May 4th, 2012
11:27 am
finn- Excellent article on how Wall Street is manipulating gas prices
When is obama going to change that law that says only Republicans can buy stock in oil companies?
Granny Godzilla - Union Thugette
May 4th, 2012
11:27 am
When I cook books I make sure I use a stock made from Encylcopedias….lots of onions and fresh parsley.
Godzilla Cooked Books Soup is mmmmm mmmmm good.
JamVet
May 4th, 2012
11:27 am
If I start up a new business and hire 100 people to start I will be at 100% employment and 0% unemployment right?
No. That is a nonsensical non-sequitur. And patently illogical.
Tell me, when was the last time you saw a headline that read, “Today’s unemployment figures for Boeing were…”?
Unemployment is counted for ALL of the defined workers in this country (or state or country or city), not just the workers in one company.
EJ Moosa
May 4th, 2012
11:27 am
It’s pretty humorous to read these comments on employment. I’ve explained numerous times that the rate of job growth is directly correlated to the rate of profit growth.
It takes more than profits to create new jobs. It takes growing profits to fuel job growth.
And while many parrot the reports they read and hear, I doubt any have taken the time to really dig in and see if the picture being presented is accurate.
I have. And I have demonstrated that the rate of job growth the next twelve months is highly correlated to the rate of profit growth the previous twelve months.
You have heard repeatedly about record profits. The reality is that the rate of year over year improvement is down to an abysmal 1.8% for the most recent quarter.
Earnings reported by companies for their most recent quarter make it third of the last four quarters reported in total dollars. That is weaker earnings, not stronger earnings.
Only when you understand what the mechanism is for job creation can you really explore what is going on.
Without continuous profit growth higher than 7-8% on an annualized basis, there is no job growth the following year.
It is that simple.
People can point fingers, blame the weather, blame Bush, or blame Obama. Tell me how that helps.
The only thing that will help is understanding what needs to be done to create job growth. I have offered an insight into that. It’s unfortunate that it is so easily dismissed.
But it will not always be that way.
http://www.nolanchart.com/article9553-why-job-growth-will-be-turning-negative.html
getalife
May 4th, 2012
11:27 am
Knee jerk con’s emotional reactions are hilarious but wrong as usual.
Without the blame game they got nothing because they can’t run on w’s record.
Our President will run on his record.
Adam
May 4th, 2012
11:28 am
Anyone want to lay odds that the talking point of tomorrow will NOT be the labor force participation rate? Also, anyone want to make bets on how many cons throwing that one out actually understand the data?
Oblama
May 4th, 2012
11:28 am
There are those that worship the Great Oblama and the Fed government….. our 1st “Reality Show” President aka “The Great Divider”.
Steve Atl
May 4th, 2012
11:28 am
63.7%…that is worse than I thought…does that include the unemployed in all 57 states…that might make it higher.
JamVet
May 4th, 2012
11:29 am
“When is obama going to change that law…”
Somebody does not understand how laws are made in this country…
http://bensguide.gpo.gov/9-12/lawmaking/index.html
They BOTH suck
May 4th, 2012
11:29 am
“In return for campaign contribution (or so it appears) Chavez government is granted right to build 341 additional Valero gas stations in the U.S. at exclusive locations. Huckabee Report.”
Are Venezuelan companies prohibited from doing commerce in the US? Those gas stations already exist.
Outside of buying, obtaining local and state permits, constructing the buildings……… what exactly do they need from the Obama Administration?
Citgo which is basically Valero already operates refineries and gas stations in the US…….
Next topic
getalife
May 4th, 2012
11:30 am
“People can point fingers, blame the weather, blame Bush, or blame Obama. Tell me how that helps”
I think the blame game makes them feel better about supporting their party but accomplishes nothing.
There are no solutions coming from corrupt congress .
They BOTH suck
May 4th, 2012
11:31 am
Meant to say “outside if buying or leasing land………..”
Mighty Righty
May 4th, 2012
11:32 am
JamVet
May 4th, 2012
11:19 am
Why is it necessary for the BLS to gather a sample by telephone instead of using actual data which is available? I am sure the governemnt can afford a laptop or something to connect live to state unemployment reporting centers. But then they wouldn’t be able to manipulate the data would they?
blahblahblah
May 4th, 2012
11:33 am
Since June 2009, when the recession officially ended, the number of people signing up for disability benefits is double the job growth figure.
- AJC Biz Beat from 4/20/12
I’m sure Adam will explain how this is wrong and/or doesn’t artifically lower the unemployment rate.
EJ Moosa
May 4th, 2012
11:33 am
“I think the blame game makes them feel better about supporting their party but accomplishes nothing.”
And I believe the game goes on because they do not know how things really work. Rather than digging in and look for correlations as I have, they take the easy route.
GT
May 4th, 2012
11:33 am
Oil is 98 a barrel.