Unemployment Rate Drop, Fact to Fiction

[longfisher]

After being pilloried for the then apparently wasteful spending of the stimulus money and the bailouts and the incredible rise in joblessness, Obama's Administration posted a substantial drop in unemployment last month, from 10.1% to 9.7%.

Seems like either most of us were dead wrong about the negative to neutral impact of the stimulus or something's fishy here.

What's your take on it? Anyone know precisely how the unemployment rate is calculated and what's left out to make it look better than it actually is?

Longfisher

[clt_capt]

The drop in unemployment happened after Brown was elected in Mass - Businesses started thinking that there might be some hope of recovery

[NY Bearhunter]

After being pilloried for the then apparently wasteful spending of the stimulus money and the bailouts and the incredible rise in joblessness, Obama's Administration posted a substantial drop in unemployment last month, from 10.1% to 9.7%.

Seems like either most of us were dead wrong about the negative to neutral impact of the stimulus or something's fishy here.

What's your take on it? Anyone know precisely how the unemployment rate is calculated and what's left out to make it look better than it actually is?

Longfisher

DON'T POP THE PARTY POPPERS ... ITS JUST A SMOKE SCREEN

FIRST, JUST WHAT DO THE NUMBERS REALLY MEAN, NOTHING AT ALL. THE NUMBERS WENT DOWN BECAUSE THE BENEFIT PERIOD HAS ENDED, NOT BECAUSE THESE PEOPLE FOUND JOBS. NOW THEY ARE ON THERE OWN. WALLSTREET REALLY MAKES A BIG DEAL OUT OF IT AND IT DOES MOVE THE MARKET, BUT FOR ALL OF THE WRONG REASONS.


THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IS THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE LOOKING FOR WORK DIVIDED BY THE TOTAL NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN THE LABOR FORCE.

WITH THE IDEAL NUMBER BEING 4.5% WHICH CONSTITUTES AT OR NEAR FULL EMPLOYMENT, ANYTHING LOWER WOULD MEAN GREAT DEMAND FOR WORKERS AND MORE PRESSURE FOR HIGHER WAGES.

[Big Fish Billy]

DON'T POP THE PARTY POPPERS ... ITS JUST A SMOKE SCREEN

FIRST, JUST WHAT DO THE NUMBERS REALLY MEAN, NOTHING AT ALL. THE NUMBERS WENT DOWN BECAUSE THE BENEFIT PERIOD HAS ENDED, NOT BECAUSE THESE PEOPLE FOUND JOBS. NOW THEY ARE ON THERE OWN. WALLSTREET REALLY MAKES A BIG DEAL OUT OF IT AND IT DOES MOVE THE MARKET, BUT FOR ALL OF THE WRONG REASONS.

Your right about his...I hope you're wrong about the Colts....

[NY Bearhunter]

[QUOTE=Big Fish Billy;1145384]Your right about his...I hope you're wrong about the Colts....[/QUO




HOW IS IT YOUR A SAINTS FAN ????

[Big Fish Billy]

[QUOTE=NY Bearhunter;1145456]

Your right about his...I hope you're wrong about the Colts....[/QUO

HOW IS IT YOUR A SAINTS FAN ????

I'm a Pats fan, but alas there are no Pats to root for, just tired of Peyton Manning, ready for someone else to have a turn, I won't loose any sleep either way..........

[JAYBIRD]

Construction unemployment is very close to 25% nationwide. Financing for projects is very tight. There isn't a lot of new construction coming out. Definetly commercially. What cracks me up, is that most unions really backed Obama, and now they are expieriencing the most members unemployed in decades. All this is a trickle down effect due to the economy, but his plan to borrow, borrow, and borrow absolutely will not help us, but only hurt us. If your union boss told you to jump off a bridge would you. So if your union boss tells you ,you should vote for Obama - it doesn't mean you have to. Think for yourself. In Obama's world all the lazy non working people will have the same privileges the hard working/ risk taking business owners have. I guess he thinks he is Peter Pan. Get ready folks it will get worse with him in office.

[Bird Dog]

Longfisher, what do you think the "real" unemployment rate is? Only people actively seeking work are considered unemployed. If you're lazy and sitting on your ass and not looking for work then you are not a part of that 9.7% statistic.

Bragging about an unemployment rate of 9.7% is ridiculous.

[longfisher]

BD, I read your post to suggest I'm bragging about Obama's recent number. Hardly.

Please read my post again and this time for comprehension. Even the title of the post suggests I don't believe the number that's been put out...as does the rest of the post.

I think the unemployment rate is a misnomer. It does not measure what the name suggests it measures. Instead, it measures the number of people on unemployment benefits and as an aside those who have recently filed claims. The latter is called the job losses for that month.

My belief is that these numbers dont' include all of those who would like to work but can't find suitable full-time employment if they are not on unemployment. But I don't know for sure and was asking.

But since you brought it up, BD. it makes about as much sense for people like you on this board to condemn Obama for an unemployment number that rises as it would for me to brag about the same inaccurate number when it falls. That's why I'm not bragging.

But if you look back over the last few months you'll find lots and lots of those on this board who should otherwise be intelligent consumers of news condemning Obama when that same statistic rises. When it falls they'll, instead, point out its inaccuracy.

Go ahead, check it out. You'll see what I mean. And, that's the reason for the thread altogether.

LongFisher

[Jiggin Junkie]

It is all a smoke and mirrors show. The simple facts are that if they counted those who are truely unemployed, underemployed and those forced to take a meanial job instead of a good paying job it is about 18% and rising.