Job Losses "unexpectedly" increase...

McCain's got his own problems, as do all RINOs. He and Obama agree more than they disagree. I don't think the old TweedleDee -TweedleDum game's going to be as effective in 2010 as it was in 2008.

Great stats in that story, btw.

The unemployment rate was unchanged at 10 percent in December, but that reflected a surprisingly large number of people leaving the labor force.

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What? Leaving the labor force? Did they die or something? Nope, they left the labor force because they became "discouraged" and quit looking for work. 661,000 of them, just last month alone.

I seem to remember that if you want to keep a percentage constant, you have to reduce both the numerator and denominator by the same percentage. Handy how that worked out, wasn't it? Just enough people got discouraged and dropped out of the hunt to keep that magic 10% number in play. Sheer luck, I tell ya.

The broadest measure of unemployment, which includes discouraged workers and those working part-time for economic reasons, rose to 17.3 percent from 17.2 percent in the prior month.

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So if people have given up looking for work, they're NOT unemployed? This is how they paint the relatively rosy image of "only" 10% unemployment.

According to ShadowStats, the rate is actually even higher, at 22%. That's because the 17.3 percent figure only includes short-term discouraged workers. Long-term discouraged workers were defined out of official existance in 1994.

So the 10% rate is simply the rate that the government wants to report, and has no relationship to the percentage of people who are actually out of work, for whatever reason. Twenty-two percent represents all the actual people who would rather be employed than sitting around on their butts.

The peak unemployment rate during the great depression was 25%.

Someone must not have gotten the memo on keeping the numbers fudged. ;-)

I'm kind of thinking our economy is "resetting" a little, kicking us back to where the job market largely supports 1 parent working (which IS rather unfortunate for all the divorced families.)

Of course, I don't just blame the Executor. Obama (or Bush or whomever) can't do it with the so-called "representatives." (Though I do realize that I can't win against the lobbyist =/)

The Stimulus is working perfectly. Can you imagine the catastrophic shitstorm we'd be in without the Stimulus Package?

What would that be? 10.1% unemployment?

S'OK

You can join us poor peasants in Europe

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8448641.stm

Don said:

What? Leaving the labor force? Did they die or something? Nope, they left the labor force because they became "discouraged" and quit looking for work. 661,000 of them, just last month alone.

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That has always amused me to no end when I would hear about this on the news...

"those numbers don't reflect the people who have STOPPED LOOKING FOR WORK."

I never understood that. What happens? They're sitting at home and just go..."Alright..that's it for me!! Just gonna be a bum."

What kind of unemployed person just stops looking for work. Or at least listen for work. You must listen and look. You can't discount looking.

billythrilly7th said:

What kind of unemployed person just stops looking for work. Or at least listen for work.

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Oh, I know of at least one person. He lives off of his sister's money, and she doesn't have much. Sad.

mscelina said:

What would that be? 10.1% unemployment?

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Yes. Plus, no frisbee golf on the weekends...

billythrilly7th said:

would hear about this on the news...

"Alright..that's it for me!! Just gonna be a bum."

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YAY.

Early retirement

billythrilly7th said:

That has always amused me to no end when I would hear about this on the news...

"those numbers don't reflect the people who have STOPPED LOOKING FOR WORK."

I never understood that. What happens? They're sitting at home and just go..."Alright..that's it for me!! Just gonna be a bum."

What kind of unemployed person just stops looking for work. Or at least listen for work. You must listen and look. You can't discount looking.

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I lived with a woman back in the 80s recession who did just that. She realized that with 2 children she could bring in MORE income by living on the public dole than having a job. With Food Stamps, housing assistance, LEAP (electricity/gas assistance), the hospital ER for medical care (which would write off the debt because of her indigent status,) the local charity food bank, WIC, and her local church, her "equivalent income" was over $2,000 per month, tax-free---at a time and in a location where the average income was about $1,000 take-home.

I didn't realize all this when I moved in with her and was appalled when I found out that she spent all day doing nothing but shopping (with the money I paid her for rent). How did I find out? When the housing assistance people stopped by one Saturday when she was out. It never occurred to me that I was supposed to lie to them. I was told I had to leave in order for her to keep up her assistance.

While there are many people who I'm pleased receive assistance to live, there are others who are more than happy to manipulate the system and simply give up working to have the easy life.