The Good Jobs Report

[DemocratSinceBirth]

All we need to do is bring unemployment below eight percent in 012 and President Obama will be a shoo in. That is at the upper end of even the most optimistic forecasts.

I hope we can do it.

[notesdev]

1. You mean real unemployment?

Or the bastardized, made-up numbers that come out of BLS?

Our real unemployment rate right now is north of 17%...

[DemocratSinceBirth]

2. The Made Up Number

I wonder what the real number is in good times. Probably around ten percent.

[notesdev]

3. We could make the made up number 8% right now if we like

It would have just as solid a basis as the numbers we're using.

Seriously, though, the "official" UE number is something to ignore, because it does not reflect the true unemployment rates in this country. Letting millions of people roll off the UE rolls (due to having exhausted their benefits) will improve the official UE rate but do absolutely nothing about the underlying conditions that have people angry and upset.

[dmallind]

6. absolutely false

No ue rate - U3 or U6 or any other has ANYTHING to do with benefits expiring or being granted in the first place.. Different department entirely. The rte is based on a phone survey that asks if you have a job, whether you would prefer ft if you have a pt job or perm if you have a temp job, and whether you are actively seeking work. That is it. You could be unemployed for twenty years or be ineligible for benefits at all and if you lack a job and are currently looking the "fake" ue rate will include you.

[HughMoran]

7. Don't expect a retraction

:eyes:

[guardian]

4. Agreed

This "9.6%" number thrown around by the media ass clowns understates unemployment by half. Also, even though 151,000 jobs were added the country as a whole still lost ground. You need about 160000 new jobs added every month to keep pace with population growth. So anything less than 150K jobs added per month results in increased unemployment.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

5. We Really Need 300,000-400,000 Jobs A Month To Bring Down Unemployment

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