This is why they tell you to stay in school, kids. Seriously, look at that discrepancy! Of course, the usual causation-correlation disclaimer is in effect here; maybe the kids who graduated college were the ones naturally more predisposed to keeping a job anyway? Nevertheless, this should give pause to any high schoolers considering dropping out. (source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis) source
» There’s more: In the last four months, unemployment has fallen a total of one percent. This may not seem significant, but it’s in fact the largest four-month drop since 1983. Even if the economy continued to grow at this rate, though, the US wouldn’t be back to pre-recession employment rates until—wait for it—2018. So while this is a good jobs report, it’s not quite good enough. Here’s to the future!
Are we making progress on the jobs front? The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports 192,000 new jobs in Februrary (220,000 new jobs in the private sector and a drop in government employment), and a drop in the overall unemployment rate from 9 to 8.9 percent.
We’re heading in the right direction but…
In regards to our last post, check out what Robert Reich had to write.
lifeloveandsports said: your unemployment rate is false information. the actual number is closer to 14%. When they calculate the unemployment rate the dont count the people who have STOPPED looking for jobs, bc they cant find any.
» We say: While we agree it’s controversial because of the way it calculates its figures, it’s also the accepted metric. They caress it a little too much and leave out things they shouldn’t. Really, the important part of that whole post was the fact that job growth showed real improvement in the private sector – which nearly outpaced the “fake” growth caused by the Census last year. This NPR article does a good job explaining what’s what with the current unemployment picture, taking into account what you just wrote. The key point: Finding that “magic number” is difficult.
» Suggestion for the workforce at large: Be less productive. It will encourage employers to hire more people if they can’t get done what they need to get done with the people they have. And as a result, the unemployment rate will go down because these greedy bastards won’t be able to use their profit picture to screw over millions of unemployed people who can’t find work. You bastards need to stop working so hard. Clock out half an hour early one day for no reason. Sit at your desk and reload Tumblr repeatedly. Blow a deadline. Make yourself not so much replaceable, but appendable. You need an assistant, right? Right? (Note, since people are taking this post seriously: This is “A Modest Proposal,” a Swiftian joke.)
The job market has improved only slowly. … This gain was barely sufficient to accommodate the inflow of recent graduates and other new entrants into the labor force and, therefore, not enough to significantly erode the wide margin of slack that remains in our labor market.Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke • Explaining, in front of the House Budget Committee, the issues he and others are having with the slow pace of the economic recovery. While things are recovering, job growth is way too slow for his comfort. In other news, Bernanke says that inflation is likely to stay low for the foreseeable future, and that the government needs to get the budget situation dealt with. “Creditors would never be willing to lend to a government with debt, relative to national income, that is rising without limit,” he says, suggesting that we could face an actual fiscal crisis if we don’t take heed. Great. source (via • follow)
ilyagerner said: The BLS explanation in their release was that previous months’ job numbers were underestimated. Inability write their press releases in plain English is a problem for the BLS (yglesias.thinkprogress….)
» We say: Worth noting that this is true. You’d think that with a government the size of ours, they’d cut through the clutter and explain this in a meaningful way. Possibly they should considering hiring us to explain their next report?
» Explaining exactly what happened: We’ve seen three perfectly valid arguments for why this disparity between slow job growth and deep unemployment decline took place. The first is pointed out by a Gallup chart that shows that non-seasonally-adjusted unemployment is actually at 9.8 percent – suggesting seasonal adjustment is skewing the numbers. The second suggested reason is much more sinister-sounding: Unemployment benefits for so-called 99ers are starting to run out, and they aren’t looking for jobs, meaning that they are no longer covered as part of the total amount. Finally, the weather sucked in January, with snow covering most of the country, so that could be a possible explanation too. So, which one is the case, anyway?
I can’t add much to what’s already been (and will be) ...
One of the perks of being an early employee...
Over the last 90 days, the Digg...
#FMMDI (at 30 Rockefeller Plaza)
Thanks. I guess my thoughts are as follows:
1. I think...
Our Tumblr friend Newsflick has been doing some great coverage of the Egyptian protests. And in general. He seriously runs a great site that offers a great view of international events. It’s one of our favorite Tumblr blogs, and a truly unsung hero as far as news coverage goes. We got these numbers directly from him – we take no credit, other than that we’re laying them out a little bit more to fit our style. Anyway, here goes:
» A few more stats (from us): The country sports 17 percent food inflation, which was one of the factors noted in the recent Tunisia uprising. While the country’s GDP growth is respectable, it’s also a severe sign of the country’s inequality. Nearly 40 percent of people – out of a population of 80 million – are poor, and the country’s unemployment is 25 percent. And youth unemployment is incredibly high around the world, especially in Egypt. But even in developed countries, it’s shocking: 40 percent unemployment in Spain. 20 percent unemployment in France. How does this happen? How does our youth culture become so unemployable in these countries? This is a big problem which shows a lack of long-term thinking. (Note: Some numbers just updated)
whyarethegoodurlsalreadytaken answered: If you were delivering the State of the Union, what would you say in it and why?
» We say: We think Obama’s right on the money with this one. We’d talk about doing more to build jobs and improving that anemic employment rate. He’s had two years for major initiatives. He needs to focus squarely on the economy tomorrow night. Fact of matter, now’s the time to get people back into the workforce. (It’s our Office Hours! Ask us a question!)
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