A really excellent jobs report!

[fskimospy]

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/07/b...column-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news

250,000 new jobs, which is pretty decent.

Unemployment went up, but that was due to people rejoining the work force, which is a good thing.

December revised up to 329,000 jobs and November revised up to 423,000 jobs.

92,000 jobs added to last year's total through benchmark revisions.

Probably most importantly, wages grew 0.5%, which might not sound like a lot, but for a single month it's a ton.

In short, this is probably the best jobs report to happen in a long time. How fun!

 

[Engineer]

Thanks Mitch!:awe:

 

[Newell Steamer]

I created THIS many jobs!

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

Thanks Mitch!:awe:

First good laugh of the day! Thanks!

 

[Genx87]

Very nice to see wage increases now coming along with the increase in employment.

 

[PokerGuy]

See how quickly electing more republicans to congress bears fruit??

I haven't looked into the details behind the numbers, but from the OP it seems like good news.

 

[fskimospy]

Very nice to see wage increases now coming along with the increase in employment.

Yes! Hopefully they actually continue this time. I think that's when we will really know that the economy is improving and that the employment situation is finally not so shitty.

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

Yes! Hopefully they actually continue this time. I think that's when we will really know that the economy is improving and that the employment situation is finally not so shitty.

The .5% wage increase is huge! Hope this keeps up and isn't a temporary blip caused largely by low wage seasonal workers leaving the workforce.

 

[glenn1]

Yeah, funny as soon as we stopped stimulus how things started getting better. But no doubt you'll find some way to argue like Krugman that without a few trillion more in stimulus we'll all be reverted to paleolithic hunter gathering and clovis points.

 

[michal1980]

Well if eskio is saying things are excellent, then we can start cutting spending.

HAHAHAAHA.

 

[fskimospy]

Yeah, funny as soon as we stopped stimulus how things started getting better. But no doubt you'll find some way to argue like Krugman that without a few trillion more in stimulus we'll all be reverted to paleolithic hunter gathering and clovis points.

This is nonsensical and runs contrary to the empirical data on the subject. You've been told this before, but you're too committed to your ideology to see facts and reason. I see no reason to revisit that.

 

[fskimospy]

Well if eskio is saying things are excellent, then we can start cutting spending.

HAHAHAAHA.

You're an idiot. One excellent jobs report is not a reason to shift your whole macroeconomic stance. It's one jobs report.

Again, try to look past your own ideology and look at things objectively.

 

[glenn1]

Well if eskio is saying things are excellent, then we can start cutting spending.

HAHAHAAHA.

No, it means he'll argue it's time to raise taxes on the wealthy because that's the only kind of "austerity" he believes in. Unless speaking about one of the typical liberal boogeymen like defense, 'corporate subsidies,' or whatnot I would bet a large sum you'll never hear him say cuts are a good idea. Especially if you're talking about any cuts to social welfare.

Keynesianism, it's the perfect solution for liberals - raise spending when times are bad, raise taxes on the rich when times are good. It's the ultimate heads-I-win / tails you lose proposition.

 

[fskimospy]

No, it means he'll argue it's time to raise taxes on the wealthy because that's the only kind of "austerity" he believes in. Unless speaking about one of the typical liberal boogeymen like defense, 'corporate subsidies,' or whatnot I would bet a large sum you'll never hear him say cuts are a good idea. Especially if you're talking about any cuts to social welfare.

Keynesianism, it's the perfect solution for liberals - raise spending when times are bad, raise taxes on the rich when times are good. It's the ultimate heads-I-win situation.

Again, those are policy arguments where people can reasonably disagree on the right mix of taxation and spending. I believe in a larger state with higher levels of taxation than you do. Why are you so surprised that I generally don't want to follow your preferred policies?

What you were trying to argue before though is that somehow stimulative fiscal policy was holding back US growth, which simply runs contrary to the findings of economics. You keep doing this because the answers that economics gives you are ones you find ideologically inconvenient so you try and ignore them.

 

[inachu]

Using DOL.GOV math from the Bush Sr. years and we would have over 25% unemployment.

 

[Blanky]

Using DOL.GOV math from the Bush Sr. years and we would have over 25% unemployment.

No, we wouldn't.

 

[fskimospy]

Using DOL.GOV math from the Bush Sr. years and we would have over 25% unemployment.

No, we wouldn't.

 

[fskimospy]

No, we wouldn't.

lol.

 

[werepossum]

Maybe we're finally getting a proper recovery. I know lead times for light fixtures are getting insane. Evidently manufacturers were caught somewhat flat-footed by the last few month's performance.

 

[theeedude]

Wages up too. Obama bashers are running out of material quickly. I am sure their imagination will get them more.

 

[unokitty]

Gallop: The Big Lie

Here's something that many Americans -- including some of the smartest and most educated among us -- don't know: The official unemployment rate, as reported by the U.S. Department of Labor, is extremely misleading.

Right now, we're hearing much celebrating from the media, the White House and Wall Street about how unemployment is "down" to 5.6%. The cheerleading for this number is deafening. The media loves a comeback story, the White House wants to score political points and Wall Street would like you to stay in the market.

None of them will tell you this: If you, a family member or anyone is unemployed and has subsequently given up on finding a job -- if you are so hopelessly out of work that you've stopped looking over the past four weeks -- the Department of Labor doesn't count you as unemployed. That's right. While you are as unemployed as one can possibly be, and tragically may never find work again, you are not counted in the figure we see relentlessly in the news -- currently 5.6%. Right now, as many as 30 million Americans are either out of work or severely underemployed. Trust me, the vast majority of them aren't throwing parties to toast "falling" unemployment.

There's another reason why the official rate is misleading. Say you're an out-of-work engineer or healthcare worker or construction worker or retail manager: If you perform a minimum of one hour of work in a week and are paid at least $20 -- maybe someone pays you to mow their lawn -- you're not officially counted as unemployed in the much-reported 5.6%. Few Americans know this.

Yet another figure of importance that doesn't get much press: those working part time but wanting full-time work. If you have a degree in chemistry or math and are working 10 hours part time because it is all you can find -- in other words, you are severely underemployed -- the government doesn't count you in the 5.6%. Few Americans know this.

There's no other way to say this. The official unemployment rate, which cruelly overlooks the suffering of the long-term and often permanently unemployed as well as the depressingly underemployed, amounts to a Big Lie.

You're welcome to believe that its "A really excellent jobs report!" Then again, you might also believe that you can keep your health insurance.

Uno

 

[fskimospy]

Gallop: The Big Lie

You're welcome to believe that its "A really excellent jobs report!" Then again, you might also believe that you can keep your health insurance.

Uno

Whoever wrote that is a moron or is searching for clicks. He is referring to the U6 rate, which is publicly reported every month and has declined at similar rates to the U3 rate.

 

[fskimospy]

Wages up too. Obama bashers are running out of material quickly. I am sure their imagination will get them more.

In all fairness most conservatives in this thread so far have done no such thing.

Then again it looks like unikitty is becoming an unemployment truther.

 

[theeedude]

250k jobs in January, and November and December revised up by 100K jobs each. Wages up, 700k entered the workforce, destroying the remaining GOP criticisms of the recovery. Terrible jobs report ... for Obama bashers.

 

[PokerGuy]

Gallop: The Big Lie

You're welcome to believe that its "A really excellent jobs report!" Then again, you might also believe that you can keep your health insurance.

Uno

There isn't just one unemployment number, though they use the U3 number as the "official" one. You can look at U1, U2, U3, U4, U5 and U6 numbers if you want more information, U6 specifically addresses some of the concerns raised in the article you quoted.

Not that I think it's all wonderful, but the U6 numbers have been heading in the right direction as well, so that's good news for all of us.