June nonfarm payrolls rise 121,000, Unemployment rate steady at 4.6%

[umbrella39]

People have to wonder so many millions of Americans are having such a hard time making their bills let alone saving for their retirements when the republicans keep telling us things are great. I think you are all on oxycontin. BTW, Consumer Confidence Hits 7-Month Low today. Better stock up

My fav quote from the article: "history teaches us that consumers would sooner cut back on their savings rather than cut back significantly on their spending to sustain their lifestyles"

Say it aint so.

 

[Genx87]

Originally posted by: umbrella39
People have to wonder so many millions of Americans are having such a hard time making their bills let alone saving for their retirements when the republicans keep telling us things are great. I think you are all on oxycontin. BTW, Consumer Confidence Hits 7-Month Low today. Better stock up

My fav quote from the article: "history teaches us that consumers would sooner cut back on their savings rather than cut back significantly on their spending to sustain their lifestyles"

Say it aint so.

And? What does being a pessimist add to the mix? Do you derive pleasure from pissing and moaning about good news?

 

[Engineer]

Not only jobs going up but productivity going up as well (from Autobeat Daily):

U.S. WORKERS GET MORE PRODUCTIVE. The productivity
of America?s workforce grew by an annualized 3.2%
during the first quarter, reversing a 0.3% decline in the
previous quarter, says the U.S. Dept. of Labor.

The bad news: Hourly workers? compensation for the
quarter surged by an annualized 5.7%, almost twice what
analysts expected. The effect was to push unit labor costs
up by 2.5%. That raises inflation concerns by putting pressure
on businesses to raise prices.

Economists say the figures will help encourage the
Federal Reserve to again raise bank lending rates,
currently at 4.75%, when its members meet next week.
Last month Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke predicted
that inflation would remain low and hinted that the central
bank might freeze lending rates?which have been slowly
raised in 15 baby steps over the past two years?for
several months.

Inflationary pressures could keep the fed tightening for a little while.

Comment on the consumer confidence. I don't know how the numbers are derived but there seems to be little correlation between consumer confidence and spending habits right now. People are spending like drunken sailors. I guess more power to them if they can make the payments. Deficits don't matter...*shrugs*

 

[Genx87]

Originally posted by: dullard

Originally posted by: Genx87
You have to wonder why people complain about a growing economy with jobs growth, wage growth, and the stock market gaining.

We complain because the economy growth is not what it could be.
[*]The job growth of 138,000 is not enough to match ~150,000 new workers each month. So per capita, the jobs were not growing, but shrinking.
[*]Wage growth is there but it isn't what it could be.
[*]The stock market has moved 0 points in 6 years. Including inflation, the market is way down over 6 years.
[*]During this growing economy, the government should be getting a surplus to save up for deficit spending in the next recession. But no, we are at a deficit and we are not preparing for the bad times. Ever hear of the fable with the grasshopper who didn't prepare for the future?

The economy is good, it just isn't great. Why can't we strive for greatness? Why should we settle just for good? Hey, if doing the minimum is fine for you, then I'm happy for you. Some of us like doing more than the minimum. Hmm, Office Space comes to mind. I like more than 15 pieces of flair.

How does pointing out flaws at every turn strive for "greatness"? It sounds to me it is more designed to instill a fear into the consumer and create a scenario of self prophecy of a failed economy.

 

[umbrella39]

Originally posted by: Genx87

Originally posted by: umbrella39
People have to wonder so many millions of Americans are having such a hard time making their bills let alone saving for their retirements when the republicans keep telling us things are great. I think you are all on oxycontin. BTW, Consumer Confidence Hits 7-Month Low today. Better stock up

My fav quote from the article: "history teaches us that consumers would sooner cut back on their savings rather than cut back significantly on their spending to sustain their lifestyles"

Say it aint so.

And? What does being a pessimist add to the mix? Do you derive pleasure from pissing and moaning about good news?

Gas prices, the price of food, health insurance costs, etc. are not good news, I derive no pleasure living paycheck to paycheck like most Americans.

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: Genx87

Originally posted by: umbrella39
People have to wonder so many millions of Americans are having such a hard time making their bills let alone saving for their retirements when the republicans keep telling us things are great. I think you are all on oxycontin. BTW, Consumer Confidence Hits 7-Month Low today. Better stock up

My fav quote from the article: "history teaches us that consumers would sooner cut back on their savings rather than cut back significantly on their spending to sustain their lifestyles"

Say it aint so.

And? What does being a pessimist add to the mix?

Do you derive pleasure from pissing and moaning about good news?

Because it isn't "Good News".

What part of lies and deception do you not understand???

 

[Genx87]

Originally posted by: umbrella39

Originally posted by: Genx87

Originally posted by: umbrella39
People have to wonder so many millions of Americans are having such a hard time making their bills let alone saving for their retirements when the republicans keep telling us things are great. I think you are all on oxycontin. BTW, Consumer Confidence Hits 7-Month Low today. Better stock up

My fav quote from the article: "history teaches us that consumers would sooner cut back on their savings rather than cut back significantly on their spending to sustain their lifestyles"

Say it aint so.

And? What does being a pessimist add to the mix? Do you derive pleasure from pissing and moaning about good news?

Gas prices, the price of food, health insurance costs, etc. are not good news, I derive no pleasure living paycheck to paycheck like most Americans.

Reduce your costs of living.

 

[Genx87]

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

Originally posted by: Genx87

Originally posted by: umbrella39
People have to wonder so many millions of Americans are having such a hard time making their bills let alone saving for their retirements when the republicans keep telling us things are great. I think you are all on oxycontin. BTW, Consumer Confidence Hits 7-Month Low today. Better stock up

My fav quote from the article: "history teaches us that consumers would sooner cut back on their savings rather than cut back significantly on their spending to sustain their lifestyles"

Say it aint so.

And? What does being a pessimist add to the mix?

Do you derive pleasure from pissing and moaning about good news?

Because it isn't "Good News".

What part of lies and deception do you not understand???

Unemployment at 4.7%, GPD growing 3+%, Stock market hit 6 year high, housing market still on fire.

You this blinded by your partisan hackery?

 

[umbrella39]

Originally posted by: Genx87

Originally posted by: umbrella39

Originally posted by: Genx87

Originally posted by: umbrella39
People have to wonder so many millions of Americans are having such a hard time making their bills let alone saving for their retirements when the republicans keep telling us things are great. I think you are all on oxycontin. BTW, Consumer Confidence Hits 7-Month Low today. Better stock up

My fav quote from the article: "history teaches us that consumers would sooner cut back on their savings rather than cut back significantly on their spending to sustain their lifestyles"

Say it aint so.

And? What does being a pessimist add to the mix? Do you derive pleasure from pissing and moaning about good news?

Gas prices, the price of food, health insurance costs, etc. are not good news, I derive no pleasure living paycheck to paycheck like most Americans.

Reduce your costs of living.

The only cost of living I can reduce at this point is the cost of schooling and that is not something I can cut back on. 0 credit cards, 0 loans other than the mortgage, and go out to eat maybe 1x a month as opposed to 1x a week. Millions of Americans are in the same boat. Save for the future or continue on with the lifestyle you once enjoyed, but you can't do both.

 

[dullard]

Originally posted by: Genx87
How does pointing out flaws at every turn strive for "greatness"? It sounds to me it is more designed to instill a fear into the consumer and create a scenario of self prophecy of a failed economy.

It does because once flaws are found, they can be addressed. Then the flaws can be fixed, or if that isn't possible, their downside can be mitigated.

You've been claiming that "fear" will create a self-fullfilled prophecy of a bad economy for years. Guess what? It hasn't happened. You were wrong then, and you are wrong now. It simply won't/can't happen in an economy like this one (addiction based purchasing, and willingness to have negative savings rates). In other generations, in other economies, you have valid (but small) point. It just isn't the case anymore. Our economy is driven less and less by confidence goods and more and more by goods/services that consumer confidence has no impact on.

So you have no reason to NOT point out the flaws. Ignoring the problems doesn't make them go away.

 

[jlmadyson]

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

Originally posted by: jlmadyson

Originally posted by: dmcowen674

Originally posted by: jlmadyson
Economy creates 138,000 jobs in April; average hourly earnings jump 0.5%

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) Stocks to get a boost from jobs data


-- U.S. stock futures are pointing to a higher open Friday as slower-than-anticipated April jobs growth offset a larger-than-anticipated rise in hourly earnings, and bolstered hopes the Federal Reserve may no longer need to continue raising interest rates.

Dow futures were up 49 points at 11,515, Nasdaq 100 futures gained 11.25 points to 1,721 while S&P 500 futures rose 5.70 points to 1,322.50.
On Thursday, stocks ended higher as strong April sales results for retailers and a drop in crude-oil prices to a one-month low lifted the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its best level in more than six years.

The Dow industrials ($INDU : Dow Jones Industrial Average
News , chart, profile, more
Last: 11,495.13+56.27+0.49%

"The report as a whole is softer than expected,"

said Philip Shaw, analyst at Investec Securities. "It's not suggesting that the U.S. labor market is roaring away. Accordingly we've seen the dollar drop noticeably after the report and bonds have made some gains."

Shaw said stock futures extended gains as the report offered some hope the Fed may ease up on interest rates going forward. The dollar, which fell on the data, is another positive for stock investors. A weak dollar makes exports of U.S. goods cheaper and increases the value of repatriated earnings.

Nonfarm payrolls expanded by 138,000 in April, less than the 199,000 expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch. The unemployment rate remained at 4.7% as expected.

Average hourly earnings increased 0.5% to $16.61, more than the 0.3% forecast by economists. Earnings are up 3.8% in the past year, the biggest year-over-year gain since August 2001.

Employment report filters through other markets

The U.S. dollar turned lower against the Japanese yen and extended losses against the euro as the weaker-than-expected employment report raised the odds of the Federal Reserve putting a temporary halt to its cycle of interest rate increases. The euro was last up 0.3% at $1.2734. Against the yen, the greenback was off 0.03% at 113.47.
On the bond market, long-term Treasury prices turned positive, sending yields lower after the data. The benchmark 10-year note was up 2/32 at 95 1/32, with its yield

After losing more than $2 a barrel in the previous session, crude-oil futures rose early Friday with traders still too worried about developments in Iran and other trouble spots to keep the contract under $70. Crude for June delivery was last up 56 cents at $70.50 after ending at a one-month low under $70 on Thursday. See Futures Movers.

A little bit softer than I expected as well the street, biggest gains in average hourly earnings year over year since 2001, @3.8%, not too bad overall.

Interesting Partisan Hacking you do with the articles.

You try and bold whatever info to try and show Republicans in a good light despite the article full of holes.

Why didn't you bold this part?

"The report as a whole is softer than expected,"

Why didn't you post the real Title of the article?

Payrolls Grow Smallest Amount Since Oct.

Why? Because you are a Republican Hack Puppet.

Glad to see some American Sheeple waking up to you are your ilks tactics.

You don't have to worry though, come election time I know you guys have an awesome brainwashing re-training set up to get all the votes you need again.

And you're a Democrat hack? yea

Jobs are still being created plus gains in earnings, oh how so terrible. But hey, keep it up Dave with your so called Presidential hopes. Keep on dreaming in that dream world you live in. Oh it?s the Republicans fault, that sounds about right, right, please.

And for the record the title of the article is;

Dow, S&P at multi-year highs after jobs data

Woo damning title their, I chose the subtitle to highlight the data which they have actually changed the subtitle now, oh so sorry for you.

Yes, Murdocks so called "News" organizations are guilty of the same thing you are doing.

But the American Sheeple have spoekn and said they trust Murdock's Fox News more than anything else, of course because they are brainwashed.

I'm impressed, really. I didn't have any idea I would be witnessing a better and more successful use of it like 1930's Germany in my lifetime.

I'm not that surprised because History Repeats itself because Humans Repeat Mistakes.

Here is the link and full article not influenced by Murdock

Payrolls Grow Smallest Amount Since Oct.

Sadly soon Murdock and the Republicans will sucessfully squash any disenting articles.

Then you will be 110% totally happy.

I'm sorry nearly 730,000 jobs created in the first four months of this year is such a terrible thing, terrible I say. Yes, there was a bit of a cooling in the data for this month although with a larger than expected gain in earnings, overall still averaging 182k for the first four months of the year with 2 million in the last year alone. How about that stock market, Dow not too far from all times, hopefully it keeps going up, maybe time to cash in a bit;

Stocks jump on weak payrolls

Dow spikes after news that the economy adds 138,000 jobs last month, much lower than expected. Expectations for an interest-rate hike in June drop. Four Seasons and El Paso climb sharply on quarterly results. A big gain for the New York Stock Exchange.

The market continued to be strong this afternoon as investors applauded tepid job growth in April, which cast doubt on whether the Federal Reserve would hike interest rates in June.

By 2:50 p.m., the Dow Jones industrials had jumped 144 points, 1.3%, to 11,553. The Nasdaq Composite gained nearly 20 points, 0.85%, to 2,344 and the Standard & Poor's 500 index rose nearly 14 points, 1.1%, to 1,324.

Cyclical stocks were also strong, with Home Depot (HD, news, msgs), Caterpillar (CAT, news, msgs), Boeing (BA, news, msgs) and Alcoa (AA, news, msgs) leading the Dow higher.

Banks and brokers were very strong today. The Amex Broker Deailer Index ($XBD.X) was up nearly 3%. Lehman Brothers (LEH, news, msgs) was up nearly 4%. Merrill Lynch (MER, news, msgs) added 3.3%. JPMorgan Chase (JPM, news, msgs) rose 2.2%. And the New York Stock Exchange Group (NYX, news, msgs) jumped 6.7%. Former seatholders sold off 25 million shares at $61.50 each for a total of $1.54 billion.

At the same time, oil prices were slightly higher, but interest rates were lower, thanks to the jobs report. The 10-year Treasury yield fell to 5.11% today, dowm from 5.15% yesterday.


Great data for stocks


Nonfarm payroll rose 138,000 in April, compared with a downwardly revised gain of 200,000 in March, the Labor Department reported. The rise was much lower than the 200,000 job additions economists expected. The jobless rate stayed steady at 4.7%.

"This a good number for equities," Jack Bouroudjian, principal at Brewer Investment Group, told CNBC's "Squawk Box." The economy is saying that the Fed can stop raising rates after the next meeting, Bouroudjian added, and if that happens there will be an "explosion in equities."

Shortly after the report was released, the probability of an interest rate rise in the June meeting fell to 36% from 48%, according to Fed funds futures contracts, CNBC's Steve Liesman reported.

"It's a perfect number," Mark Zandi, chief economist at Economy.com, told "Squawk Box." "That's the kind of job growth we need to see. It's consistent with a stable unemployment rate."


Retail sector sheds jobs; wages rise

The retail sector saw the most pronounced fall in payrolls, shedding 36,000 jobs. But manufacturing was strong, with a gain of 19,000 jobs.

Payroll rises in the two previous months were revised lower. March's job gains were cut to 200,000 from 211,000 and February's job gains were revised down to 200,000 from 225,000.

Average hourly earnings rose 0.5% in April, higher than the 0.3% gain expected. But that was likely due to the fact that the retail sector lost a large number of lower-paying jobs.


Non-farm payroll growth last 12 months Month Change Month Change

April
138,000

March
211,000

February
225,000

January
154,000

December '05
145,000

November
354,000

October
37,000

September
48,000

August
175,000

July
241,000

June
166,000

May
106,000

Total jobs created

2,000,000

Avg. new jobs/month

166,667


Shares of Toll Brothers (TOL, news, msgs) rose 3.5%, despite reporting that signed contracts for building homes in its fiscal second quarter, which ended in April, fell 29% from the year-ago period to $1.56 billion.

Stock Charts (Year)
Toll Brothers

Toll Brothers also cut its home deliveries forecast for the whole year, the Associated Press reported. Toll shares probably moved higher because of the fall in the 10-year Treasury yield. The stock actually is down more nearly 47% lower from its $58.25 peak on July 20, 2005.

Four Seasons (FS, news, msgs) reported first-quarter earnings of 38 cents per share, excluding certain items, 5 cents higher than the Reuters Estimates consensus. Revenue per available room in the United States rose 12.6%. The stock rose more than 13%.

And El Paso (EP, news, msgs) earned 52 cents per share in the first quarter, excluding non-recurring items, a whopping 26 cents better than the Reuters Estimate consensus. Shares jumped more than 11% this afternoon.


Oil ceases its slide

Oil prices moved modestly higher after two days of sharp declines. Near the close, New York light crude futures rose 16 cents to $70.10 per barrel.

Geopolitical concerns continue to provide support for oil, traders told CNBC's Mary Thompson.

"I think that if you did not have this nuclear standoff with Iran, if everything were fine there, oil prices could be as much as $20 lower than they are now," Bob Morris, an analyst at Bank of America, told CNBC.

But on the bearish front, OPEC's acting secretary general said today that oil prices would decline once the U.S. finishes its transition to a new gasoline formulation.

 

[Genx87]

Originally posted by: dullard

Originally posted by: Genx87
How does pointing out flaws at every turn strive for "greatness"? It sounds to me it is more designed to instill a fear into the consumer and create a scenario of self prophecy of a failed economy.

It does because once flaws are found, they can be addressed. Then the flaws can be fixed, or if that isn't possible, their downside can be mitigated.

You've been claiming that "fear" will create a self-fullfilled prophecy of a bad economy for years. Guess what? It hasn't happened. You were wrong then, and you are wrong now. It simply won't/can't happen in an economy like this one (addiction based purchasing, and willingness to have negative savings rates). In other generations, in other economies, you have valid (but small) point. It just isn't the case anymore. Our economy is driven less and less by confidence goods and more and more by goods/services that consumer confidence has no impact on.

So you have no reason to NOT point out the flaws. Ignoring the problems doesn't make them go away.

And what do you think the govt should do about peoples savings?
And does that detract at all from an economic boom?

The answer is, it doesnt, but gives people who like to piss and moan about something, just that, something to piss and moan about.

 

[dullard]

Originally posted by: Genx87
And what do you think the govt should do about peoples savings?

Directly? Nothing, the govt should not meddle at that level. But it should keep its own spending under control. Does cutting govt spending detract from the boom? Of course it does. But that is why you cut spending during a boom and not during a bust when people need the money most.

If wanting govt spending under control during the good economic years is pissing and moaning, then bring on the pissing and moaning. I'll be the champion pisser and the king moaner.

 

[BBond]

These incessant "good news" jobs threads crack me up. If you take a moment to do a bit of research you'll find out exactly what kind of "jobs" are being "created".

And that's where the good news ends.

728,000 jobs created in first four months of 06'

"Super-size it?"

"Welcome to Walmart"

And even those jobs are being "insourced" more and more to the legions of ILLEGAL immigrants because bush refuses to protect our borders and enforce existing immigration laws.

 

[nergee]

Originally posted by: BBond
These incessant "good news" jobs threads crack me up. If you take a moment to do a bit of research you'll find out exactly what kind of "jobs" are being "created".

And that's where the good news ends.

728,000 jobs created in first four months of 06'

"Super-size it?"

"Welcome to Walmart"

And even those jobs are being "insourced" more and more to the legions of ILLEGAL immigrants because bush refuses to protect our borders and enforce existing immigration laws.

....." Manufacturing employment increased by 19,000 in April -- the strongest for any month since May 2004 when 23,000 were hired -- after growing by a slim 1,000 in March. But the number of jobs at retailers contracted by 36,100 after growing in March by 23,300."...

so much for "Welcome to Walmart"

 

[Engineer]

Originally posted by: nergee

Originally posted by: BBond
These incessant "good news" jobs threads crack me up. If you take a moment to do a bit of research you'll find out exactly what kind of "jobs" are being "created".

And that's where the good news ends.

728,000 jobs created in first four months of 06'

"Super-size it?"

"Welcome to Walmart"

And even those jobs are being "insourced" more and more to the legions of ILLEGAL immigrants because bush refuses to protect our borders and enforce existing immigration laws.

....." Manufacturing employment increased by 19,000 in April -- the strongest for any month since May 2004 when 23,000 were hired -- after growing by a slim 1,000 in March. But the number of jobs at retailers contracted by 36,100 after growing in March by 23,300."...

so much for "Welcome to Walmart"

Manufacturing jobs FTW!

After losing over 3 million manufacturing jobs since 2000, it looks like manufacturing is finally expanding enough to start hiring people again. IIRC, this is about 4 or 5 months in a row with an expansion in "workers" in manufacturing (we all know manufacturing is expanding at the production level).

 

[dmcowen674]

Originally posted by: Engineer
....." Manufacturing employment increased by 19,000 in April -- the strongest for any month since May 2004 when 23,000 were hired -- after growing by a slim 1,000 in March. But the number of jobs at retailers contracted by 36,100 after growing in March by 23,300."...

so much for "Welcome to Walmart"

Manufacturing jobs FTW!

After losing over 3 million manufacturing jobs since 2000, it looks like manufacturing is finally expanding enough to start hiring people again. IIRC, this is about 4 or 5 months in a row with an expansion in "workers" in manufacturing (we all know manufacturing is expanding at the production level).
[/quote]
So is it getting too expensive to ship everything back Stateside???

 

[jlmadyson]

U.S. May Payrolls Rise 75,000; Unemployment Rate at 4.6%

June 2 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. economy added fewer jobs than expected for a second month in May and wage growth slowed, suggesting employers were wary of stepping up hiring at a time when growth shows signs of cooling.

The 75,000 gain in payrolls followed a revised 126,000 April increase that was lower than the government initially reported, Labor Department figures showed today. Economists expected a 170,000 increase. The unemployment rate fell to 4.6 percent last month from 4.7 percent.

A weakening of the labor market may make it harder for workers to demand pay increases. Smaller wage gains help reduce the risk of inflation and provide leeway for those Federal Reserve policy makers leaning toward an end to two years of interest-rate increases.

``We may be starting to see some caution by firms because domestic demand has slipped,'' Michael Gregory, a senior economist at BMO Nesbitt Burns in Toronto, said before the report. ``That might keep additional wage pressures at a minimum. It's consistent with the Fed's view that the economy is slowing.''

Economists expected payrolls to rise by 170,000, according to the median of 79 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey, after an originally reported 138,000 gain in April. Estimates of the increase ranged from 125,000 to 250,000.

May's unemployment rate, which is based on a survey of households while the payrolls report comes from a survey of employers, was the lowest since July 2001. The household survey showed a 288,000 gain in employment last month.

Average Earnings

Workers' average hourly earnings rose 0.1 percent, or 1 cent, after a revised 0.6 percent increase in April. Economists expected a 0.3 percent gain. Wages rose 3.7 percent from May 2005.

Fed policy makers considered the first half-point increase in six years, according to records of their May 10 meeting released this week in Washington. The deliberations suggest policy makers were more concerned about mounting inflation pressures than many economists expected.

At the same time, increases in productivity are helping to restrain wages and inflation, the Fed said. Productivity in the first quarter rose at an annual rate of 3.7 percent, the Labor Department said yesterday. Labor costs increased at a 1.6 percent pace and were up 0.3 percent in the 12 months that ended in March, matching the smallest gain in more than a year.

``Recent developments suggested that upside risks to inflation had risen somewhat since the time of the March meeting,'' the Fed minutes said. ``However, participants also cited some factors that could be expected to restrain inflation,'' including ``moderate'' growth in compensation, ``relatively wide profit margins'' and additional productivity gains.

Inflation Expectations

Policy makers were unsure about how much further to raise interest rates and suggested ``worrisome'' inflation expectations may recede, minutes of the meeting showed.

The labor force participation rate, which measures the percentage of the working-age population that is employed or seeking employment, remained at 66.1 percent for a fourth month, today's report showed.

Employment in service industries, including banks, retailers and government agencies, rose 85,000 last month after rising 81,000 in April, today's report showed. Manufacturing employment fell 14,000.

Construction employment rose 1,000 in May after rising 16,000 the prior month.

Hours Worked

The workweek fell to 33.8 hours, matching economists' estimates, from 33.9 in April. The manufacturing workweek fell to 41.1 hours. Overtime held at 4.6 hours for a second month.

Hiring may be starting to slow along with the economy after a 5.3 percent annual pace of gross domestic product growth in the first quarter, economists said. The economy will expand at an annual rate of 3.5 percent this quarter and at a 3 percent pace in the second half as consumer spending slows and housing cools, according to the median estimates in Bloomberg survey April 28 to May 8.

First-time applications for state jobless benefits unexpectedly rose last week, the Labor Department said yesterday, signaling labor demand may be softening.

Santa Clara, California-based Sun Microsystems Inc., the world's No. 4 maker of server computers, said it will cut as many as 5,000 jobs, or 13 percent of the workforce, in the next six months. The job cuts are aimed at helping Sun to become a ``leaner and more efficient company,'' Sun Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Schwartz said on a May 31 conference call.

Winnebago Industries Inc. Chief Executive Officer Bruce Hertzke, whose Forest City, Iowa-based company is the biggest U.S. motor-home maker, said in a May 26 interview that rising gasoline prices ``have slowed the business down some.''

Consumer Survey

A survey by the Conference Board, a New York-based business group, showed the share of consumers who said jobs were plentiful decreased in May, while the percentage who said jobs are hard to find rose to the highest this year. The share of people who expect better employment opportunities in the next six months fell.

`In light of the much slower growth prospects in the current quarter, we are expecting to see signs of a moderating labor market,'' said Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. fixed income economist at Deutsche Bank Securities in New York.

Among blacks, the unemployment rate fell to 8.9 percent, today's report showed. The jobless rate for Hispanics fell to 5 percent and for whites held at 4.1 percent.

The unemployment rate for teenagers fell to 14 percent in May. For women, the jobless rate fell to 4.1 percent and it held at 4.2 percent for men.

Not a particularly great month, some additional slowing in the labor market possibly to come, although the unemployment rate ticked down just a bit.

 

[Genx87]

The avg wages have increased 3.7% in the last 12 months showing we are moving in the right direction, not backwards like some suggest.

Also the unemployment rate at 4.6% has to be rivaling Clintons best years.

 

[Aisengard]

Why do they use the unemployment numbers? That's only the people looking for work. There are millions more unemployed who have just given up.

I never trust the unemployment numbers, because it's not an indicator of anything.

 

[Genx87]

Originally posted by: Aisengard
Why do they use the unemployment numbers? That's only the people looking for work. There are millions more unemployed who have just given up.

I never trust the unemployment numbers, because it's not an indicator of anything.

We have gone over this over and over again. It doesnt make sense to include people not looking for work. It doesnt give you any idea on what the employment market looks like, just that x amount of people arent working.

Retired people would weight against your unemployment rate under your plan.

 

[Aisengard]

Originally posted by: Genx87

Originally posted by: Aisengard
Why do they use the unemployment numbers? That's only the people looking for work. There are millions more unemployed who have just given up.

I never trust the unemployment numbers, because it's not an indicator of anything.

We have gone over this over and over again. It doesnt make sense to include people not looking for work. It doesnt give you any idea on what the employment market looks like, just that x amount of people arent working.

Retired people would weight against your unemployment rate under your plan.

It makes a lot of sense to include people who can't find a job because the market is so poor there.

It's a bogus, antiquated figure that people pay WAY too much attention to.

 

[Genx87]

Originally posted by: Aisengard

Originally posted by: Genx87

Originally posted by: Aisengard
Why do they use the unemployment numbers? That's only the people looking for work. There are millions more unemployed who have just given up.

I never trust the unemployment numbers, because it's not an indicator of anything.

We have gone over this over and over again. It doesnt make sense to include people not looking for work. It doesnt give you any idea on what the employment market looks like, just that x amount of people arent working.

Retired people would weight against your unemployment rate under your plan.

It makes a lot of sense to include people who can't find a job because the market is so poor there.

It's a bogus, antiquated figure that people pay WAY too much attention to.

They do, anybody who is looking for a job and cant find one is part of the 4.6%

 

[Aisengard]

Originally posted by: Genx87

Originally posted by: Aisengard

Originally posted by: Genx87

Originally posted by: Aisengard
Why do they use the unemployment numbers? That's only the people looking for work. There are millions more unemployed who have just given up.

I never trust the unemployment numbers, because it's not an indicator of anything.

We have gone over this over and over again. It doesnt make sense to include people not looking for work. It doesnt give you any idea on what the employment market looks like, just that x amount of people arent working.

Retired people would weight against your unemployment rate under your plan.

It makes a lot of sense to include people who can't find a job because the market is so poor there.

It's a bogus, antiquated figure that people pay WAY too much attention to.

They do, anybody who is looking for a job and cant find one is part of the 4.6%

And the people who have given up after four weeks because not enough jobs are created are suddenly dropped out of the labor pool, even though they'd like to be looking for a job but have a family to look after.

Remember that unemployment usually rises during an economic boom, and falls during recession, and "Employed" simply means you worked at least one day out of the week the poll was conducted. If ten people worked the same job, one day a week, they would not be counted as 'unemployed', even though their work can't support their individual cost of living.

Considering that, it's a pretty useless tool for measuring the strength of the economy.

 

[Genx87]

Originally posted by: Aisengard

Originally posted by: Genx87

Originally posted by: Aisengard

Originally posted by: Genx87

Originally posted by: Aisengard
Why do they use the unemployment numbers? That's only the people looking for work. There are millions more unemployed who have just given up.

I never trust the unemployment numbers, because it's not an indicator of anything.

We have gone over this over and over again. It doesnt make sense to include people not looking for work. It doesnt give you any idea on what the employment market looks like, just that x amount of people arent working.

Retired people would weight against your unemployment rate under your plan.

It makes a lot of sense to include people who can't find a job because the market is so poor there.

It's a bogus, antiquated figure that people pay WAY too much attention to.

They do, anybody who is looking for a job and cant find one is part of the 4.6%

Remember that unemployment usually rises during an economic boom, and falls during recession, and "Employed" simply means you worked at least one day out of the week the poll was conducted. If ten people worked the same job, one day a week, they would not be counted as 'unemployed', even though their work can't support their individual cost of living.

Considering that, it's a pretty useless tool for measuring the strength of the economy.

What do you think the avg hours per week does?
It isnt a useless tool, it is a measure of the labor markets in our country.
If it is so useless why do other countries use the same standards?

And the people who have given up after four weeks because not enough jobs are created are suddenly dropped out of the labor pool, even though they'd like to be looking for a job but have a family to look after.

If they arent looking, they dont care about a job and shouldnt be counted.