Unemployment falls to 9.0 pct

[dmcowen674]

2-4-2011

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110204/ap_on_bi_go_ec_fi/us_economy

Unemployment falls to 9.0 pct


The unemployment rate dropped sharply last month to 9 percent, the lowest level in nearly two years.

The unemployment rate has fallen by eight-tenths of a percentage point in the past two months.

That's the steepest two-month drop in nearly 53 years.

===================================================
Wow 53 years after Bush and the Republicans destroyed jobs over an 8 year period.

There is no doubt Obama is the Messiah.

Thank you Thank you Thank you

 

[PokerGuy]

Friday's report offered a conflicting picture on hiring. Unemployment fell because the Labor Department's household survey determined that more than a half-million people without jobs found work. The department conducts a separate survey of businesses, which showed tepid job creation. The two surveys sometimes diverge.

The number of jobs created is what really matters, and the number is anemic. The unemployment figure dropping can happen for a variety of reasons, including people just giving up and no longer looking for work.

Lets put it this way, when only 36,000 jobs are created, that's not even enough to cover population growth, so unemployment is bound to rise again.

 

[dmcowen674]

Lets put it this way, when only 36,000 jobs are created, that's not even enough to cover population growth

Dude, they have to leave the country. Problem solved.

 

[Thump553]

Unfortunately PokerGuy is correct. 36k new jobs created in January, consensus expectation was 148K new jobs.

By any measure this has been, and will continue to be, a brutal recession. The numbers don't even count the underemployed-college grads working part time at CVS, for example.

 

[Scotteq]

But part of that drop has occurred as many of those out of work gave up on their job searches. When unemployed people stop looking for jobs, the government no longer counts them as unemployed.

So - the Figures are U3.


Color me decidedly Unimpressed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_Unemployment_measures.svg

But part of that drop has occurred as many of those out of work gave up on their job searches. When unemployed people stop looking for jobs, the government no longer counts them as unemployed.

The number of people unemployed fell by more than 600,000 in January to 13.9 million. That's still about double the total that were out of work before the recession began in December 2007.

The January report also includes the government's annual revisions to the employment data, which showed that fewer jobs were created in 2010 than previously thought. All told, about 950,000 net new jobs were added last year, down from a previous estimate of 1.1 million. The economy lost about 8 million jobs in 2008 and 2009.

In the past three months, the economy generated an average of 83,000 net jobs per month. That's not enough to keep up with population growth.

 

[PeshakJang]

Why does Dave post stuff not thinking people will read the rest of the article?

What's the German word for setting yourself up for failure on purpose so you can wallow in self-disappointment?

 

[FerrelGeek]

But the messiah promissed that his porkulus plan would ensure that unemployment wouldn't go above 8%.

The messiah's term is half over. He owns this. But he's incapable of accepting responsibility for anything.

/Waits for Dave to blame Bush.

 

[EagleKeeper]

People like Dave trust the OP for the title and selective quoting.

Never expecting to actually read the articles

 

[Londo_Jowo]

Why does Dave post stuff not thinking people will read the rest of the article?

What's the German word for setting yourself up for failure on purpose so you can wallow in self-disappointment?

Careful now, you'll end up on Dave's ignored list. I'm surprised that he hasn't posted that the gas in Chicago is $5.00/gal due to the recent storms.

 

[KlokWyze]

But the messiah promissed that his porkulus plan would ensure that unemployment wouldn't go above 8%.

The messiah's term is half over. He owns this. But he's incapable of accepting responsibility for anything.

/Waits for Dave to blame Bush.

You honestly believe that Bush and co. have nothing to do with this? :|

 

[GeezerMan]

Kind of like when they say there is no inflation if you don't consider fuel and food. You know, the stuff you gotta have.

 

[CPA]

You honestly believe that Bush and co. have nothing to do with this? :|

No, what we believe is that Obama's plans have failed as well and it's time to put some blame on his adminstration's shoulders. However, Dave and some of his cohorts can't see through their liberal shaded glasses.

 

[CellarDoor]

So - the Figures are U3.


Color me decidedly Unimpressed.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:US_Unemployment_measures.svg

"Meanwhile, an alternative measure of unemployment, which includes discouraged workers and those forced to work part-time because of the economy, fell to 16.1% in January from 16.7 in December. That’s its lowest level since April 2009."

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-unemployment-falls-to-90-on-few-new-jobs-2011-02-04?pagenumber=2

The small nonfarm payroll increase is disappointing but I'd say this is good news.

 

[PokerGuy]

CNN Money quote says it all "jobs report disappoints". Only an idiot like Dave would spin that as the greatest thing ever.

The market is pretty much even for the day, some good signals in the jobs report and some bad.

 

[Londo_Jowo]

I'm surprised that he hasn't posted that the gas in Chicago is $5.00/gal due to the recent storms.

Just like clockwork.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=31195311&postcount=392

 

[PeshakJang]

Just like clockwork.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=31195311&postcount=392

Man, we gotta find a way to bet on this stuff.

 

[OutHouse]

misleading figures. 9%??? lol its much much higher than that.

 

[Scotteq]

misleading figures. 9%??? lol its much much higher than that.

There's different measures for Unemployment. What we're seeing in the article is probably U3, though the article doesn't specify.

The downside of these categories is the potential to skew the numbers, all while still citing "official' sources. For example - If a bunch of people give up, or the Gov't decides they've been listed as Unemployed long enough, those individuals can be dropped from the U3 report and moved to U4, U5 or U6. The U3 percentages "Improve", since those individuals aren't being counted there any longer.

But they're damned sure still Unemployed...



**************


U1: Percentage unemployed 15 weeks or longer.

U2: Percentage who lost jobs or completed temporary work.

U3: Without jobs and have actively looked for work within the past four weeks.

U4: U3 + "discouraged workers", or those who have stopped looking for work because current economic conditions make them believe that no work is available for them.

U5: U4 + other "marginally attached workers", or "loosely attached workers", or those who "would like" and are able to work, but have not looked for work recently.

U6: U5 + Part time workers who want to work full time, but cannot due to economic reasons

 

[dullard]

The interesting aspect to me is that they are now including the new census data. The unemployment rate doesn't change with the new census data, but the number of people that we considered unemployed changed drastically.

If 10% of apples are bad, then you have 10% bad apples if you have 1000 apples or if you have 2000 apples (percentages are unchanged). But the total number of bad apples varies dramatically in those two cases (100 and 200 respectively).

In the case of unemployment, the rates don't change when population estimates change, but the amount of people that were thought to be unemployed (14.5 million) was actually 13.9 million because the census population was smaller than expected.

The nice result of that is that there are 600,000 fewer people that need to find jobs than were previously thought.

 

[umbrella39]

Funny how the old Bush fanbois finally 'realize' how the UE numbers work...

 

[Reckoner]

Only 36k jobs created and unemployment goes down by .4% - why do they even bother publishing such a bullshit number

 

[manimal]

Were in the same place right now jobs wise we were in the late 80s early 90s.. Manpower became the powehouse that it is and after the big downsizing of the late 80s many businesses started hiring temps. Once those temp jobs become full time jobs with benefits will we see a real recovery...

Look at our temp numbers now if you want validation of these comments...

 

[FerrelGeek]

You honestly believe that Bush and co. have nothing to do with this? :|

No, what we believe is that Obama's plans have failed as well and it's time to put some blame on his adminstration's shoulders. However, Dave and some of his cohorts can't see through their liberal shaded glasses.

What he said.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

But the messiah promissed that his porkulus plan would ensure that unemployment wouldn't go above 8%.

The messiah's term is half over. He owns this. But he's incapable of accepting responsibility for anything.

Why do you think it's all Obama's fault? What did Bush and the Republicans do while wealthy businessmen shipped millions of jobs overseas or filled them with foreigners on H-1B and L-1 visas? What did the Republicans do when millions of poor immigrants displaced Americans from lower class jobs and put downward pressure on their wages?

NOTHING! Oh that's right. They probably thought it was just beneficial workings of the free market. Then the Republicans wanted to give amnesty to the illegal aliens. Until the Republicans at least come out and advocate eliminating the H-1B and L-1 visa programs, Republicans and Tea Partiers should shut their yaps.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

The unemployment stat I would like to see reported is the percentage of working-aged people who are employed. I bet that it just keeps decreasing as the population keeps growing.