Unemployment Rate Falls To 8.1 Percent As People Give Up On Looking For Work

While the U.S. unemployment rate in April was the lowest it's been in more than three years, the unemployed may simply be falling off the government's radar as they give up looking for work.

Meanwhile, job growth has slowed sharply after a fast start to the year, suggesting another bump in what has been an agonizingly long road to recovery for the job market.

Unemployment fell to 8.1 percent in April, the lowest since January 2009, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday morning. But the decline was mainly due to 342,000 people leaving the labor force, meaning the BLS had stopped counting them as unemployed. The number of employed people in the nation actually fell by 169,000.

Nonfarm employers added 115,000 jobs to their payrolls in April, according to a survey of businesses that is different than the household survey that generates the unemployment rate. That job growth was lower than the 170,000 or so economists had expected, though the BLS revised upward the number of jobs that were created in February and March, adding about 53,000 additional jobs to payrolls.

About 12.5 million people are still unemployed, and a record 88.4 million people are considered "not in the labor force," according to the BLS. The labor-force participation rate -- the percentage of the work-age population either working or looking for work -- dropped to 63.6 percent, the lowest since December 1981.

"It's hard to see the good news here," David Semmens, senior U.S. economist at Standard Chartered, wrote in a research note.

The stock market reeled on the news, which suggested the economy is still sluggish, but not so weak that the Federal Reserve will leap to its aid any time soon with fresh stimulus. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was recently down more than 120 points, or 0.9 percent, to about 13,083, while the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index was down more than one percent.

The sluggish recovery is an obstacle to the re-election chances of President Obama this fall and a boon to his Republican challenger, Mitt Romney, who told Fox News the April jobs report was "terrible and very disappointing."

The White House pointed out that the job recovery is the legacy of a recession that started on the Bush administration's watch.

"Much more remains to be done to repair the damage caused by the financial crisis and the deep recession," wrote Alan Krueger, chairman of the White House's Council of Economic Advisers, in a statement. "It is critical that we continue the economic policies that are helping us dig our way out of the deep hole that was caused by the severe recession that began at the end of 2007."

Critics on the left, such as Princeton economist Paul Krugman, have argued that the Obama administration has not done enough to spark demand, while critics on the right, including Romney, argue the administration has hindered the recovery with too many regulations. Many economists tend to believe such a sluggish recovery was perhaps inevitable following the bursting of the housing bubble and a severe recession.

"While some would like to attribute the lack of hiring to uncertainty and regulatory roadblocks, the fact is that demand for goods and services simply has not reached a level that warrants accelerated hiring," John Challenger, CEO of consulting firm Challenger Gray & Christmas, wrote in an email. "In areas, where demand has improved, so has hiring."

Whatever the reason, U.S. payrolls are still nearly 5 million jobs lower than they were when the recession began. This labor-market recovery has been arguably the most sluggish since World War II -- though the job losses in the recession were also the deepest.

More than 5 million people have been unemployed for 27 weeks or more, and the average length of unemployment is more than 39 weeks, according to the BLS.

Many workers are leaving the labor force because of retirement or to collect Social Security disability checks. But an untold number have simply given up looking for work after long months or years of unemployment.

"If someone spends two years sending out resumes with almost no response, don't I give up or go back to school?" Bank of America Merrill Lynch economist Neil Dutta wrote in a note.

A broader government measure of unemployment, which includes people described as "marginally attached" to the labor force -- people who have given up looking but would still like a job, or who are working part-time because they can't find anything better -- held steady at 14.5 percent. The situation is particularly grim for African-Americans, with a 13 percent unemployment rate, and teens, with a 24.9 percent unemployment rate. The unemployment rate is 13.2 percent for Americans aged 20 to 24, suggesting a particularly tough job market for college graduates.

And the prospects for work seem to have weakened abruptly in recent months. Monthly job gains have slowed in each month of the year, from 275,000 in January to 259,000 in February and 154,000 in March.'

Many economists believe that unusually warm winter weather made hiring stronger than usual in the winter months, pulling activity forward from the early spring. Recent disappointing job numbers may be payback for the earlier months' strength, in other words. According to this theory, job growth should pick back up again once the weather effects wane.

The three-month average of job growth has been 176,000 jobs per month, the Economic Policy Institute pointed out. While that's more than enough to keep unemployment from rising, it's still not good enough, given the deep hole the job market is still in.

"The labor market continues to very slowly improve," the EPI wrote in a press release, "but it is a far cry from the 300,000 or 400,000 jobs we would need per month to get back to full employment in a reasonable timeframe."

Some economists took heart at some signs of strength in the business survey. Retailers added 29,000 jobs, while temporary services added more than 21,000 workers. An increase in temp workers is sometimes a sign that businesses are getting ready to make more permanent hires.

Other details of the business survey were less encouraging: The average length of the work week was flat at 34.5 hours, while average hourly earnings rose by just a penny to $23.38.

Over the past year, hourly earnings have risen by just 1.8 percent, the BLS said -- not even enough to keep up with inflation.

"Weak job growth and weak income growth is most unwelcome," Dan Greenhaus, chief global strategist at BTIG, a trading firm in New York, wrote in a research note, "especially at a time when so many were banking on the exact opposite."

Update: This story has been updated with additional quotes and details throughout along with the stock-market reaction. It has also been corrected: There were 12.5 million people unemployed in April. An earlier version of the story incorrectly said 11.9 million people were unemployed.

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Average Duration Of Unemployment For Americans Over 55 Reaches Record High: NYT

From Motoko Rich, economics reporter at The New York Times:

@ motokorich : Average duration of unemployment for over-55s rises to 60 weeks, highest recorded

--Bonnie Kavoussi

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Stock Market Falls, As It Realizes The Economy Is Not Growing Robustly

The S&P 500 plunged 1.20 percent on Friday as of 10:41 a.m. ET, according to Thomason Reuters.

Stocks have been growing more than the economy itself, according to a recent SmartMoney analysis cited by money manager Barry Ritholtz.

--Bonnie Kavoussi

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'The Worst Story Is Among Black Men And Black Teens': Dean Baker

From a blog post by Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research:

By demographic group, the worst story is among black men and black teens. The former has an EPOP [employment-to-population ratio] that is 6.5 percentage points below its pre-recession level. Black teens have an EPOP of 15.5 percent, down 9.0 percentage points from the 2006 level. The EPOP for black women is down 3.7 percentage points from its pre-recession level, but has risen 3.2 percentage points from lows hit last summer.

--Bonnie Kavoussi

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People That Still Could Work Are Dropping Out Of The Workforce: Bank Of America

Neil Dutta, U.S. economist at Bank of America, wrote in a research note that the falling labor force is not at all "structural," or due to retiring Baby Boomers:

Many market pundits argue that this decline is structural and permanent, simply a function of retirees going ahead with their retirement. We are skeptical. The drop in the participation rate is happening in many age cohorts. Population shifts into historically lower age ranges is a small slow-moving factor that will extend over a generational period of 25 years or so. Moreover, the permanent drop argument ignores the shock to household wealth and confidence.

--Bonnie Kavoussi

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You Call This A Stimulus? The Government Has Cut 607,000 Jobs Under Obama: WSJ

From Sudeep Reddy, economics reporter at The Wall Street Journal:

@ Reddy : Government jobs down by 607,000 since Obama took office, all due to state & local cuts. Federal govt jobs up by 31,000. http://t.co/QIo56dlK

--Bonnie Kavoussi

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Unemployment Rate For African-Americans Falls 1 Percentage Point, But Probably Because They Gave Up Looking For Jobs

The jobless rate for African-Americans, who have much higher jobless rates than the rest of the population, plunged from 14.0 percent in March to 13.0 percent in April, according to the Labor Department. The Labor Department does not specify whether this is because 200,000 African-Americans gave up on looking for jobs or found new jobs. But since the number of employed people plunged in April, it probably is because many African-Americans dropped out of the labor force.

--Bonnie Kavoussi

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Job Creation Is Likely To Become 'Better But Still Subdued,' So The Federal Reserve Probably Won't Launch Another Stimulus: IHS Global Insight

From a research note by Nigel Gault, chief U.S. economist at IHS Global Insight:

The employment deceleration in part results from warm winter weather that pulled some hiring forward, producing a payback now. For that reason we think that the March and April payroll figures understate the pace of recovery, and we look for a better but still subdued pace of job creation in the 150,000-200,000 region over the rest of the year. If that's right, the Fed probably won't be tempted to launch QE3.

--Bonnie Kavoussi

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Americans Need To Develop Their Job Skills: Wells Fargo

John Silvia, chief economist at Wells Fargo Securities, wrote in a research note that Americans need to develop their job skills in order to be competitive in the 21st century economy. From his research note, which was just released:

The larger issue, from our view, is that many workers do not have the skills required by employers in the location where employers are seeking jobs, causing long spells of unemployment or a withdrawal from the labor force. The wide disparity in unemployment by education reflects the altered state of labor demand in the 21st century compared to the romanticized labor market of the three decades after WWII when the manufacturing of durable goods, associated with the post-war consumer boom and limited gains in technology, created an outsized demand for low- and semi-skilled workers that simply has diminished today. This structural unemployment will require more job-specific skills development.

--Bonnie Kavoussi

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This Low Jobs Number Is 'Not Likely Enough To Trigger' Stimulus From Federal Reserve: Reuters Reporter

From Pedro da Costa, who covers the Federal Reserve for Reuters:

@ pdacosta : Today's weak number not likely enough to trigger QE3 from Fed. Another two or three months around these levels, however, might be.

--Bonnie Kavoussi

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1.8 Million Americans Have Been Out Of Work 99 Weeks Or Longer

That has barely changed since last year, according to Arthur Delaney, unemployment reporter at The Huffington Post:

@ ArthurDelaneyHP : 1.8 million out of work 99 weeks or longer in April; 1.9 million this time last year. :(

--Bonnie Kavoussi

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'U.S. Recovery Is Anemic And Fragile': Nouriel Roubini

From Nouriel Roubini, economics professor at New York University:

@ Nouriel : Employment report confirms that the U.S. recovery is anemic and fragile. Details are also weak as earnings and workweek are flat

--Bonnie Kavoussi

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'It's A Terrible And Very Disappointing Report': Mitt Romney

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney criticized the jobs report this morning on Fox, according to The Wall Street Journal. From the WSJ:

"It's a terrible and very disappointing report this morning," Mr. Romney said in an interview with Fox & Friends Friday morning. "We seem to be slowing down not speeding up. This is not progress."

--Bonnie Kavoussi

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'These Numbers Tell A Heartbreaking Story': Paul Conway

Here is a statement from Paul Conway, president of Generation Opportunity and former chief of staff of the Labor Department:

These numbers tell a heartbreaking story about the reality young Americans face each day. Young Americans continue to suffer the impacts of the President and his administration’s bad economic policies, the resulting poor economy, and the overall lack of opportunity. The administration has failed to listen closely to the needs of young adults – they want meaningful, full-time jobs in a career path of their choice to get on with their own lives. Instead, the Obama administration continues to push a vision that offers less hope and less opportunity. And all the while, administration officials appear on college campuses and at gatherings of young Americans across the country to brag about how the federal government is expanding to take over more of their healthcare, education, job training, and other decisions – where is the hope in that?

--Bonnie Kavoussi

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'Much More Remains To Be Done': White House

Here is an excerpt from a statement just released from Alan Krueger, chairman of the White House's Council of Economic Advisers:

Much more remains to be done to repair the damage caused by the financial crisis and the deep recession. It is critical that we continue the economic policies that are helping us dig our way out of the deep hole that was caused by the severe recession that began at the end of 2007. President Obama has said that prosperity in America has always come from a strong and growing middle class. He has made clear that getting back to where we were is not enough. We need to do more, which is why the President has laid out his blueprint for an American economy that is built to last and will continue to urge Congress to act to do more to grow the economy and create jobs.

--Bonnie Kavoussi

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Long-Term Labor Force Participation Decline Is 'Just Petrifying': Felix Salmon

From Felix Salmon, the finance blogger at Reuters:

This chart is just petrifying. The participation rate started falling after the dot-com bust, leveled off during the credit boom (but never really rose much), and then fell off a cliff when the recession started. You’d think it would have started to bounce back up by now, but no. Instead, we’re now deep into pretty much unprecedented territory.

You can read his full analysis here.

--Bonnie Kavoussi

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'We Never Really Tried' A Fiscal Stimulus: Justin Wolfers

From Justin Wolfers, economics professor at the University of Pennsylvania:

@ justinwolfers : When 106% of jobs lost since January 2009 are in the public sector, should we conclude the stimulus failed, or we never really tried it?

--Bonnie Kavoussi

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The Unemployment Rate Fell For A Bad Reason: WSJ

From Phil Izzo, an economics editor at The Wall Street Journal:

In April, the number of unemployed dropped by 173,000, but so did the number of people employed — by 169,000. That indicates that those people didn’t necessarily find new jobs, since the overall labor force declined by 342,000.... Meanwhile, the broader unemployment rate, known as the “U-6″ for its data classification by the Labor Department, was unchanged in April.

You can read Izzo's full analysis here.

--Bonnie Kavoussi

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Americans Without College Education Are Left Behind By Jobs Recovery

Most new jobs have gone to Americans with at least some college education, according to Stephen Bronars, senior economist at Welch Consulting:

@ SBronars : April #jobs report: employment gains past 12 months by educ group. High school diploma or less +48k, some college +500k, college plus +1266k

--Bonnie Kavoussi

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Jobs Recovery Is Led By Private Sector, As Government Sheds Jobs: Barclays

Barclays Capital notes in a research note that all the net job gains came from the private sector: Private businesses hired 130,000 people, while the government let go of 15,000 workers:

Private payrolls increased by 130k, with the bulk coming from private services at 116k. Gains were strongest in business services (62k), retail trade (29k), education and health (23k), and trade and transport (22k).... The public sector shed 15k jobs, in line with our expectation (-10k).

--Bonnie Kavoussi

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'Job Creation Is Falling Well Short Of What Is Needed': John Challenger

John Challenger, CEO of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, just released this statement:

Even at its best, job creation is falling well short of what is needed to make a substantial dent in unemployment. While some would like to attribute the lack of hiring to uncertainty and regulatory roadblocks, the fact is that demand for goods and services simply has not reached a level that warrants accelerated hiring.

--Bonnie Kavoussi

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@ ReformedBroker : US Stocks Set to Hilariously Rally on Terrible Labor Market Report $$

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@ thinkprogress : FACT: April was the 26th straight month of private sector job gains. http://t.co/6U9I2ELx

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Jobs Deficit Is Much Worse Now Than In Any Economic Recovery Since World War II

Check out the third graph in this blog post on Calculated Risk, comparing this jobs recovery to every jobs recovery since World War II. (H/t Business Insider.) It's not pretty.

--Bonnie Kavoussi

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Peter Goodman Criticizes Punditry About Jobs Report's Impact On Presidential Campaign

From Peter Goodman, executive business editor of The Huffington Post:

@ petersgoodman : magic? Like make lousy job market disappear in a hum of punditry? @CharlesMBlow: Unemployment rate ticked down to 8.1%, closer to magic 8%

--Bonnie Kavoussi

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@ counterparties : #FF --> RT @justinwolfers: This morning's jobs tweeting brought to you in my racing car pajamas... How 'bout a #FF if you enjoyed?

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@ BuzzFeedAndrew : RT @grynbaum: Want the @MikeBloomberg angle on the jobs report? Of course you do. He says: "This is not good news."

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Labor Force Participation Rate May Not Be As Bad As It Seems: Capital Economics

From Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics:

...The labour force fell by an even bigger 342,000. The participation rate slipped from 63.8% to 63.6% last month, which is a 30-year low. Normally we would characterise the contraction in the labour force as a big negative, presumably a result of job seekers becoming so disillusioned they give up. But it is worth remembering that this is a volatile series and the labour force increased by almost 1,000,000 in the first two months of the year, so some drop back was to be expected.

--Bonnie Kavoussi

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Jobs Growth Is Barely Keeping Up With Population Growth, But Not Making Up For Jobs Lost In The Recession

From Stephen Bronars, senior economist at Welch Consulting:

@ SBronars : .@Neil_Irwin Emp/Pop Lower than April 2010 same as April 2011. Emp growth keeping pace with pop growth, not replacing jobs lost in recession

--Bonnie Kavoussi

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@ umairh : hehe RT @justinwolfers: The worst part of today's jobs report? It provides just enough inane talking points for both sides of politics.

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Labor Force Participation Rate Is At Its Lowest Level Since 1981

From Sara Eisen, Bloomberg TV's markets reporter:

@ saraeisenFX : Labor market participation rate drops to 64%, lowest since 1981

To be precise, the labor market participation rate now is 63.6 percent, according to the Labor Department.

--Bonnie Kavoussi

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More

Comments

[Buchi Offodile]

05:02 PM on 05/13/2012

I think that the only real way to solve the unemployment crisis in this country is for people to create their own jobs by creating businesses. To many people believe that time is money so they aren't willing to work on a business when no one is paying them. Click here to read about one reason why Time is not equal to money: http://buchis-book.blogspot.com/2012/05/does-time-equal-money.html

[BurritoT]

05:50 AM on 05/12/2012

You would think the USA would have wanted to remain a leader in manufacturing all these last few decades, why not be the best at it? Why did the governments over the years not see this as important? Blame Obama, blame Bush but it started a long time ago.

[lancedaboil]

12:47 PM on 05/08/2012

let's pull our heads out of the sand folks. Those with an un-employment problem really have an un-educated problem. Talked to a couple of twenty year olds the other day. asked them what a TRUANT OFFICER was. they never heard of it. We then floored them with telling them as kids our generation was not allowed to not graduate from high school. But today we have way too many people not just with the wrong education but with none at all. We will never have enough jobs for these people. This is not President Obama's fault, nor responsibility. If everybody had a college education unemployment would be 4%.

[Gary St Lawrence]

12:46 PM on 05/08/2012

Hmmm ... the tax rates are the lowest they've been in six decades.

The "job creators" get more loopholes, breaks, incentives, subsidies, corporate welfare and deregulation than any other time in history.

So why is it that people can't find jobs? You'd think with so much being given to the "job creators" they would ... oh, I don't know ... CREATE JOBS?

The least they could do is INSOURCE the 37 MILLION JOBS THEY OUTSOURCED during the Bush "Jobs for America" program. I'm pretty sure if 37 Million jobs were to suddenly be available again in this country, then that "persistent unemployment rate" wouldn't be so persistent.

So ... where are all the jobs that we keep hearing "the job creators" and their bought-and-paid-for puppets tell people to "get up off the couch" and go get?

Here's a thought: Maybe if the majority of those jobs paid the federal poverty level, the people holding those jobs wouldn't have to be part of that "47 million Americans who don't pay taxes."

Funny how the "job creators" aren't creating any jobs, but still complain that the tax code "allows" people who are under the poverty level to "skip out on paying income taxes." And how they skip over the part about those 47 million who *ARE* paying state, local, municipal and sales taxes as a significantly larger percentage of their income than what the "job creators" find ways to avoid paying.

[tin soldier]

12:58 PM on 05/08/2012

You're not getting the economics of it. Obama has claimed 3.5 million in job creation, but those jobs are in low paying service areas ,people that work those jobs have little or no disposable income, without disposable income there are no consumer purchases without consumer purchases theire is no manufacturing or retailing. The actual jobs creators are the consumers with disposable income. We need a return to the high paying, oil ,coal ,and construction industry jobs not servers and car wash attendents. This can only be accomplished by allowing those industries to operate . Also capital investment requires a minimum of 5 year P&L projections not the 1 year Obama is allowing.

[Gary St Lawrence]

05:27 PM on 05/08/2012

Nice of you to blame Obama and conveniently ignore the entire concept of the 37 Million jobs -- most of which were manufacturing and customer support jobs -- that the "job creators" OUTSOURCED to overseas locations during the Bush "Jobs for America" program.

And if it's the high-paying construction industry jobs you want, then perhaps you can convince some of the "best and brightest" there in the Republican House to stop filibustering and obstructing every infrastructure bill that comes their way and tell them to stop trying to attach riders and amendments to those construction bills that advance their war against women.

Tell me what an abortion restriction bill has to do with upgrading America's crumbling bridges and highways.

[Hank10303]

12:31 PM on 05/08/2012

Government Accounted For Nearly A Third Of All Layoffs In 2011: - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/05/government-finance-layoffs_n_1185938.html --- We all know that republicans have been trying to sabotage the economy in order to make Obama a one term president. It’s time to connect the dots and understand that things would be a lot better if the republicans and blue dogs were removed from office or any positions of authority. The massive spending cuts have three damaging consequences. First, they obviously hurt the beneficiaries and increase the nation’s poor, homeless and needy. Second, the funding cuts to various programs result in layoffs. As noted above, those layoffs aren't insignificant and they do have the result of increasing unemployment, reducing consumer confidence and purchasing power - which in turn causes consequence number three, with less customers due to federal layoffs, goods and services by the private sector are cut and/or reduced. Even if the private sector does not lay off workers, they won't be hiring many either. The result is sluggish growth and minimal investment. Republicans exploded the deficit, grew government by 30% and now aren't doing anything intelligible to resolve our problems. Ultimately, that makes the republican party not a means to a solution; but the problem hindering the solutions.

[tin soldier]

01:08 PM on 05/08/2012

You're talking about local government .federal governmnet has increased empolyees every day example-- March 2,2012 federal employees 4,335,699 as of today federal employees 4,340,068, that's an increase of 4,369 federal employees in 9 weeks or a total of 25,243 in a year. The republicans are trying to sabotage jobs ,there are 25 House jobs bill in the Senate that Harry Reid won't bring to the floor for a vote , in fear those jobs bills will have a positive impact and strengthen the republican position , so for political advantage the bills are tabled
You seem to hold the republicans responsible for all ills, if that were the case no republican would ever get elected look to your own party for responsibility and for putting the party ahead of the country.

[Hank10303]

01:29 PM on 05/08/2012

“the President asked his Administration to go line-by-line through the Budget to identify programs that are outdated, ineffective, or duplicative. In both his previous budgets, the President identified more than 120 terminations, reductions, and savings, totaling approximately $20 billion in each year. These terminations ranged from a radio navigation system for ships made obsolete by GPS to new F-22 fighter jets. --- You might want to review:……….



TERMINATIONS, REDUCTIONS, - AND SAVINGS -

BUDGET OF THE U.S. GOVERNMENT -------------



http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2012/assets/trs.pdf

[AZDave2]

12:22 PM on 05/08/2012

Solutions? 1) Get retrained in a demand skill area like CNC programmer or operator. (Retraining funds however have been cut by Republicans) 2) Move to areas in the country where the jobs are. (I know you have to leave your spouse but we have done nothing to solve the housing problem...so just go anyway) 3) Start your own business (Mitt says borrow money from your Parents...if you are a parent then I guess you are out of luck) 4) Working women (find a way to get birth control from somewhere because you will be fired if you get pregnant or do what Republicans in Alabama suggest and get sterilized)
For my job I had to travel 120 miles each way to work every day and try to get home at night. Powernaps is the answer. Then went back to school and got an advanced degree and was never unemployed again.

[AZDave2]

12:09 PM on 05/08/2012

Sure employment stats remain tough. The Republicans have been working very hard over the past decade to reward companies like Bain Capitol in shipping jobs out of the country. Bain Executives like Mitt Romney were soundly rewarded when they killed a company, stole the workers pensions, fired people, and shipped the jobs out of the country.
Mitt even tried to extend this to the auto industry in 08 when he told the industry to go bankrupt and was very upset when the industry was bailed out because that meant that Bain couldn't pick up the pieces of the collapsing industry and their suppliers and make Mitt Millions more.
There is no secret here Republicans lay off workers from the middle class and take the money and give it to their rich buddies. They have been doing it since Ronald Reagan but now it does make a real difference but they have no intention to change. They just want to double down.

[Talmag]

08:55 AM on 05/08/2012

I watched a chart last night on MSNBC where the European economy with their austerity progam was going in the down direction while the one with the American chart was going up. Imagine how much further the "up" would be had the republicans not taken a pledge not to work with this President? They are sitting on his jobs bill hoping he will fail but in spite of this..things are looking better, slowly but better. With a little help from some other so called Americans, we could be even higher. It is time to put the blame where it belongs....to the obstructionists who have put their hate for this President before what is good for the country they profess to love. As most economists have been saying over and over cut,cut,cut and no spending is not the answer. What more will it take for everyone to understand this?

[bfrjds1981]

12:02 PM on 05/08/2012

There are 14 jobs bills sitting on the Senates desk from Congress since last year and they won't even look at them.

[AZDave2]

12:11 PM on 05/08/2012

Why would anyone look at jobs bills which basically cut jobs and give the money to the rich? Oh that's right...that is the Republican mantra!

[Hank10303]

12:38 PM on 05/08/2012

Because they trade infrastructure, teacher, police and firefighter jobs for cuts to home care, child care and elderly care. So you repair a bridge and hire 50 construction workers to do it; then you layoff a few home nursing attendants, close a child day care and cut a few seniors from the center they go to be with the only friends they have left. I sounds like you support the republican cuts to the least among us, while they protect the most affluent among us. You must be a very proud Christian.

[Nightangle]

02:49 PM on 05/07/2012

Real unemployment is still more than 22 million. The good and high paying jobs have all but gone to China. Jobs that pay below the poverty level are all that we have.

That's even worst - these jobs will still qualify them for welfare, and Federal taxes they pay will be reimbursed back to them. Less people will pay taxes, more people on welfare. How is that good ?

300 applicants for a janitorial jobs - are you kidding me ? There are over 26 million millennial have graduated in the last 4 years, and 57% are unemployed, many are even applying for dog chasers. How in the world would they ever pay their student loans?

Once an applicant signed the application form, employers have the right to check criminal records, and even credit scores.

What about these statistics: 3 in 4 AA teens are bound for prison or jail. 80% AA in DC alone have criminal records, a standard % for inner cities; 80% of which are criminal recidivist.

And what about those 40% functional illiterate, 49% high school drop outs ?

Who wants to give them a good paying job with history of criminality's,drop outs, functional illiterates ? And more accurately, who wants to give them any job ?

AND the President's odd obsession for wars ? What do we make out of that ? 3-4 trillions/yr, yet he begrudge re-training for our workforce.

LordSaveUS !

[tmf1977]

03:40 PM on 05/07/2012

Excellent post and its on point.

Another problem is that companies are not hiring. I have been unemployed for six months now and I have interviewed with six different companies. Even though I have successfully made it to the final round of interviews, three of these companies opted not to fill the position.

I have also found that the workplace has become quite abusive. Many people find themselves working temporarily and companies no longer provide a learning curve. I met one young woman who was fired because one day she mixed up a client's name. Chatting with the person to be more careful is warranted, but firing someone? She handled nearly 100 customers per day.

[MiddleMolly]

07:08 PM on 05/07/2012

Though I don't agree with everything the original poster posted, I do agree that the job market as a whole is abusive, and it won't get better if the Repubs have more power.

I'm convinced that one reason for the drop in people "in the labor force" is that people who really don't need to work (people with a working spouse or people with any assets) will NOT work if they don't absolultely have to and will drop out of the labor force. It's the "lousy job" phenomenon.

[sylkol]

06:42 PM on 05/07/2012

So why did Obama cut 5 months of unemployment? Because he wanted 8% for re-election figure and he got it. Cutting people.

[MiddleMolly]

07:06 PM on 05/07/2012

No. This had everything to do with the Repubs and the deal that was necessary to get any extensions at all and to get the payroll tax cut.

Not only that, but whether or not you get unemployment benefits has nothing to do with whether or not you are counted as unemployed. If you are actively looking for work, you are counted among the unemployed, whether or not you collect benefits.

http://www.bls.gov/cps/cps_htgm.htm

[Hank10303]

12:46 PM on 05/08/2012

Remember how republicans took every jobs bill, infrastructure bill and even the debt ceiling limit hostage. How they insisted on spending cuts. Did you think that would be good for America? Really, when all they want to do is demonize Obama. Those spending cuts result in layoffs, that have a ripple effect on the communities those people are laid off live in. It also increase the unemployment rate. I'm sure the republicans are very proud of themselves - are you proud of them and your vote to put them in office?

[Chuck1987]

02:16 PM on 05/07/2012

McDonalds is giving out the jobs like they are dollar menu cheeseburgers!

[DI-1957]

02:23 PM on 05/07/2012

Recently McD's hired about 50,000 people. It turns out it was statistically easier to be accepted to an Ivy league school than to land 1 of those jobs. Sick.

[KWiedemer]

10:59 AM on 05/07/2012

The number of 'official' unemployment 'exhaustees' reported by the Colorado Department of Labor & Employment [CDLE] continues to defy mathematics and common sense when one looks closely at the data found in monthly reports. Below is brief synposis of the information coming from the CDLE in various formats over the past 12-18 months which raises the question, "How is it possible that [only] 36,000 people have exhausted their unemployment claims given the data provided by the CDLE over the past several months?"

http://www.examiner.com/article/jobless-benefits-decline-as-the-number-of-reported-exhaustees-remain-constant

[Yikes11]

10:35 AM on 05/07/2012

Whew, it took two days just to find the comment section. The dizziness is almost gone. I'll be back.

[Penelope Pitstop]

07:48 AM on 05/07/2012

More good news for the Obama campain!

[OLJW00]

01:49 PM on 05/07/2012

HAHAHA!!

[bfrjds1981]

12:06 PM on 05/08/2012

LOL, So true, so true.

[Hank10303]

12:53 PM on 05/08/2012

Actually, yes. Most American know Obama put forth a jobs bill - its were refused by republicans. He put forth tax credits for small businesses and a modest tax increase for those making over 1 million dollars to spur growth and hiring - republicans refused and again voted no. Republicans have insisted on spending cuts, those cuts result in lay off of government workers, those workers stop shopping in their neighborhoods and those stores slow down purchasing inventory, they also don't hire more workers. All this is a result of the republican party of no. Most common sense American understand this and we know who to blame. Teapublicans, and we have it all on video.

[Charlotte2009]

07:08 AM on 05/07/2012

" the unemployed may simply be falling off the government's radar as they give up looking for work." MAY???? DO YOU KNOW ANYONE WHO HAS A FAMILY, LIVES ALONE, ET..THAT HAS STOPPED LOOKING FOR WORK?
I really disike this type of reporting. "MAY" come on, that quote started by FOX news awhile ago to discredit Obama has become mainstream, shame on you MARK. If you have no money coming in and you are the wage earner you never stop looking.

[OLJW00]

01:51 PM on 05/07/2012

Sorry cupcake - people have just given up and if you don't comprehend that truth it doesn't change the facts.

And BTW, are you not clear that the Gov't stops counting people being unemployed who haven't found a job but whose benefits have run out?

[yeti7]

05:22 PM on 05/07/2012

look up the U6 stats now that will shock you!

[spinotter11]

09:02 AM on 05/08/2012

Not true, OLJW00. Read about it on the BLS website. You are counted in the U-3 statistic as long as you have looked for work in the previous four weeks. You are counted in the U-6 statistic even if you haven't looked for work lately. The CPS survey which provides the monthly unemployment statistics has NOTHING to do with whether one is receiving unemployment benefits or not.

And it is true that some people have given up looking for a job. I am one of them - I took early SS retirement and I'm glad I did. Some people have moved back with family members and no longer need to work, or have otherwise decided that they can live without a job. The labor force participation rate has been dropping lately.

[sylkol]

06:44 PM on 05/07/2012

5 months cut. How in the world does Obama suggest that? he gets 8% unemployment for re-election, but states "triggering off" are giving him that rate by cutting people from being able to buy food. nice dog in your pic.

[Robert SF]

03:02 AM on 05/07/2012

If you consider the people who drop out, the people who could be working if there were jobs, the picture is bleak indeed.

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/521/unemploymentpicture.gif

See how it drops from 2007, through the crisis, and then bottoms out in 2010, and there it has been stuck since. You can see the little census bump in 2010, and a slight improvement toward the end of the year, only to drop back down in the summer. There has been NO upward trend in almost 30 months!

[yeti7]

05:24 PM on 05/07/2012

there are less jobs than there were 4 years ago period.
people taking retirement early & going on disability also people leaving the country to get work.