Rueters has another bullshit piece about how unemployment is getting better, right in time to help Team Blue claim things are getting better because of them, as the election approaches.
(Reuters) – Employment growth accelerated last month and the jobless rate dropped to a near three-year low of 8.5 percent, offering the strongest evidence yet the economic recovery was gaining steam.
Nonfarm payrolls increased 200,000 in December, the Labor Department said on Friday. It was the biggest rise in three months and way above economists’ expectations for a 150,000 gain.
The unemployment rate dropped from a revised 8.7 percent in November to its lowest level since February 2009, a heartening sign for President Barack Obama whose re-election hopes could hinge on the state of the labor market.
Of course, this is all slight of hand. Reuter’s Team Blue propaganda piece omits some key information:
While some of these forward-looking numbers hold promise, the actual jobs numbers so far have been middling. Hopefully the numbers tomorrow will turn that around. But the real missing piece for a true recovery in the job market has been workers. Even as the unemployment rate dropped from 9 percent to 8.6 percent last month, a little over half of that decline was due to workers dropping out of the labor force.
Labor force participation averaged 66 percent through most of the 2000s. It now stands at 64 percent after declining again last month. If more people were still looking for jobs, and the participation rate were back up at 66 percent, the unemployment rate would now be 11.4 percent instead of 8.6 percent.
What all this means is that workers have been voting with their feet and choosing to not participate in a job market they see as weak. Because participation is a measure of worker/voter attitude, it will be an interesting metric to watch this election year. It points as much to how voters are thinking about the job market as how the job market is actually performing.
This is more of the same. If you recall last spring’s CBO prediction that we would add 2.9 million jobs between 2010 and 2012, halfway there we had only added 200K jobs, would mean an unbelievable 170K plus per month job creation scenario, till the election date, to meet that 2.9 million number. Seriously, how do you get that to happen, with Europe about to implode and China’s economy grinding to a halt, when your policies continue to be anti job creation? The answer is you don’t. So hence, this need to make up shit to pretend you are doing good. And have no doubt this is made up/manipulated numbers. And don’t forget all the part timers looking for full time jobs either.
They are not counted. Things are far worse than they have been trying to convince you for the last 3 years. As I pointed out in this post, get ready for a whole world of misinformation, intended to convince fools that things are getting better. The economy however is doing nothing of the sort, and the people getting hammered by it know it. They will fool many, but they won’t be able to fool enough people.
UPDATE: Even MSNBC watchers seem to understand this is bullshit propaganda.
When I looked at that poll 61.1% of them were saying they saw no improvement whatsoever. I guess they have not been told hard enough that things are better. Don’t worry. More tripe will be shoveled out to try and convince them that what they see and feel and thus perceive as the truth, is not true, but that what the propagandists are telling them should be considered true. They did the exact same thing back in the old USSR and this gets done constantly in most shit hole communist “paradises” these days, yet the people know better.
8 comments
No ping yet
Hal_10000 says:
January 6, 2012 1:11 pm at 1:11 pm (UTC -4)
Things are improving, but they were worse than anyone has been letting on. What’s remarkable is that the employment numbers have proved “despite” about 185,000 government jobs being cut. So much for the economic multiplier.
CM says:
January 6, 2012 1:47 pm at 1:47 pm (UTC -4)
From your Reuters piece:
Again, you should have kept reading beyond the first section.
Poosh says:
January 6, 2012 3:29 pm at 3:29 pm (UTC -4)
It’s pretty inevitable that the economy would get better to some extent, whoever was president. Testament to the “lazy” american people, rather than government or the intentions of politicians. It’s pretty disgusting spin to claim any increase in work is because of this administration, who has done every text book case to damage the economy. Whoever was in power the economy would slowly get better, sheer inevitability. The current administration had hindered this, that’s what’s being swept under the carpet. Jobs have been added in spite of Obama and his minions, not because of. Good luck trying to fight the spin though.
AlexInCT says:
January 6, 2012 3:59 pm at 3:59 pm (UTC -4)
THIS^^^
CM says:
January 6, 2012 4:26 pm at 4:26 pm (UTC -4)
It’s pretty inevitable that the economy would get better to some extent, whoever was president.
Not if you listen to some people. Some people believe Obama is a rampant socialist and wants to kill private business. If so, to that extent, the economy wouldn’t get better. New jobs being created certainly wouldn’t be private business jobs.
Yikes, you fell for that lazy blog reporting as well?
How many actual economists would agree with that? I’d guess very few. So what are you basing this on, if it’s not expert opinion. What do you know that they don’t?
http://curiouscapitalist.blogs.time.com/2011/10/04/is-obama-anti-business/
Evidence?
Just saying it doesn’t make it true.
See above.
Can you quote the parts that are the ‘spin’ in the Reuters story? Where do they try to claim that it’s specifically Obama’s policies that have resulted in the new numbers?
‘Luck’ is needed to fight the spin because you first need to demonstrate spin and then provide evidence that reality is something quite different.
Poosh says:
January 8, 2012 3:19 pm at 3:19 pm (UTC -4)
I don’t really know how to respond to your stupidity, in fact I often just skip your posts CM. But I think I’ll just lash out at you this time.. you seem to have Aspergers or some such. If I make a statement, in a room full of fellow-travellers, that most agree with and have, and who likewise read and educate themselves in regard to the relevant issue, why on earth would I then proceed simply copy and paste and repeat what they are already aware of? Do you know what would happen if I did that? People would correctly think me a fool for posting links to information they are already aware of. You seem to think that everyone should frame their comments AROUND YOU and your mental responses. This isn’t a forum. This isn’t your blog, or a blog for those of your politics.
I feel in no way obliged to link anything to you to substantiate what I said. In your sad little mind you are no doubt thinking “this is because Poosh hasn’t got any evidence! He knows he’s talking junk”, well think what you like. I could engage in reeling off links for you to missread and misunderstand but it would serve nothing. You think because you can find a dubious link off the daily kos or whatever that makes you “right”. I can give you countless links of business women and men who say the exact opposite. I can give you an AP survey of economists who overall give Obama a big “fail” DESPITE the AP going out of their way, no doubt, to get as many pro-Obama people into the survey. But when all is said and done it would be pointless.
Oh, and an idiotic article from Time magazine is not going to cut any water, thankyou very much. With quotes like this:
You know, linking idiotic articles to prove your point, doesn’t make you less of an idiot, and yes, I stopped reading after that spastic comment. George Soros is a “business man” but I’m sure that prick (as a Brit I naturally have hatred for Soros) thinks Obama is doing brilliantly.
CM says:
January 8, 2012 4:03 pm at 4:03 pm (UTC -4)
So you really are just involved in one large circle jerk then?
CM says:
January 8, 2012 4:13 pm at 4:13 pm (UTC -4)
It’s down to 56.1% now.