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Job report states, unemployment ticks up to 7.9%, 171,000 jobs added

Peter King

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According to the breaking news, the BLS report shows unemployment back up to 7.9% but also that 171,000 jobs were added.

Both campaigns will spin it in all directions. Obama will point to the 171,000 extra jobs, Mitt to the 0.1% rise in the unemployment rate.
 
Any rise in the unemployment rate is a good thing. It has to go up in order to go down.
 
Yeah, they will. I did find this a somewhat interesting description:

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 171,000 in October, and the unemployment
rate was essentially unchanged at 7.9 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
reported today.
Employment Situation Summary

It goes up a tenth of a point and this warrants an 'essentially unchanged' qualifier? Not a 'went up', 'rose to' or 'edged to'...but overall still evidence of a pathetic recovery...
 
Not a good sign since people are hiring for Christmas. It should have gone down some. I have heard that economists are expecting a wretched Christmas shopping season this year and that could be a clue to that. Sucks for people needing a job. Glad I am not one of them.
 
As I mentioned in another thread, no one should take either of the two top-line numbers (jobs added, unemployment rate) very seriously because they both have huge margins of error. But the campaigns and press always do....

The best news in the report is actually that last two months' jobs number were revised upward by 84,000.

Having said all that, this report probably benefits Romney slightly because of the statistically insignificant rise in the unemployment rate.
 
Other evidence in the report of this pathetic recovery:

The manufacturing workweek edged down by
0.1 hour to 40.5 hours
, and factory overtime was unchanged at 3.2 hours. The average
workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged
down by 0.1
hour to 33.6 hours. (See tables B-2 and B-7.)

In October, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged
down by 1 cent to $23.58.
...In October, average hourly earnings of private-sector production and
nonsupervisory employees edged down by 1 cent to $19.79. (See tables B-3 and B-8.)

Evidence that the job increases are both part time AND lower paying...great job Mr. President!
 
Quite sad. Not nearly enough job growth to keep up with Population growth. But at least the Labor Force Participation rate went up. Good, bad, it's time for a change.
 
The important thing is looking at a longer time frame. Peak employment was in Jan 2008 at 146million. Obama took office in Feb of 2009, by which time employment had fallen to 141million. The stimulus was passed the same month, and employment continued to fall for about a year to a low of 137million. Since then it has risen very slowly to a current level of 143 million, still about 3 million below pre-recession numbers. Unfortunately, millions have entered the workforce in the same timeframe, meaning 12 million are still unemployed, compared to 6 million before the recession.

At a cost of almost 5 trillion in debt, and 12 trillion in govt spending.
 
The important thing is looking at a longer time frame. Peak employment was in Jan 2008 at 146million. Obama took office in Feb of 2009, by which time employment had fallen to 141million. The stimulus was passed the same month, and employment continued to fall for about a year to a low of 137million. Since then it has risen very slowly to a current level of 143 million, still about 3 million below pre-recession numbers. Unfortunately, millions have entered the workforce in the same timeframe, meaning 12 million are still unemployed, compared to 6 million before the recession.

At a cost of almost 5 trillion in debt, and 12 trillion in govt spending.

The peak employment number you're citing was a result of the real estate and financial bubbles, so a fiction.
 
As I mentioned in another thread, no one should take either of the two top-line numbers (jobs added, unemployment rate) very seriously because they both have huge margins of error. But the campaigns and press always do....

The best news in the report is actually that last two months' jobs number were revised upward by 84,000.

Having said all that, this report probably benefits Romney slightly because of the statistically insignificant rise in the unemployment rate.

The biggest doubt I have is if it actually means anything in places like Ohio. I think people are going to vote for Obama despite the economic climate, which is fairly unique in my estimation. That can be a frustrating prospect, but it also means people might think something different about a President's ability to "get the economy going again."
 
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Obama has had four years to get this economy going and all he has accomplished is to put us trillions more in debt. Real unemployment is 14%, the economy is stagnate, housing is still in the toilet. Face facts, obama's plan has not worked and we need a change in strategy.
 
Why let facts and statistics get in the way? I mean, a vote for Obama has nothing to do with facts and stats, it never did have anything to do with that. A vote for Obama is a vote for.....well, frankly, I can't tell you, and neither can they.

Yesterday, on Sean Hannity's radio show, he talked to 4 consecutive liberals, and he asked them all the same question: "What is Obama's plan, specificly, for his second term?" None of them could answer, and they all ended up saying, "well, I can't tell you specifics, but he's better than Romney."

Interesting that they can't cite specific agenda items that Obama will pursue in his second term. All they know is that Romney is assaulting women's vaginas, and handing out Monopoly money to all the rich people.

Liberals in this country are so far gone, that it wouldn't matter if the unemployment number went to 30%. THey would vote for the guy anyway, and then try to blame Bush. 4 days people. 4 days.
 
The biggest doubt I have is if it actually means anything in places like Ohio. I think people are going to vote for Obama despite the economic climate, which is fairly unique in my estimation. That can be a frustrating prospect, but it also means people might think something different about a President's ability to "get the economy going again."

Unemployment in Ohio is almost under 7%, and Kasich is getting alot of the credit. If he wouldn't have lost capital on the right to work bill, which would have passed had it excluded police/fire, I think it would have made Ohio a much easier target for Romney.
 
Housing is not really "in the toilet". Not a lot of new housing starts but the worst of the foreclosure crisis seems to be over. The financing process is slow due to underwriting requirements, but existing homes are being reabsorbed into the market mostly which will eventually pull people from being underwater and lay the groundwork for new construction. Rates are expected to stay about where they are for the next 18-24 months so there is no rush. Slow and steady will clamp down on speculation that fed this mess.
 
kind of a mixed report that really wasn't the October surprise both campaigns were hoping for. the bright side is that more jobs were created than expected; 170k instead of the predicted 125k.
 
I was speaking with a lady this week who said her employer has not given a raise or Cola since 2002, but there are no other jobs out there, so she cannot quit. This crappy economy has been going on awhile.
 
Housing is not really "in the toilet". Not a lot of new housing starts but the worst of the foreclosure crisis seems to be over. The financing process is slow due to underwriting requirements, but existing homes are being reabsorbed into the market mostly which will eventually pull people from being underwater and lay the groundwork for new construction. Rates are expected to stay about where they are for the next 18-24 months so there is no rush. Slow and steady will clamp down on speculation that fed this mess.


Housing is in the toilet.


housing starts.jpg
 
According to the breaking news, the BLS report shows unemployment back up to 7.9% but also that 171,000 jobs were added.

Both campaigns will spin it in all directions. Obama will point to the 171,000 extra jobs, Mitt to the 0.1% rise in the unemployment rate.

The numbers today show the economy stuck in neutral four years after Obama took office and over three years since the end of the recession. All those jobs gained were offset by the number of people filing for unemployment and a U-6 rate that still shows 22.7 million unemployed/under employed/discouraged workers. Discouraged workers rose last month to 813,000 and a discouraged worker isn't counted in the U-3 unemployment rate.

Anyone that promotes the October Unemployment number and job creation as a good thing is out of touch with reality. This is no economic recovery and has everything to do with the poor leadership and economic policies of this President.
 
We'll see lots of green jobs soon, as soon as those companies come out of bankruptcy.
 
Using a broad brush, the national 'psyche' seems to be in a 'semi-depressed funk'.

I don't see how Obama can 'community organize' us out of the 'funk'.

Question to liberals: How long has it been since Obama picked up the phone and called Eric Cantor?
 
Notice what I said--housing starts are down--but housing overall is not. Your chart is housing starts.

Housing appears to have turned the corner, which is going to help drive the recovery for the next few years. Starts are up, home builder sentiment is up, prices are up, inventory is down, and mortgage rates are still at historic lows. The long shakeout of the real estate market is a big part of the reason the recovery has been so tepid.
 
Using a broad brush, the national 'psyche' seems to be in a 'semi-depressed funk'.

I don't see how Obama can 'community organize' us out of the 'funk'.

Question to liberals: How long has it been since Obama picked up the phone and called Eric Cantor?

Not really. Gallup's economic confidence score is higher than it's been since it was started in 2008.
 
Considering Obama hasn't met with his "Jobs Council" since January, I wonder who's suprised by yet another month of jobs failure this year (to go along with the previous 36 months worth of fail)?
 
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