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

[Mycroft]

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)?

Obama don't need no stinkin' council...he's smarter than all those guys, anyway.

 

[Fisher]

Obama don't need no stinkin' council...he's smarter than all those guys, anyway.

Tell me about it. He is so smart he gave away a huge lead just so he could have a more dramatic victory at the finish line. He is such a playa'.

 

[Jredbaron96]

171,000 added. Good job everyone.

 

[CedarBear]

Not really. Gallup's economic confidence score is higher than it's been since it was started in 2008.

Gallup measures 'funk'?

Obama hasn't talked with Cantor in over a year.

 

[Fisher]

Gallup measures 'funk'?

Obama hasn't talked with Cantor in over a year.

The number of households in poverty has grown under Obama even as unemployment creaks down a little i.e. the working poor are getting poorer.

 

[jonny5]

The peak employment number you're citing was a result of the real estate and financial bubbles, so a fiction.

It is what it is.

 

[Zyphlin]

What will be funny is watching die hard Romney people arguing the impact of Unemployment going up (despite jobs being added) and die hard Obama people arguing the impact of Jobs being added (despite unemployment going up) as the "BIG" take aways that show us what "REALLY" is going on.

This will be a fun flip from the past one, where Romney folks were going "Unemployment doesn't make sense, look at the jobs lost!" and Obama people were going "Job totals don't matter, the Unemployment rate fell!"

 

[Dickieboy]

What will be funny is watching die hard Romney people arguing the impact of Unemployment going up (despite jobs being added) and die hard Obama people arguing the impact of Jobs being added (despite unemployment going up) as the "BIG" take aways that show us what "REALLY" is going on.

This will be a fun flip from the past one, where Romney folks were going "Unemployment doesn't make sense, look at the jobs lost!" and Obama people were going "Job totals don't matter, the Unemployment rate fell!"

And the Romney people can go back the the 'UE is higher now that when President Obama took office' meme...

 

[Ontologuy]

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.

It's important to keep in mind that the period for which this morning's report is based was the second week in September through the first week in October.

Some ramping up for Christmas occurred, but that will be more greatly reflected in next month's report .. and, in January's.

 

[AdamT]

It's important to keep in mind that the margin of error for the jobs report is approximately +/- 50%.

 

[Ontologuy]

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.

Yes .. people will point to the .01% rise and say "Obama's plan isn't working".

But that will be coming to the right conclusion but for the wrong reason.

The only reason the quick-calculation rate went up is because it's Christmas production and warehousing season, and that means a small number of those who had understandably in this dismal mess previously given up looking for work are hoping they can get some temporary work .. so they started looking again.

The very fact they started looking again allowed them to be counted in the BLS survey .. and that raised the rate.

Does that mean unemployment went up?

Of course not, even if unemployment did inch up -- the quick-calculation .01% increase, caused by the reason I just presented, doesn't mean unemployment went up.

Unemployment remains around 14 percent.

14 percent is the true unemployment rate. It includes everyone who doesn't have a job, wants a job, would take a job if offerred, whether or not they qualified as a "job-hunter" during the period of the second week of September thru the first week of October (the actual period covered in today's report) .. and, yes, the 14 percent excludes people who already have a part-time job -- that's how bad the true unemployment nightmare still is.

So anyone who points to the 7.9% rate reflecting the .01% increase and says "Obama's plans have failed" is making a huge analytical mistake.

The right thing to do is to point to the 14 percent rate -- the true unemployment rate -- and say Obama's plans have failed .. because that would be analytically accurate.

 

[AdamT]

There is no "TRUE" unemployment rate. There are just different ways of looking at the situation and they are each informative in their own way. For whatever reason, U3 was chosen as the official rate so people tend to focus on it because it's easier to make historical comparisons.

My personal feeling is that if someone hasn't looked for work in the last 12 months then he or she isn't TRULY unemployed. Rather, he or she is retired. I mean hell, I can say that I'm studying to be a doctor because I'd like to be a doctor, but if I'm not in medical school, and haven't applied to any medical schools, and I'm not really doing anything at all to work toward that goal ... I'm not really studying to be a doctor.

 

[Conservative]

There is no "TRUE" unemployment rate. There are just different ways of looking at the situation and they are each informative in their own way. For whatever reason, U3 was chosen as the official rate so people tend to focus on it because it's easier to make historical comparisons.

My personal feeling is that if someone hasn't looked for work in the last 12 months then he or she isn't TRULY unemployed. Rather, he or she is retired. I mean hell, I can say that I'm studying to be a doctor because I'd like to be a doctor, but if I'm not in medical school, and haven't applied to any medical schools, and I'm not really doing anything at all to work toward that goal ... I'm not really studying to be a doctor.

Now that is a different liberal spin. Amazing how liberal spin changes with the weather and whatever a liberal thinks will make Obama look better. I will never understand people like you who get paid to support failure.

 

[AdamT]

Now that is a different liberal spin. Amazing how liberal spin changes with the weather and whatever a liberal thinks will make Obama look better. I will never understand people like you who get paid to support failure.

What's perplexing to me is how any conservative can get himself worked up over the plight of someone who hasn't bothered to get his fat ass off the couch in over a year to read the help wanted section. Is all that personal responsibility talk just hot air?

 

[Fisher]

I am just amazed auto workers are praising Obama on the issue that new jobs that could have been created here in the US at Jeep are now in China. Yea, economic policies that will allow us to wither and die on the vine!!!!! 40 more years; 40 more years!

 

[Donc]

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.

If you ask mitt the same question " "What is the romney plan, specificly, "I wonder what his answer would be.

 

[Conservative]

What's perplexing to me is how any conservative can get himself worked up over the plight of someone who hasn't bothered to get his fat ass off the couch in over a year to read the help wanted section. Is all that personal responsibility talk just hot air?

What has Obama done to show leadership on this issue? He extended unemployment benefits for two years and this is what you support

 

[AdamT]

People on UP are required to look for work.

 

[Conservative]

People on UP are required to look for work.

What does that have to do with the extension of unemployment benefits for two years? What exactly has Obama done that warrants four more years in office? By the way I voted for Romney again because of his experience and record. It does seem that many here are voting for Obama because of his rhetoric while ignoring his record. You see, 22.7 million unemployed/under employed/discouraged workers, 813000 discouraged workers last month that aren't counted as unemployed, 5.6 trillion added to the debt isn't a record that warrants four more years.

 

[Ontologuy]

There is no "TRUE" unemployment rate.

Absolutely false.

Clearly you don't want the truth to be told of what the unemployment rate actually is because the reality that the true unemployment rate of 14 percent is harmful to your candidate Obama. :shock:

I mean, really. :roll:

There are just different ways of looking at the situation and they are each informative in their own way.

That's obvious double-talk for "the true unemployment rate is so dismally high and I'm afraid it will reflect bad on Obama if the truth of it is legitimized by acknowledging it, so I'll just obfuscate with suberfuge".

You aren't fooling anyone at all.

For whatever reason, U3 was chosen as the official rate so people tend to focus on it because it's easier to make historical comparisons.

The "whatever reason" was so that administrations can error on the "pretty" side of how things truly are ..

.. And your invalid assumption that it's to make easier historical comparisons implies that you know there's a more accurate figure -- the true unemployment rate -- and that the reason for focusing on the quick-rate calc itself implies there exists a truely more accurate figure.

But, obviously, that is purposefully misleading the public.

The public has a right to know the truth that's burried in the BLS reports, the truth that the true unemployment rate right now is 14 percent.

Why anyone would deny, divert and dodge that truth .. is obvious.

My personal feeling is that if someone hasn't looked for work in the last 12 months then he or she isn't TRULY unemployed.

How conveniently heartless of you, Mr. obama supporter.

Apparently you aren't a psychologist.

Psychologists will tell you that when people realize the scarce jobs nightmare is overwhelming they indeed often tend to fall into a state of situational depression, and that can cause inertia and avoidance.

The sociology of the dismal employment opportunities in America today reflects a failed policy about dealing with this state of national emergency .. and yes, that implicates your man Obama.

Nevertheless, all of these people who are unemployed, available for work, want a job, and would accept a job if it was offered, all people in that boat are without question unemployed.

To deny that reality is foolishly futile.

But what's worse here in your reply is the error you assumptively (or purposely!) make in your phrasing: it's not about "the past 12 months" that prevents Americans from getting counted in the BLS report -- it's about the mere past FOUR weeks!

That's right, if a person was actively looking for work in the 11 months prior to the reporting period in which they're interviewed for the BLS reports, but in that four-weeks of the reporting period they didn't look for work -- didn't look for work in just that one four-week period -- they don't get counted as being unemployed.

So your disengenuous diversion digression about "the past 12 months" is bogus subterfuge.

And here's another "fun fact" about the BLS "job-hunter" qualification test. If you have a profile out on, say, Monster.com, and you've configured an auto-search there to return to you via e-mail all the jobs that pop up there with your job search's key-words included in the jobs board posted by employers, that does not count in the BLS criteria for "actively looking for work". :shock:

So don't give me any of these lame Obama-excuses.

Everyone who is out of work, wants to work, is available for work, would take a job if offerred, and who is using Monster.com's search function or the like instead of buying a newspaper classifieds every day (and that's pretty much the great majority nowadays!), all these people are truly unemployed and they are rightly counted in the true unemploment rate, even if they aren't counted in the Obama administration's quick-calc rate.

Rather, he or she is retired.

No, rather he or she is dead, or close to it, from depression-causing chronic lack of available work and associated starvation.

You do know that 47 million Americans are presently on food stamps, don't you? That's right. And millions of these people who are unemployed don't have the nutritional energy to futilely fight for unavailable work anymore.

But still, to say that those who finally realize the truth of it, that their age, or race, or gender, or one bad mark on their employment record in this neurotically competitive job market where 100+ resumes are submitted for every job openning, or whatever accurate and truthful realization they have come to, complete with associated inertia and avoidance of continued disappointment .. to say that these people are "retired" is the height of arrogant audacity.

For a party that claims to be the common people's party, the liberal Dems aren't showing that to be the case one iota.

I mean hell, I can say that I'm studying to be a doctor because I'd like to be a doctor, but if I'm not in medical school, and haven't applied to any medical schools, and I'm not really doing anything at all to work toward that goal ... I'm not really studying to be a doctor.

Meaningless, digressive, irrelevance. :roll:

Your false accusation of your fellow American citizens as being dishonest cheats is reprehensibly egregious.

The facts remain .. that everyone who is unemployed, wants a job, is available to work, and would accept work if offerred is unemployed.

The value of the true unemployement rate of 14 percent is that it presents an accurate figure of the ratio of jobs available to truly available labor.

That creates an accurate picture of what needs to be done to get America working again.

The true unemployment rate may not be politically advantageous to the current cast of characters in the White House.

But to deny that reality, for pandering political gain, .. well, that's truly sad, and a "Benedict Arnold" attitude to take toward one's fellow American citizens, many of whom are literally starving for work.

 

[joko104]

Unemployment is higher than when Obama took office.

What is hard to understand about that?

 

[pbrauer]

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.

President Obama should have let all the Bush tax cuts expire when they were designed to... back to the Clinton rates. Low marginal tax rates do not produce good economies... they produce bubbles that eventually burst. The tax rate when the stock market crashed in 1929 was at 24%.

Today's jobs report actually says 184,000 private sector jobs were created, the loss of 13,000 public sector jobs brought the net total non farm total down to 171,000. Also the total nonfarm jobs was upgraded for August and September by 50,000 and 34,000 respectively. Not spectacular, but in my opinion it may cause more people to vote for President Obama rather that Romney.

Oh by the way Conservative, did you see Governor Chris Christie give President Obama much praise yesterday? lol. I think he wants to run for president in 2016, so he doesn't want Romney to win now.

Wouldn't it be something if Romney/Ryan lose and Ryan loses his seat in the House? lol

 

[pbrauer]

Unemployment is higher than when Obama took office.

What is hard to understand about that?

We were also shedding 800,000+ jobs back then.

 

[Donc]

Unemployment is higher than when Obama took office.

What is hard to understand about that?

True. The unemployment rate was 7.8% on January 20, 2009,when Obama was sworn in. I believe ti was about .1 percent higher but we added an additional 171,000 jobs instead of losing almost 600k a month. according to the October report ,we have 194,000 more jobs today than in January 2009.

SOoo...if we didn’t have this winger cabal that took a pledge that they would block everything the President proposed,in a lame ass attempt at making him a one term Pres, we would be in standing in tall cotton now.eace

 

[Peter Grimm]

Not a big enough change either way to affect the election, IMO.

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.