The Big Lie: 5.6% Unemployment

[BlueStateSaint]

Written by the CEO of Gallup.  On Drudge in this color.

The Big Lie: 5.6% Unemployment

by Jim Clifton

Here's something that many Americans -- including some of the smartest and most educated among us -- don't know: The official unemployment rate, as reported by the U.S. Department of Labor, is extremely misleading.
 
Right now, we're hearing much celebrating from the media, the White House and Wall Street about how unemployment is "down" to 5.6%. The cheerleading for this number is deafening. The media loves a comeback story, the White House wants to score political points and Wall Street would like you to stay in the market.
 
None of them will tell you this: If you, a family member or anyone is unemployed and has subsequently given up on finding a job -- if you are so hopelessly out of work that you've stopped looking over the past four weeks -- the Department of Labor doesn't count you as unemployed. That's right. While you are as unemployed as one can possibly be, and tragically may never find work again, you are not counted in the figure we see relentlessly in the news -- currently 5.6%. Right now, as many as 30 million Americans are either out of work or severely underemployed. Trust me, the vast majority of them aren't throwing parties to toast "falling" unemployment.
 
There's another reason why the official rate is misleading. Say you're an out-of-work engineer or healthcare worker or construction worker or retail manager: If you perform a minimum of one hour of work in a week and are paid at least $20 -- maybe someone pays you to mow their lawn -- you're not officially counted as unemployed in the much-reported 5.6%. Few Americans know this.
 
Yet another figure of importance that doesn't get much press: those working part time but wanting full-time work. If you have a degree in chemistry or math and are working 10 hours part time because it is all you can find -- in other words, you are severely underemployed -- the government doesn't count you in the 5.6%. Few Americans know this.

My guess is that few LIVs care.

The rest of this is here:  http://www.gallup.com/opinion/chairman/181469/big-lie-unemployment.aspx

[obumazombie]

I have been waiting for the owebuma administration to cook the books down to 0% unemployed.
Before you know it the unemployment rate will be a negative number.

[JohnnyReb]

I have been waiting for the owebuma administration to cook the books down to 0% unemployed.
Before you know it the unemployment rate will be a negative number.

Then we will need more illegal aliens...uh...undocumented workers.

[J P Sousa]

My democrat B-I-L works for $10/hr "UNDOCUMENTED" (under the table).
No one will ever know how many people like him are out there making money, not paying taxes, not being counted. 

He knows by the way, if he gets hurt on the job........NO workers comp.     

[FlaGator]

I think the only ones who actually believe that 5.6 number is the low information voters (aka Libs).

[DLR Pyro]

My democrat B-I-L works for $10/hr "UNDOCUMENTED" (under the table).
No one will ever know how many people like him are out there making money, not paying taxes, not being counted. 

He knows by the way, if he gets hurt on the job........NO workers comp. 

I believe alot of the home depot parking lot day workers sue the owner of the property they were working on and subsequently injured on if they get hurt on a day job.

[dutch508]

-as soon as there is a Republican in the White House again the unemployment will go back up past 10%

[Ptarmigan]

It is BS. They don't count people not looking for jobs.

[obumazombie]

The unemployment numbers manipulation go hand in hand with manipulating the GDP numbers...

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tom-blumer/2015/02/03/ap-potential-gdp-revisions-heads-they-report-tails-they-ignore


Let's recap how the owebumaManiaMedia reports GDP.
First they gather in their respective newsrooms, perhaps even colluding with a number of other newsrooms.
Then they decide how best to put whatever the numbers are in the best possible light to make their messiah look the best.
Then they report the most rosy projections to over inflate the reputation of the owebuma administration.
Later, when the revised numbers come out, they have always been revised downward since owebuma has been president, the owebumaManiaMedia buries such news.
If any conservative were president the exact opposite has and will happen.

[J P Sousa]

The unemployment numbers manipulation go hand in hand with manipulating the GDP numbers...

http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tom-blumer/2015/02/03/ap-potential-gdp-revisions-heads-they-report-tails-they-ignore


Let's recap how the owebumaManiaMedia reports GDP.
First they gather in their respective newsrooms, perhaps even colluding with a number of other newsrooms.
Then they decide how best to put whatever the numbers are in the best possible light to make their messiah look the best.
Then they report the most rosy projections to over inflate the reputation of the owebuma administration.
Later, when the revised numbers come out, they have always been revised downward since owebuma has been president, the owebumaManiaMedia buries such news.
If any conservative were president the exact opposite has and will happen.

Seems to me, not that long ago, when unemployment went to 5% under "W" the media reported "the sky was falling bla, bla, bla". 
.

[DLR Pyro]

Mortgage companies are required by law to quote both an advertised interest rate as well as the APR which is the true rate you will be paying after closing costs for the loan.

The government should be required by law to do something similar when citing the unemployment rate.  If they want to use their false rate that doesn't include all those who are not looking for a job, that's fine but they should also be required by law to cite the true unemployment rate which includes the percentage of ALL able bodied Americans over 18 who are not working regardless of whether they are actually seeking a job or if they have given up.

But then, when would something required by law ever affect this president or his administration?

[obumazombie]

It helps when you have the owebumaManiaMedia on your side.
They can choose any statistic that is most favorable to owebuma.