This is a pretty amazing feat. America’s job market picked up 290,000 jobs, yet the unemployment rate still rose to 9.9%.
Washington Post: U.S. employers added 290,000 jobs in April, blowing past analysts’ expectations and giving a potential indication that the labor market is strengthening.
That figure was boosted by temporary hiring for the 2010 Census, but there were also jobs added in the private sector, according to Labor Department data released Friday.
Analysts had expected the report to show that the country added 162,000 jobs.
So how is this possible? This situation comes about because for too long we have been ignoring the underemployment rate. Those people who have given up looking or who are working part time when they really need fully time work are still out there. As more real jobs become available, the underemployed are there to snap them up.
Buried in today’s job report is the fact that the underemployed number isn't budging:
The Wall Street Journal: The comprehensive gauge of labor underutilization, known as the “U-6? for its data classification by the Labor Department, accounts for people who have stopped looking for work or who can’t find full-time jobs. Though the rate is still 0.3 percentage point below its high of 17.4% in October, its continuing divergence from the official number (the “U-3? unemployment measure) indicates the job market has a long way to go before growth in the economy translates into relief for workers.
America’s private sector cannot produce enough jobs under a climate of higher taxation and heavy regulation. Until this administration chooses to stop making so many demands on the private sector, don’t expect the unemployment rate to significantly move away from 10%.
Via: Memeorandum
Via: The Washington Post
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12 comments:
This is a pretty amazing feat. America’s job market picked up 290,000 jobs, yet the unemployment rate still rose to 9.9%.
Not so amazing, really. Unemployment numbers are seasonally adjusted. If April typically shows more employment than March, then it's entirely possible that both numbers could rise.
Question? How does the government track these "under employed" people to know they are once again searching for jobs?
I watched Obama brag this morning about todays unemployment numbers. He said nothing about his Stimulus package that he said would keep unemployment to 8% or less. Now he makes it sound good when the number rises. Yes more americans are back looking for work. Many have lost all their benefits and have no option other then look for work.
That number will break above 10 shortly when a million or more high school seniors graduate from school. Thousands of census workers won't stay employed for more then a few months. They they go back on the unemployed rolls.
Even that joke christina Rhomer was boasting about what a good thing it was that the number was higher @ 9.9%. The entire Obama administration is one big joke.
From everything that I have read, it is going to take years for this number to lower.
If he is lucky it will be at 7.5% when he is ready to run for re-election.
I happen to live in area that has low unemployment. Oh, that's right the feds are hiring. LOL
Acutually I expect the unemployment figure to move significantly away from 10% . . . STRAIGHT UP! As for the cencus worker going back on the dole, the government does a cruel trick on them. They're contract workers so when they're done, they don't get unemployment so not only will they not collect any benefits when they're done, but the government doesn't count them in the unemployment figures as well. This is all fuzzy math and not telling the whole truth as there may be little increase, it doesn't come near enough to cover the new workers entering. Remember those that have been looking for 2 years are on the verg of being employed by government standards though having no work to be found.
Steverino:
Unemployment numbers are seasonally adjusted.
Just another reason why the unemployment figure doesn't always match the mood of the nation.
Mike:
The underemployed is estimated by the unemployment rolls. If the number of people collecting unemployment remains the same or increases, yet jobs get filled, the assumption is made that they were filled by the underemployed.
foxmuldar:
Ever since unemployment exceeded the expectations of the Stimulus, the administration has been trying to put a positive spin on the unemployment figures no matter how bad they are.
That Christina Rhomer has to be the most infuriating person in the entire administration. She reminds me of Baghdad Bob with a smiley face!
JACG:
Of course it will take years for the numbers to come back down. This administration is doing everything to add pressure to the private sector.
How right you are about the feds are hiring. That seems to be the only way they know how to create job growth. The Rob From Peter to Pay Paul strategy.
madmath1:
The saving grace to all the fuzzy math is the mood of the nation. You cannot fake the pain people feel from unemployment. No happy speeches from Christina Rhomer can hope to change that.
Your last sentence says it all, Clifton.
@Clifton...Thanks it just didn't make any sense to me how they knew the underemployed were starting to look for jobs again. So they're "assuming" that's what happened. We all know what assuming does, don't we.
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