July’s Strong Job Numbers Aren’t Strong Enough
Today, the government announced that the economy expanded by 255,000 jobs. The news reinforces last month’s solid job numbers, which showed the economy grew by nearly 300,000 new jobs.
But employment numbers don’t tell the full story; the government makes sure of that.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the employment report each month, which lays out exactly what’s happening in the economy. In today’s report, they write: “Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 255,000 in July.”
But, further in that report, they write, “The unemployment rate held at 4.9 percent in July, and the number of unemployed persons was essentially unchanged at 7.8 million. Both measures have shown little movement, on net, since August of last year.”
Ok, that doesn’t make a lot of sense. In June, there were 7.783 million unemployed people. In July, apparently, there were 7.770 million unemployed people. Fourth grade math is really all that is needed to see that something appears wrong.
How can the economy add 255,000 new jobs, yet, the number of persons unemployed in the economy only drops by 13,000?
There are a number of reasons for this discrepancy. While the number of jobs may be increasing, the number of people looking for jobs is growing even faster. Individuals who are entering the job hunt may include those who lost a job but who became so disgruntled with Obama’s failed economics that they left the workforce altogether.
Other factors simply include a growing population that is coming of age and need employment. For example, while the economy added 255,000 new jobs, the number of people looking for work increased by 407,000. So while 255,000 seems to be good, it’s just not quite good enough.
Obama will run around the country touting 255,000 new jobs, and in particular, an unemployment rate of 4.9 percent that is in line with pre-financial crisis levels. What he won’t tell the American public, however, is that there still remains nearly 1 million more people unemployed than pre-2008. (For more from the author of “July’s Strong Job Numbers Aren’t Strong Enough” please click HERE)
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