Job situation improves despite government efforts to torpedo economy

[ehidle]

http://money.cnn.com/2009/12/04/news...mber/index.htm

Looks like this is the best job performance since the recession started, and since the government took its deliberate steps to deepen and prolong it.

[FNG19]

Looks like this is the best job performance since the recession started, and since the government took its deliberate steps to deepen and prolong it.

I imagine all of the temporary Christmas hiring has artificially inflated the hiring numbers. The numbers for January will be most illuminating.

[H.E. Pennypacker]

Now you know the morons will spin it to say the stimulus is working. How it can be linked is beyond me, but then again, the morons don't need proof or anything. Just imagine, they'll say. Just imagine how much better off we'd be if the stimulus package was twice as large.

[Dredly]

IF anyone honestly believes these numbers they need to have their heads examined.

The number of jobs lost has gone down... for the month because we have already shed millions and are down to just core people.

Xmas help is at its peak right now (temporary labor)

the most recent numbers put Unemployed/underemployed at over 17%!

the 10% number is a feel good bullshit number that the gov made up to try and get everyone spending

[Dredly]

Now you know the morons will spin it to say the stimulus is working. How it can be linked is beyond me, but then again, the morons don't need proof or anything. Just imagine, they'll say. Just imagine how much better off we'd be if the stimulus package was twice as large.

They are trying to get a 300 Billion job creation bill passed... why? dunno but they are

[FNG19]

Now you know the morons will spin it to say the stimulus is working.

Of course it is... After all, there are about 16 million people out of work. The stimulus, in the very most positive light, has "created or saved" (*ptoooey*) 1.6M jobs, or .9% change in unemployment. For all the money that's been spent thus far, we've changed unemployment by .9%. In other words, it would've been 11.1% without the stimulus money. Consider, also, that many of those jobs are not sustainable, as they are mostly project work.

I'd say that's an effective use of tax dollars, wouldn't you? (/sarcasm)

[FNG19]

the most recent numbers put Unemployed/underemployed at over 17%!

the 10% number is a feel good bullshit number that the gov made up to try and get everyone spending

That's like saying that wind chill is the real temperature, and the air temperature is just a feel-good number to make everyone feel warmer. Both measurements are valid but cover different phenomena, just like the 10% and 17% numbers you correctly cited above.

[adymond]

That's like saying that wind chill is the real temperature, and the air temperature is just a feel-good number to make everyone feel warmer. Both measurements are valid but cover different phenomena, just like the 10% and 17% numbers you correctly cited above.

To be fair I think the 10.2% unemployment is sort of a misnomer. That is the percentage of the workforce who are currently elligable for unemployment benefits. Calling it the unemployment rate is really misleading. Intentionally misleading IMO.

[buster2209]

Nope, I don't buy this.

I have a job, yet it's part time and I'm woefully underemployed.

I agree that if "November job losses fewest since start of the recession. Unemployment rate decline is biggest in more than three years" is the case, it's because of the xmas jobs.

I feel January's figures will be a vast disappointment.

[Dredly]

That's like saying that wind chill is the real temperature, and the air temperature is just a feel-good number to make everyone feel warmer. Both measurements are valid but cover different phenomena, just like the 10% and 17% numbers you correctly cited above.

I have to disagree. the 10% number is the number of americans collecting unemployment benefits, its complete bullshit. They need to stop advertising as unemployment rate and start reporting it as number of people collecting.