8.3

Economy creates 163,000 new jobs but rate rises.

More folks re-entering the jobs market now that the economy has turned around.

Forty-one (41) consecutive months with rate above 8 percent, despite ... what was it? ... a trillion dollar stimulus for shovel-ready jobs .... and a promise thrown in ... I forget the promise ...

CNBC reports again: get used to the "new normal" -- unemployment rates of 6 - 7 percent.

The more one digs into the report, the worse it is. For one thing, generally when the unemployment number goes up, the mainstream media uses the cliche, that "more people are entering re-entering the job market, looking for jobs, because the market is recovering." But this month (July), 150,000 Americans dropped out of the work-force; 150,000 Americans quit looking for jobs and will join the chronically unemployed. If these 150,000 had not dropped out, and, if an additional 150,000 had actually re-entered the job market, the "fake" unemployment rate would have been even worse. If interested in "fake" unemployment, google it. You will be surprised what you find. What you find will speak volumes. [Update: Motley Fool is reporting that more folks re-entered the work force. I think Motley, the Fool, got it wrong this time. But if not, wow!]

The AP spin. Incredible. The AP is losing -- has lost? -- all credibility when reporting unemployment stories. I would be surprised to find any man (or woman) on the street who would associate a rising unemployment rate beneficial to a president. Except for investors. The market appears to love this news: the market is now up over 200 points, almost 2 percent.

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Obama's job approval drops to 44%.

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Ms Pelosi calls it "a step in the right direction." I assume she gets her news from USA Today whose headline for today's unemployment story had this headline: "jobs report beats forecasts." Wow.

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Meanwhile, the Labor Secretary gushes: "hey, we added jobs, but we need to do more." Yup. The headline says she chides Congress for not passing legislation to create more jobs for teachers. Congress just went on vacation, and I don't see why the President doesn't just sign an executive order, as he has done in the past to get things moving.

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I can't make this stuff up.

"The household survey showed that the unemployment rate ticked up to 8.3% in July (or, more precisely, the rate rose from 8.217% in June to 8.254% in July)," wrote Krueger, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers.

Or more precisely.