Remember: the magic number is 200,000
I am impressed. Very impressed. No spin. No spin at all.
This is the AP lead:
U.S. employers added 96,000 jobs last month, a weak figure that could slow any momentum President Barack Obama hoped to gain from his speech to the Democratic National Convention.
The unemployment rate fell to 8.1 percent from 8.3 percent in July, the Labor Department said Friday. But that was only because more people gave up looking for work.Later:
The report was weak throughout.
And this:
All told, the proportion of the population that is either working or looking for work fell to 63.5 percent. That's the lowest level in 31 years for the labor force participation rate.More data points:
- Average number of jobs added per month in 2012, so far: 139K
- Average number of jobs added per month in 2011: 153K
- 96,000 jobs added last month -- remember, anything below 200,000 is anemic, and less than 100K, well...
- not only that, but the number of jobs added in July and June than first estimated
As has been widely reported, and now "viral" as they say, the best and the brightest -- those attending the convention -- said that corporate profits should be banned -- ok -- exactly how does that help job creation.
It was noted that the interviewer did not ask the question of those "on the street" in Los Angeles (Leno's "jay-walkers") but of the delegates -- the best and the brightest -- that attended the convention. And they say the Tea Party is radical.
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Going through the Wall Street Journal this a.m., I see a completely different story. The story I see is this: there is no reason why the US shouldn't be leading the world right now --
- our energy is dirt cheap compared to Europe
- Europe's austerity programs will wreak havoc on the PIIGS and will spill over
- Hollande (France) will be a disaster; that will play out over the next few years
- the unions in Europe: folks forget about this one; Lufthansa, today, canceled 2/3rds of its flights; cabin crews expected to go on strike for third time in less than two weeks (three strikes in two weeks?)
- our telecommunications lags South Korea, but with free market emphasis rather than regulatory emphasis, our TC could be fixed, and maybe even rival South Korea's
- China's growth is considerable (may be slowing) but they have headwinds that are worse than here in the US; their exploding youth population is perhaps their worrisome (for the government)
- the Mideast? Russia? Venezuela? not even players outside of oil
Cheap energy, highly skilled and educated workforce, robust natural resources -- no reason why US shouldn't be doing better right now. No reason.
Starting with the participation rate, Nesto notes that "almost 400,000 people dropped out, just gave up" looking for work in August. For each one-tenth of one percent improvement in the unemployment rate, 184,000 Americans had to become quitters. Quitting could mean going on disability, going into the grey market (read: getting paid cash for odd jobs), doing something illicit, or begging.
Whatever they're doing instead of working or looking for legitimate jobs, 368,000 Americans gave up on participating in the economy in August alone. What would it take to make you just give up entirely? That's what hundreds of thousands of your fellow Americans went through last month. Think about that if anyone tries to tell you a drop in the headline rate is anything but more evidence of an ongoing national disgrace.
