U.S. Economy Adds 214K Jobs, Unemployment Rate Falls to 5.8%

Fox Business News ^ | 11/7/2014 | By Dunstan Prial

[SeekAndFind]

The U.S. economy added 214,000 jobs in October, lower than the 231,000 jobs economists expected but still enough to maintain labor market momentum as the Federal Reserve ponders a timetable for raising interest rates.

While the number of jobs created came in under expectations, the headline unemployment rate dropped to 5.8%, the lowest level since July 2008, and under the 5.9% rate in September, according to numbers released today by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The report doesn't slow the momentum started in September when 248,000 jobs were created, far more than expected.

The 214,000 jobs gained in October represented the eighth time in the past nine months that the economy has created more than 200,000 jobs, a sharp rebound from the years of weak growth that followed the 2008 financial crisis and deep recession that followed.

Both the unemployment rate and the number of unemployed persons (9 million) fell in October. Since the beginning of the year, the unemployment rate and the number of unemployed persons have declined by 0.8 percentage point and 1.2 million, respectively.

Still, analysts are looking beyond the number of jobs created and the headline unemployment rate for signs that so-called slack in the labor market is tightening. In particular, economists – especially those at the Federal Reserve – are looking for growth in hourly wages.

[DonaldC]

I wonder if we are heading back to a 1950/60 type participation rate.

[George from New England]

“Last I knew, it was nearly 93,000,000.”

So we can lay the ‘out of work’, end to end, every mile to the sun, and next week, not fit them all in !!

[Gaffer]

True....plus a bunch of other administration-influenced fiddling. My point was that we should pull an “Obama” on Obama - start taking credit for the decreasing unemployment rates. When the Pubs do that, this lying crap from Obama’s agencies will stop. Guaranteed.

[ransomnote]

Remember the olden days, when the media exposed such lies?

[fatnotlazy]

The feds can continue to put out these phony stats because their accomplices in the media will disseminate them to the public as gospel truth. For once I would like to see a media outlet call these numbers BS and give us the real employment picture.

[Dawn53Fl]

Exactly...they can say the employment market is getting better, but “real people” know the truth, and as you said, voted accordingly.

[ransomnote]

I guess the White House just wanted to put a low unemployment level out there “for the record” so even if the Republicans made improvements and the unemployment level fell, the actual unemployment level would be above that which the White House just reported - in other words, Obama’s administration wants to claim that unemployment went UP after the Republicans took the senate.

[Caipirabob]

Less people working in American than during the Jimmy Carter "error"...

But obama thinks you should thank him.

[catnipman]

The real unemployment rate is 11.5%.

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t15.htm

The kommie media will probably switch to reporting this number when the Pubs run the Senate or the Pubs take the White House.

[mulligan]

Lies, lies and more lies.

[gingerbread]

That’s one of the biggest lies this administration has been shoving down our (@#$#@), without even a peep from the Lame Stream Media. Hey, every one of you “LOW INFORMATION VOTERS” out there, there are 92 million people that don’t have jobs. This charade started in the Clinton administration. The government??? only counts those people that are on the UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE. Once these UNEMPLOYED people get off the UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE, they are taken off the list. Truth be told, if every one unemployed were counted, our unemployed numbers would be around 12% to 15%. That’s a higher unemployed number that during the peak of the 1930’s depression.

[Wyatt's Torch]

A lot will depend on women in the workforce. That is what is driving the decline. Participation rate for men has been steadily falling since the 1950's:

While women peaked in the 1990's just like total participation rate:

Question is what will Millennial Women do?

[LostInBayport]

Reporters used to do more than simply regurgitate facts given to them on press releases. They would actually think about the information being given to them and perhaps pick it apart, get a few opinions from others in the know...now, they are either uninterested in questioning or do not have the brains to do so.

[Wyatt's Torch]

Here's the trend on U6:

[Captain Peter Blood]

I have long since believed any of these stats from the BLS for years.
Now when I want know what the real score is I check Shadow Statistics.com and when you do the real U6 number is north of 20%.

[Dawn53Fl]

Exactly...they can say the employment market is getting better, but “real people” know the truth, and as you said, voted accordingly.

[Wyatt's Torch]

Seasonally adjusted so "holiday hiring" is adjusted for. Second here are the trends for full-time vs part-time:

Part-time has been flat since mid-2009 and the acceleration in job growth since the trough in late 2009/early 2010 has been full-time employment. But no doubt that part-time is elevated from pre-recession levels.

[Wyatt's Torch]

99% of reporters have no idea how to analyze or interpret economic or statistical data.

[TangoLimaSierra]

Soon as the Republican Congress takes over, the press will start letting the real numbers come out.

[Blue Jays]

My very trusty personal barometer on the economy is this:
"How easily could I get a better and higher-paying job if I quit my current employment today?"

I don't care what Wall Street is doing.
I don't care what the Department of Labor is saying.
It cracks me up when people (especially Liberals) who are scraping paycheck-to-paycheck brag about Wall Street performance during the President Obama years.

How easily can we all get great new jobs? Now THAT is the ultimate indicator, my FRiends. :-)