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Despite the unemployment rate being at an eight-year low (4.9 percent as of January 2016), the number of people on food stamps remains near an all-time high which was 47,636,000 in 2013. Why the disparity in the numbers? Well, the unemployment rate does not take into account people who are not in, or have dropped out of, the workforce altogether. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in January of this year that approximately 94 million Americans are not participating in the workforce. But the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has been hovering around 46 million participants since 2011. ...

The most recent data on California’s labor force participation rate (the percentage of California adults employed or looking for work) show the rate continuing to decline the past few years, even as job growth is very strong. Why is this? Should workforce practitioners and policymakers in California be concerned? How much does the rate represent increased discouragement among our workforce?Let’s start with the data, turning to EDD’s Labor Market Information Division. Mr. Brandon Hooker of the Division has compiled the chart above (click to enlarge) that tracks the declining labor force participation rate in California since December 2007. The rate...

The seasonally-adjusted SGS Alternate Unemployment Rate reflects current unemployment reporting methodology adjusted for SGS-estimated long-term discouraged workers, who were defined out of official existence in 1994. That estimate is added to the BLS estimate of U-6 unemployment, which includes short-term discouraged workers. The U-3 unemployment rate is the monthly headline number. The U-6 unemployment rate is the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) broadest unemployment measure, including short-term discouraged and other marginally-attached workers as well as those forced to work part-time because they cannot find full-time employment.

Donald Trump seems quite certain that the real unemployment rate is higher than the 4.9 percent that the Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported it to be. A lot higher. "Don't believe these phony numbers when you hear 4.9 and 5 percent unemployment," Mr. Trump said in his victory speech after the New Hampshire primary Tuesday night. "The number's probably 28, 29, as high as 35. In fact, I even heard recently 42 percent." Mr. Trump might be bombastic, but he's not entirely wrong. And the ways in which he is wrong are actually useful for anyone who wants to...

Americans are quitting their jobs like crazy, and this is good news for wages. The latest monthly "Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey" (JOLTS) showed that in December, the total number of quits was 3.1 million, the highest level in a decade, while the quits rate was 2.1%, the highest since April 2008. This rate, which takes the number of quits divided by the number of employees who worked or were paid for work, is one of the labor-market metrics most closely watched by Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen. If people are quitting their jobs, it suggests that they are...

Although stock portfolios may be looking bleak with the sudden fall in the market indices, employment prospects for job seekers have never looked better. I don't have a crystal ball, but there are some strong indicators that 2016 has much to offer in terms of achieving our career aspirations. Currently there are more jobs available than job seekers. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the current unemployment rate is trending downward, a positive sign for all us -- it was 4.9% in January, down from 5% the previous month. In some parts of our country, we have unemployment rates...

How would you react to the following news stories? Former Shoppers Fined $5,000 for No Longer Frequenting Nearby Mall Residents of Anytown, USA were surprised to receive invoices in the mail from their local county government Friday. The county identified people who used to shop in the local mall but, due to reports of muggings, rapes, and vehicle theft at the mall, switched to shopping at other, safer malls, or just doing it online. The thousand dollar a year fine was based on the estimated amount of revenue the mall says it lost due to their departure. Professional economists, when...

For more than seven years, Federal Reserve officials have touted their progress toward achieving "full employment," with the most recent target a 4.9 percent unemployment rate. With Friday's nonfarm payrolls report showing that the goal has been achieved, perhaps the Fed can raise the "Mission Accomplished" banner along with a welcome mat to the world of "full employment." The jobless rate last reached this level in February 2008, following a run from June 2005 to April 2008 during which unemployment never eclipsed 5 percent. Getting a "4-handle" on the number -- using Wall Street lingo -- was supposed to represent...

"Americans are working," President Obama proudly declared at a White House press conference Friday morning. He was referring to the new jobs report that revealed unemployment has dropped to 4.9 percent - the first time it's fallen below 5 percent in 8 years. The president also remarked on how his administration has added 14 million new jobs over his tenure and that over the past 6 months wages have risen at an impressive rate. He couldn't help pointing to falling gas prices as well. After gleefully sharing these new numbers, Obama quipped that the supposedly successful economy is "inconvenient" for...

BEGIN TRANSCRIPT RUSH: We have an audio sound bite here from Obama, the press conference I mentioned an hour ago. He went out there and he was praising his economy. He was heralding first-time unemployment rate as being under 5% for the first time in seven years. That's essentially since he took office. The first time. When have you ever heard that referred to: "The first-time unemployment rate is now at 4.9%"? What's that? Does anybody have any memory of hearing the unemployment rate referred to as "the first-time unemployment rate"? Well, there's a reason he said it. It's because...

On the surface, the January jobs numbers appear to be "not bad."  There were 151,000 jobs created, and the official unemployment rate dropped below 5%. But the story inside the numbers is really, really awful.  The Bureau of Labor Statistics calculates job creation and loss using two different measurements: the Current Population Survey and "Establishment" data from the Current Employment Statistics.  Usually, the two measurements are roughly the same.  But how do you explain this, BLS? Consider these BLS numbers based on household data. In January, there were 25,328,000 "foreign born" workers employed, a one-month drop of 98,000. In January, there...

The government (Obama administration) reported that only 151,000 jobs were created last month and that the unemployment rate DROPPED to 4.9%, the lowest in 10 years. We all know that is bogus as they don't count the millions who are unemployed but are not looking for work. How do they get away with giving out false information? Of course we know the main stream media won't challenge them but what about our pundits and politicians?

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. employment gains slowed more than expected in January as the boost to hiring from unseasonably mild weather faded, but rising wages and an unemployment rate at an eight-year low suggested the labor market recovery remains firm. Non-farm payrolls increased by 151,000 jobs and the unemployment rate slipped one-tenth of a percentage point to 4.9 percent, the lowest since February 2008, the Labor Department said on Friday. The payrolls gain was a sharp step-down from the average 231,000 jobs per month during the fourth quarter. "The fact that payroll gains fell back to earth is not necessarily...

With the Fed on the verge of a full relent and admission of policy error, the Fed's "data (in)dependent" monetary policy once again takes on secondary relevance as we progress into 2016. However, even with the overall job picture far less important, one aspect of the US jobs market is certain to take on an unprecedented importance. We first laid out what that is last September when we said that "the one chart that matters more than ever, has little to nothing to do with the Fed's monetary policy, but everything to do with the November 2016 presidential elections...

The U.S. economy added 151,000 jobs in January, a slowdown from recent months but still a sign of a solid job market. Employers raised pay, more people felt confident enough to look for work and the unemployment rate dipped to 4.9 percent, its lowest level since 2008. Friday's report from the Labor Department showed that the job market remains a vital support for an economy that is struggling in areas such as manufacturing and is facing weakness overseas. It provides a key piece of evidence for the Federal Reserve, which is weighing whether to raise interest rates again after lifting...

An analysis undertaken by the Tax Foundation estimates that the tax increases promised by Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (S-Vt) will cut economic growth by more than 9% and result in 6 million fewer full-time jobs. "Sanders' plan would significantly increase marginal tax rates on capital and labor income, which would result in a substantial reduction of the size of the U.S. economy in the long run," authors Alan Cole and Scott Greenberg asserted. Sanders' campaign manager Jeff Weaver pooh-poohed the report quoting economist John Maynard Keynes' observation that "in the long run we are all dead. At 74...

Having surged to six-month highs, initial jobless claims dropped modestly on the week but the smoother 4-week average that is broadly used pushed to new cycle highs at 285k - the highest since March 2015 confirming The Fed's concerns over the economy. This is a trend that is certainly not the friend of Janet and her friends... but we are sure this is all just transitory.  

The major media has morphed from a watchdog to a lapdog barking on cue that everything is all right, there's nothing to see here, move along Joseph Goebbels, Hitler’s Minister of Propaganda said, “If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal...

New claims for US unemployment insurance benefits jumped to a seven-month high last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Initial jobless claims rose by 10,000 to 293,000 in the week ending January 16, the highest level since early July. But claims, a sign of the pace of layoffs, have remained below 300,000 since late February 2015 as the jobs market tightens. Analysts say volatility is typical in the first weeks of the year. The four-week moving average for claims rose by 6,500 to 285,000. A year ago it was 298,250. The US economy added 2.65 million jobs in 2015, the...