Shocking Numbers That Show The Media Is Lying To You About Unemployment In America

TEC ^ | 2-1-2013 | Michael Snyder

[blam]

Shocking Numbers That Show The Media Is Lying To You About Unemployment In America

By Michael snyder
February 1st, 2013

Did you know that the percentage of the U.S. labor force that is employed has continually been falling since 2006 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics? Did you know that the increase in the number of Americans "not in the labor force" during Barack Obama's first four years in the White House was more than three times greater than the increase in the number of Americans "not in the labor force" during the entire decade of the 1980s? The mainstream media would have us believe that 157,000 jobs were added to the U.S. economy in January. Based on that news, the Dow broke the 14,000 barrier for the first time since October 2007. But if you actually look at the "non-seasonally adjusted" numbers, the number of Americans with a job actually decreased by 1,446,000 between December and January. But nowhere in the mainstream media did you hear that the U.S. economy lost more than 1.4 million jobs between December and January. It is amazing the things that you can find out when you actually take the time to look at the hard numbers instead of just listening to the media spin. Back in 2007, more than 146 million Americans were employed. Today, only 141.6 million Americans are employed even though our population has grown steadily since then. When the government and the media tell you that we are in a "recovery" and that unemployment is lower than it was a couple of years ago, I encourage you to dig deeper. The truth is that even the government's own numbers tell us that the percentage of the U.S. labor force that is employed continues to fall and that the U.S. economy is heading into a recession. The Obama administration and the media have been lying to you about unemployment and about the true condition of our economy. After you see the numbers that I have compiled in this article, I think that you will agree with me.

First of all, let's take a look at the percentage of the civilian labor force that has been employed over the past several years. These numbers come directly from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. As you can see, this is a number that has been steadily falling since 2006...

2006: 63.1

2007: 63.0

2008: 62.2

2009: 59.3

2010: 58.5

2011: 58.4

In January, only 57.9 percent of the civilian labor force was employed.

Do the numbers above represent a positive trend or a negative trend?

Even a 2nd grader could answer that question.

So how in the world can the Obama administration and the mainstream media claim that the employment picture is getting better and that we are in a "recovery"?

But most Americans believe what they are told. It is almost as if we are in some kind of a "matrix" where reality is defined by the corporate-controlled propaganda that is relentlessly pumped into our brains.

The only way that the government has been able to show a declining unemployment rate is by dumping massive numbers of Americans into the "not in the labor force" category.

Just check out how the number of Americans "not in the labor force" has absolutely skyrocketed in recent years...

2006: 77,387,000

2007: 78,743,000

2008: 79,501,000

2009: 81,659,000

2010: 83,941,000

2011: 86,001,000

In January, there were supposedly 89,868,000 Americans that were at least 16 years of age that were not in the labor force.

That number has risen by more than 8 million since Barack Obama first entered the White House, and that is highly unusual, because the number of Americans "not in the labor force" only increased by 2,518,000 during the entire decade of the 1980s.

You sure can get the numbers to look more "favorable" if you pretend that millions upon millions of American workers simply "don't want a job" any longer. The truth is that if the labor force participation rate was at the same level it was at when Barack Obama was first elected, the official unemployment rate would be well above 10 percent.

But that wouldn't do at all, would it? 7.9 percent sounds so much nicer.

And of course even if you do have a job that does not mean that you are doing okay.

If you can believe it, in America today 41 percent of all workers make $20,000 a year or less.

To me, that is a mind blowing statistic. It would be incredibly challenging for anyone to live on $20,000 a year, much less try to support a family.

If you live in Washington D.C. or New York City and you have a "good job" working for the establishment, you may not realize it, but there are tens of millions of American families that are really hurting out there. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 146 million Americans are either "poor" or "low income" at this point, and most of those people actually do have jobs.

For much more on the "working poor" in the United States, please see my previous article entitled "35 Statistics About The Working Poor In America That Will Blow Your Mind".

If something is not done, the middle class will continue to disappear and poverty in America will continue to explode.

In a previous article, I noted that during Obama's first term, the number of Americans on food stamps increased by an average of about 11,000 per day.

How bad do things have to get before people realize that we are living through a nightmare?

Sadly, most Americans still have faith in the system.

Most Americans are still convinced that our politicians will somehow find a way to turn things around.

Most Americans will gather around their television sets this weekend and watch the Super Bowl and laugh at all the funny commercials without even thinking about how America is literally falling apart all around them.

But there is one group of Americans that is acutely aware of how bad things have really gotten. Small businesses have traditionally been the primary engine of job growth in this country, but right now small business owners all over the nation are facing a tremendous crisis.

Millions of small businesses are on the verge of extinction, and yet our politicians just continue to pile on more taxes, more rules and more regulations.

A recent Gallup poll found that 61 percent of all small business owners in America are "worried about the potential cost of healthcare", and that an astounding 30 percent of all small business owners in America are not hiring and fear that they will go out of business within the next 12 months.

In a previous article entitled "We Are Witnessing The Death Of Small Business In America", I detailed how small businesses in America are being systematically wiped out. Small businesses are dying all around us, and the number of new small businesses continues to decline.

According to economist Tim Kane, the following is how the decline in the number of startup jobs per one thousand Americans breaks down by presidential administration...

Bush Sr.: 11.3

Clinton: 11.2

Bush Jr.: 10.8

Obama: 7.8

Is that a good trend or a bad trend?

All of this is so simple that even the family pet should be able to figure it out, and yet most Americans seem oblivious to all of this. They just keep gobbling up the mainstream media propaganda and they just continue to go out and wildly spend money.

It is almost as if we didn't learn any lessons from 2008.

Even while household spending in Europe has moderated, household spending in the United States continues to soar. Just check out the chart in this article.

And guess what? The infamous "no money down mortgages" are back. If we wait long enough, perhaps "interest only mortgages" will make a comeback as well.

Unfortunately, I am afraid that time is running out. we have been living in the biggest debt bubble in the history of the world, and it is only a matter of time until it bursts.

2008 was just a "hiccup" compared to what is coming.

Our politicians and the Federal Reserve were able to keep the house of cards from completely crashing down back then, but they are not going to be able to avert the economic horror show that is rapidly approaching.

I hope that you are getting prepared. Back in 2008, millions of Americans suddenly lost their jobs, and because many of them did not have any savings, many of them suddenly lost their homes. One of the most important things that you can do to prepare for the coming crisis is to build up an emergency fund. If things suddenly go bad, you don't want to lose your house and everything that you have always worked for.

In addition, anything that you can do to become more self-sufficient and more independent of the system is a good thing, because the system is failing. The years ahead are going to be much more chaotic than what we are experiencing right now, and when the next crisis strikes you will be very thankful for the time and the energy that you put into preparing.

So what are all of you seeing in your own areas?

Are businesses shutting down?

Are people having a hard time finding good jobs?

[sefarkas]

Articles with ominous foreboding predictions seem popular these days on FR. 0bama won, so hunker down. But, articles of this type selectively quoting statistics and then predicting doom — I call bul1$4i7. If the economy were lurching so close to disaster, the stock market averages would have already reacted in a strong negative direction. For those who did not take economics class in college, I will tell you early on you learn about leading and lagging indicators — labor figures are by the nature of how they are collected are lagging. Not a peep or a mention of the expansion of oil and gas industry in the U.S. and the falling price of domestic energy used by heavy industry. Domestic energy for industry is at multi-decade lows as is the cost of financing the oil and gas industry build out. The economy of 2025 will be unrecognizable from what we see today. The overspending by various levels of government is only overspending for a $14+T economy, but sustainable for a $20+T economy. Look at the empirical evidence in your own lives before going woe is we every time you read articles like the one above.

[Mortrey]

I think it was in 2010.

The Tea Party organized a protest against CNN in Atlanta.
It drizzled rain that day, but there was a good turnout.

I carried a sign that said “You Won’t See This On CNN”.

And, of course, you didn’t see it on CNN.

But, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t continue to protest the media and attempt to shame them.

Our “conservative” radio station is imbedded with the local news reports that ALWAYS sound like “Fairy Tales”...they report on a different universe that’s happy and growing and just swell.

Propaganda at it’s best.

I can’t WAIT for the “talking heads” of local news to experience the coming collapse...I don’t think they know how to wipe their asses, to be honest.

[oldbrowser]

Reminds of the story of how if you put a frog in a pan of water and raise the heat a little at a time, it will never know it is being boiled to death.

[Cvengr]

They have their basic needs provided and aren’t smart enough with wherewithal to think ahead.

I witnessed a junior 27 year old engineer, several years out of college, who recently bought a house, and a car, who goes skiing once a month, seriously ask his peers, who were 20 years his senior, if monogamy didn’t challenge a life in marriage.

I don’t care what demographic one rises from, such an incredibly amoral perspective speaks volumes regarding the arrogant ignorance of a large percentage of Americans today.

[jimpick]

Let me see

I have a friend who is living in a garage.

My brother can not afford to fix his car a $250 because his hour have been cut way back.

My other brother has had his work hours reduced as well.

I have a cousin who can’t find work and I hired him so he can pay his rent this month.

And you say look around as see that this article is not telling the truth, looks real here.

[Gator113]

“I am now living on a beach on Cebu in the Philippines.”

You’re a lucky rascal. ;>)

[Cvengr]

"falling price of domestic energy used by heavy industry"

When heavy industry has so dramatically decreased, why be surprised if the volume of domestic energy used by that industry has also dramatically decreased?

[Secret Agent Man]

it’s the only way you’ll get some of the money govt confiscated from you, back.

[Georgia Girl 2]

Agreed. Its best to just not listen to anything on TV including Fox. We get all our news online.

[Vendome]

Barry owns it now.

Won’t be able to hide from the numbers two years from now...

[Terry Mross]

Most liberals will support obama whether they have a job or not. So, as long as the media lies to “moderates” they’ll keep supporting him and he’ll keep having high approval ratings.

[Ezekiel]

My wife and I were talking about this tonight. She works, I work -- we know "poor people" who live better than we do. Single mothers in subsidized housing -- they take vacations and buy ipads for their kids. I'm sure that some unemployed people are having a tough time -- but there are clearly some non-productive people who are living better than the middle class.

This is exactly why there is virually no outrage, and no pitchforks. A big % of the population has put their faith in government for their sustenance. They have willingly sold their souls for those vacations and iPads, and all they want and expect is more.

You and the rest of us who reject the collectivist lies will be blamed for the inevitable death of the too-big-to-fail ever-bearing money tree, not the pols, media, and education establishment that have have crafted the deception. That FedGov is not the Tree of Life is not a popular message.

Gray areas are fast fading and life is requiring a conscious choice between God or mammon, truth or lies, real wages or EBT freebies. This ought to help people discern that the famed (feared) "mark of the beast" is not so mysterious a concept, but a choice to accept and live on a foundation of lies and theft, with the "Party" looking after its own and punishing all others.

Those who reject not only the enticements of government largess but the debasement of societal norms and corruption of the language risk their livelihoods, reputations, personal relationships, and freedom. But they'll preserve their souls.

These days I am practicing a lot more situational awareness in quietly observing others' behavior, and taking mental notes of their beliefs. Family, friends, neighbors, coworkers, acquaintences.. even relative strangers such as cashiers or others in service-related positions. Many may appear decent and "well-meaning" but are not to be trusted. And some others will be marked as trustworthy. Handy info for when SHTF.

This must not be far from the survival mentality and techniques of European Jews and those who harbored them.

/rant

[boop]

I read somewhere that there are less total people in the workplace today than in 1982. Can that be accurate?

I realize that baby boomers are retiring by the millions, but by sheer population growth, shouldn't the number be MUCH higher?

If true this country is F'd, severely.

[boop]

When social security was implemented it was 42 workers paying in to support each recipient. Now it's roughly 2 per recipient, soon to be 1:1

I don't know how you all are doing, but I'm not crazy about supporting somebody else's retirement.

Oh, I don't mind helping my dad (to a degree) but I don't want to completely support some complete stranger's grandpa.

[Mark17]

Since I am an expat, I will be fine until my social security crashes, which is now my only fear.

Yep Alex, I am also concerned about Cal Pers as well, which is why my honey and I plan to get a business going, in case it all comes crashing down. I am sure we will come to visit you in your island paradise. We may end up living in Alabang, but we shall see.

[entropy12]

I don’t know if all unemployed people live desirable lives, but I have repeatedly observed a phenomena last year or two.

My wife works full time, I am retired. So I do most of the grocery shopping. She makes the list, I buy the items. We look for sale items. My cart is rarely over 1/4 full at checkout. Then I see a cart ahead of me with cart fully loaded with groceries. Then they whip out an EBT card to pay! Many times the stuff they bought exceeds the EBT card balance. Then they pay the rest of bill in cash. Invariably these people look overweight.

I have no problem feeding the poor who can’t afford to buy enough food. But obviously food stamps are being handed out with abandon.

[Ezekiel]

SS was a lie from the start, marketed as a retirement safety net to put decent, law-abiding citizens on government life support in their senior years. Sucked dry from 1001 other forms of taxation, the people would then need and expect a return on their fake but forced “investment”.

The government removes a chunk of income that the individual could save, invest, or spend as his own life warrants, ostensibly so the person won't be left hanging/destitute in his latter years.

The reality is something else entirely, but I really can't fault people for demanding their stolen money back. Yeah, I know you and I are the ones actually paying for it, as it is the government who projected its own gross incompetence, wastefulness and lack of self-control upon the individual citizen, in order to mandate a “safety net” to protect us imbecilic beings from ourselves.

Because I view SS as an entrapment scheme, I just can't get outraged about those who collect it, even though the system is indefensible and unsustainable. The folks who are angling for any means of shirking the responsibilities of life - expecting others to fund their irresponsible life choices as far into the future as they make them (such as having multiple-daddied offspring) - well they are no good. Those are the real takers, but the seniors get tossed in with them due to the convenient, purposeful muddling of the revenues and debts.

Another reason I can't get worked up about seniors on SS is that by forcing the current workers to pay (or rather, go into massive debt) for the current checks, the government is gleefully driving a wedge between and fomenting hatred of the young toward the old. Probably to make Obamacare denial of geriatric care an easier sell. I get the sense that the government wants me to hate old people by training me to view them as leeches. There can be some pretty cantankerous and demanding ones out there, but still...

I know my views can be easy picked apart on an economic level (I've done it myself), but I can't ignore a number of other components that are necessary for the survival of a merciful and just people.

[AlexW]

“We may end up living in Alabang, but we shall see.”
_________________________________________

As in near Manila? I have never set foot on Luzon, and hope that I never will.
If you are a big city guy, I guess it is OK.
I live 2-3 hours south of Cebu city, and I hate even going up there, but will have to do it next week.
Feel free to ask whatever if I can help you.

[ThisLittleLightofMine]

I completely relate to this, I work part time, my husband works full time. We are very middle class. I get tired of working hard, while I watch those that don’t work get a free ride. I work with a client who is on medicaid, and I find out his 40 something daughter, son-in-law and now grandchild our all on disability, this is making me sick. They all have smart phones, but live off the state, how can this be?? For years I have chosen a pay as you go phone to save a little money, why? My money will be worth nothing at this rate.

[Texas Fossil]

Everything put out by Obumbo and his media lackeys is a lie

Yep. Obama is the Liar-in-Chief, and he serves the "Father-of-Lies".