Can someone please explain how, unemployment was expected to be 9.6% job creation was supposed to be 90,000,and buisness shed double the estimate at 171,000, but the unemployment number remains at 8.5%? Maybe it’s the new math, or someones cooking the books.
No, I don't think that someone is cooking the books. I believe the answer lies in the way the BLS compiles the data. You see, once a worker becomes discouraged and quits looking for work, he is no longer a part of the population surveyed for unemployment purposes. So, if a large group of workers stops looking, they are not counted. That would explain why the unemployment number stays the same in this instance.
Now, I think the media should report the unemployment percentage (collected by the BLS) which would show the true unemployment number to be maybe twice the official number.