Unemployment rate falls to 9.4 percent, hiring up

Boston.com ^

[Perdogg]

The nation's unemployment rate dropped to 9.4 percent last month, its lowest level in 19 months. That was because more people found jobs, but also because some people gave up on their job searches.

[TSgt]

The Labor Department says employers added 103,000 jobs in December, an improvement from November's revised total of 71,000 but far below most analysts' expectations. Once unemployed workers stop looking for work, the government no longer counts them as unemployed.

[tcrlaf]

So, how many did Obama Delete from the workforce numbers to get this number?

[DarthVader]

Temporary holiday hiring.

[tcrlaf]

I’ll answer my own question, Obama’s BLS deleted nearly 500,000 people from the workforce!!

[Doogle]

...and food and gas prices up....?????. Where’s the cat whaling from the commielib press?

[GoCards]

Im stunned wasnt it 9.8%, it makes no sense to me that filings are 400,000 plus everyweek but we drop .4% someone smarter than me please help me understand this.

[poobear]

“So, how many did Obama Delete from the workforce numbers to get this number?”

The folks who ran out of 99 weeks of unemployment maybe?

[tcrlaf]

CORRECTION, 80,000

[edpc]

Definitely. Let’s see what happens in Feb/Mar.

[toolman1401]

The real question is ‘how long can they cook the numbers to try and make the administration look better and give the false sense of hope that things are getting better?’ I think we all know the answer: As long as it takes or until the election in 2012 whichever comes first.

[ClearCase_guy]

The numbers get better because the situation gets worse. As people lose hope, they stop looking. The government counts that as a success and keeps doing what it’s doing.

[Rational Thought]

Looking at this from the outside, these numbers seem to contradict themselves. I wonder what role the delay in extending benefits from Washington had?

I’d bet we see revisions to these figures in the weeks to come.

[mnehring]

also because some people gave up on their job searches.

...and because fewer filed for unemployment because the weather in large portions of the country shut down unemployment offices.. wait until next week's 'unexpected' spike.

[hondact200]

Odumbo has cooked the books again. just wait the revised numbers will come out later and the numbers will be vastly different Unemployment will be at 9.8% with the real number at 17%

[Night Hides Not]

I doubt that I'm smarter than you, but there must have been tens of thousands of boomers that just hit 62 1/2. Instead of unemployment, they'll start drawing Social Security, albeit at a reduced rate.

There's a lot of folks that I did contract worth 18 months ago that were in that boat...just trying to hang in there until SS kicks in.

[Vermont Lt]

As people fall off unemployment, they stop counting them. Therefore the same number of people are probably out of work, but since they are not lining up every week (so to speak) they are not counting them.

This number is a facade. The news is still pretty grim.

[Arm_Bears]

It’s called cooking the books.

This administration, and its various enablers, have determined that the national unemployment rate will never break 10.0%, no matter what.

[Le Chien Rouge]

In 2004, John Kerry said, “America is still in the worst job recovery since the Great Depression...”

In 2006, Nancy Pelosi said, “The President has the worst jobs record since the Great Depression..

Ah, the good old days when unemployment was only 5%....

[GilGil]

What everyone forgets here is that the long term u6 unemployment figure has gone up from 17% to 19% meaning that the people who have no job or have part time work are at 19% of the work force. Basically that .4% unemployment disappearance from 9.8% to 9.4% got moved into the long term category hence the increase from 17% to 19%.