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Unemployment rate much worse than 9.1% (Arguably, 11.5%)
American Thinker ^ | 6/3/2011 | Steve McCann

Posted on 06/03/2011 10:39:11 AM PDT by Qbert

Just how dire is the unemployment situation?  The May employment situation has just been released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics  showing an unemployment rate of 9.1%.  But what are the actual statistics that reveal the true depth of employment misery?

In the month of May the BLS claimed that 139.8 million people were employed out of a civilian noninstitutional population [those who live in the US, older than 16 and not in an institution or active military] of 239.3 million or an effective rate of 58.4%.  The civilian labor force which takes into account those the BLS consider employed and actively looking for work (not those who have dropped out of the labor force) stood at 153.7 million or 64.2% of the civilian noninstitutional population.

The last time there were 139.8 million employed (prior to the Obama years) was in October of 2004.  At that time the civilian noninstitutional population was 224.2 million for an effective rate of 62.4%.  The civilian labor force was estimated to be 147.8 million or 66% of the civilian noninstitutional population.  The published unemployment rate was 5.5%.

The most arbitrary of all factors the BLS uses is their calculation of the civilian labor force as that includes those actively looking for work but eliminates those who the BLS estimates have dropped out of the labor force. Yet it is the most important as it can skew the unemployment rate considerably.   Therefore using the October 2004 figures as a base the calculations would actually be as follows: the civilian labor force for May of 2011 should be 157.9 million not 153.7 million.   As there were 139.8 million people employed, it follows that the unemployment rate would then be 11.5% not 9.1%.

However arbitrary rates aside, the bottom line is that since October of 2004 the overall civilian noninstutional population has increased by 15.1 million people yet there has not been any net new jobs created per the report of May 2011 as the number of those employed is the same.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: dollar; economy; monetization; obamanomics; obamunism; qe; spending; unemployment

1 posted on 06/03/2011 10:39:21 AM PDT by Qbert
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To: Qbert
I think the question is who can Obama beat in 2012. I bet in some Democratic circles that if things don't get better they might have a challenger for him.
2 posted on 06/03/2011 10:51:07 AM PDT by scooby321
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To: Qbert
Bureau of LaborLying Statistics

Fixed it for you.

3 posted on 06/03/2011 10:53:15 AM PDT by freejohn
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To: scooby321

That’s a big part of what his quest for a billion dollars is about- to scare off potential primary challengers.


4 posted on 06/03/2011 10:55:46 AM PDT by Qbert ("The best defense against usurpatory government is an assertive citizenry" - William F. Buckley, Jr.)
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To: Qbert
Arguably...


5 posted on 06/03/2011 10:58:07 AM PDT by null and void (We are now in day 862 of our national holiday from reality. - Obama really isn't one of us)
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To: All; Whosoever
Is "unemployment" somebody getting paid by the government.. -OR-
All the people that don't have a JOB?..

The very language is twisted by democrats..
The people without JOBS is far higher than 10%...

Americans are getting Brain Washed.. and they DON'T CARE..

HOW BOUT you... DO you CARE?..

6 posted on 06/03/2011 11:04:43 AM PDT by hosepipe (This propaganda has been edited to include some fully orbed hyperbole...)
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To: Qbert

they’ve taken to flat out lying now

and they won’t be called on it.

the media would never do that, as it would be impolite to talk with their mouth full


7 posted on 06/03/2011 11:08:58 AM PDT by sten (fighting tyranny never goes out of style)
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To: Qbert

Table A-15. Alternative measures of labor underutilization

HOUSEHOLD DATA
Table A-15. Alternative measures of labor underutilization
[Percent]
Measure Not seasonally adjusted Seasonally adjusted
May
2010
Apr.
2011
May
2011
May
2010
Jan.
2011
Feb.
2011
Mar.
2011
Apr.
2011
May
2011

U-1 Persons unemployed 15 weeks or longer, as a percent of the civilian labor force

5.9 5.5 5.5 5.8 5.5 5.3 5.3 5.1 5.3

U-2 Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs, as a percent of the civilian labor force

5.7 5.2 5.1 6.0 5.6 5.4 5.4 5.3 5.4

U-3 Total unemployed, as a percent of the civilian labor force (official unemployment rate)

9.3 8.7 8.7 9.6 9.0 8.9 8.8 9.0 9.1

U-4 Total unemployed plus discouraged workers, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus discouraged workers

10.0 9.2 9.2 10.3 9.6 9.5 9.4 9.5 9.5

U-5 Total unemployed, plus discouraged workers, plus all other persons marginally attached to the labor force, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force

10.6 10.1 10.0 10.9 10.7 10.5 10.3 10.4 10.3

U-6 Total unemployed, plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force

16.1 15.5 15.4 16.5 16.1 15.9 15.7 15.9 15.8

NOTE: Persons marginally attached to the labor force are those who currently are neither working nor looking for work but indicate that they want and are available for a job and have looked for work sometime in the past 12 months. Discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached, have given a job-market related reason for not currently looking for work. Persons employed part time for economic reasons are those who want and are available for full-time work but have had to settle for a part-time schedule. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.

U6 is 15.8% and THAT is understated because people interested in working have quit looking.

The reality is much worse than what we are being told.


8 posted on 06/03/2011 11:21:29 AM PDT by Anti-Bubba182
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To: Qbert
Bureau of Labor Statistics - Employment Situation Summary For May, 2011

Nonfarm payroll employment changed little (+54,000) in May, and the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 9.1 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job gains continued in professional and business services, health care, and mining. Employment levels in other major private-sector industries were little changed, and local government employment continued to decline.

Household Survey Data

The number of unemployed persons (13.9 million) and the unemployment rate (9.1 percent) were essentially unchanged in May. The labor force, at 153.7 million, was little changed over the month.

In May, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) increased by 361,000 to 6.2 million; their share of unemployment increased to 45.1 percent.

Alternative measures of labor underutilization for May 2011
(not seasonably adjusted / seasonably adjusted)

U-1 = 5.9% / 5.3%
Persons unemployed 15 weeks or longer, as a percent of the civilian labor force

U-2 = 5.7% / 5.4%
Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs, as a percent of the civilian labor force

U-3 = 9.3% / 9.1%
Total unemployed, as a percent of the civilian labor force (official unemployment rate)

U-4 = 10.0% / 9.5%
Total unemployed plus discouraged workers, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus discouraged workers

U-5 = 10.6% / 10.3%
Total unemployed, plus discouraged workers, plus all other persons marginally attached to the labor force, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force

U-6 = 16.1% / 15.8%
Total unemployed, plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force

Note:

Persons marginally attached to the labor force are those who currently are neither working nor looking for work but indicate that they want and are available for a job and have looked for work sometime in the past 12 months.

Discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached, have given a job-market related reason for not currently looking for work.

Persons employed part time for economic reasons are those who want and are available for full-time work but have had to settle for a part-time schedule.


9 posted on 06/03/2011 11:23:17 AM PDT by Iron Munro (The purpose of fighting is to win. There is no possible victory in defense. -- John Steinbeck)
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To: Qbert

More like 21% unemployment.

LLS


10 posted on 06/03/2011 11:32:17 AM PDT by LibLieSlayer ("If you lie hard enough and sell your soul... you can scam your way to the top" barack obama)
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To: Qbert
The lie was that it ever got down below 9% but they needed to lie in order to make Obama's "recovery" look like it was working. Over the past few months, they've been unable to sustain that lie so they are inching up to 9.0 and now 9.1.

If you look at all the other data, it's nowhere close to those numbers.

11 posted on 06/03/2011 12:02:37 PM PDT by OrangeHoof (Washington, we Texans want a divorce!)
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To: Qbert

It’s more like in the 20% range.


12 posted on 06/03/2011 12:25:52 PM PDT by freekitty (Give me back my conservative vote; then find me a real conservative to vote for)
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To: Anti-Bubba182
...U6 is 15.8% and THAT is understated because people interested in working have quit looking.

The reality is much worse than what we are being told.


with some quick math, if you add in those not counted in the Civilian Labor Force who want a job NOW, you get ~20% unemployment.
13 posted on 06/03/2011 12:57:28 PM PDT by algernonpj (He who pays the piper . . .)
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To: scooby321

“I bet in some Democratic circles that if things don’t get better they might have a challenger for him.”

I concur; the Dem candidates for other offices can’t just lose/throw away their careers without a whimper. I think they’ll find a token white male Dem to run in his stead.


14 posted on 06/03/2011 1:31:41 PM PDT by kearnyirish2
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To: hosepipe

“Americans are getting Brain Washed.. and they DON’T CARE..”

The Americans out of work (as well as everyone they know) care, and know the truth.


15 posted on 06/03/2011 1:33:20 PM PDT by kearnyirish2
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To: algernonpj

Either the BLS is dishonest OR the situation has made their data collection methods ineffective.


16 posted on 06/03/2011 2:10:58 PM PDT by Anti-Bubba182
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To: Anti-Bubba182
Either the BLS is dishonest OR the situation has made their data collection methods ineffective.

It is my understanding the the BLS unemployment data is the least corrupted of all government data. That being said,

1. the birth and death model used on payroll data looks to work very poorly in our current situation. The vaunted +54,000 is the payroll figure after being adjusted by +206,000!

2. the data is present in many formats, and much is 'hidden in plain sight'. The MSM and administration choose to concentrate on that which makes them look the least bad.
17 posted on 06/03/2011 3:19:29 PM PDT by algernonpj (He who pays the piper . . .)
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