It's 'Disturbing' How Fast The Unemployment Rate Is Falling

BI ^ | 2-7-2014 | Rob Wile

[blam]

It's 'Disturbing' How Fast The Unemployment Rate Is Falling

Rob Wile
Feb. 7, 2014, 10:50 AM

Yikes.

The unemployment rate is falling really fast.

This morning, we learned it had declined to 6.6% — the 23rd-straight month without an increase. As Brooking's and UMichigan's Justin Wolfers observes, the rate has dropped 1.3% over the past year — an insane acceleration from 2012's decline of just 0.3%.

"Only three other times in the past six decades has the unemployment rate fallen this far this fast: in the early 1950s, when growth averaged 6.7% per annum; in the late 1970s when GDP growth averaged 4.8%, and in the mid-1980s when growth averaged 5.2%," said Gluskin Sheff's David Rosenberg to the U.S. Senate Budget Committee earlier this week.

In those other three instances, growth was robust. This time around, he says, we should probably be concerned about what's causing the plunge.

"Today we accomplished this feat with only 2.4% growth which is disturbing because it means that it is not taking much in the way of incremental economic activity to drain valuable resources out of the labor market," Rosenberg continued.

(snip)

(snip)

[Bob]

I’d use the word “unbelievable” rather than “disturbing”.