Sharp plunge in U.S. jobs (Media wishing recession on us alert)

CBS Marketwatch ^ | 04/04/03 | Rex Nutting

[P.O.E.]

Convulsed?

Plunge?

Appalling economic conditions?

Don't forget, the media kept up the recession drumbeat for a year before the 1992 election. If they whisper it enough, it eventually will seep into decision-making by consumers.

Not to deny the economy is sluggish and markets are down. Just wanted to point out the Dems are trying to move the discussion to the economy, brow-beating Bush at every turn. The media is only all too willing to spread exaggerated bad news.

Keep your eyes open for it.

[Eowyn-of-Rohan]

Here we go! Now....what to do with the millions of illegal aliens who came here to take the jobs "we didn't want"?

[Tai_Chung]

Don't forget "destroyed"

[LS]

Every time the price of oil goes down, the GNP goes up. I think the ratio is $10 drop=1% increase in GNP, but it may be $5=1%. The market knows this. The market also knows that this war has saved approximately $310 BILLION according to one study of what we would have had to put up in enforcement costs; containment of Iraq; and losses in human capital in Iraq itself.

Moreover, this war will open up (slightly at first) still newer markets for U.S. goods.

[Steven W.]

The nation's unemployment rate remained at 5.8 percent

higher than any would like but news that rate remains the same is reported as a plunge! if they weren't so transparent it would be funny.

[Mini-14]

You have projected your own views of the media by mis-naming the title. There is nothing to indicate that the media "wishes" for a recession. The article is news, and nothing more.

[LS]

Yes, it is way too high. But remarkable given that we are at war---but not a "total war" that would employ everyone---and that we are still recovering from 9/11, and that the rest of the world is in recession.

I'm not as optimistic as I was, mainly because I don't see where the tech sector will break through---but that's probably a good sign, since if I could see it, I'd already be rich!

[Coop]

The article is news, and nothing more.

By your comment I can only assume you didn't read the article. This author was not simply reporting the news, but getting an early start on his novel.

[Doctor Stochastic]

This author was not simply reporting the news, but getting an early start on his novel.

Are you accusing the author of lying about the unemployment figures?

[MonroeDNA]

The sub-title was spot on.

Only a matter of moments before the usual suspects here show up, too.

[Timesink]

Don't forget "destroyed"

Someone needs to email this jerk's editor and tell him to tighten up on this guy.

[Coop]

Are you accusing the author of lying about the unemployment figures?

No.

[Marianne]

     The jobless rate remained at 5.8 percent because 267,000 Americans dropped out of the labor force. Nearly a million Americans dropped out in the first quarter.
"     The jobless rate failed to rise only because many unemployed workers stopped actively looking for jobs (a necessary condition to be included in the Labor Department's official labor force count)," said Jade Zelnik, chief economist at RBS Greenwich Capital. "This leaves little doubt that the underlying trend for joblessness is still upward."
     More troubling, the number of Americans who currently want a job but are not actively looking because they are discouraged jumped by 558,000 in March to 5.02 million.

What is the actual unemployment rate if the number of workers, who have stopped actively looking for jobs, is included in the official count?

[Grampa Dave]

Rex Nutting is the typical left wing lunatic playing economic reporter on the Clintoon Bull $hite net.

Our unemployment is the best of any nation. France and Germany are over 12%.

Notice how these CBS maggots of gloom and doom never talk about the unemployment of other countries.

CBS is a propaganda arm of the US Internal Axis of Evil.

[RnMomof7]

I believe traditionally war increased employment , it did not decrease it.

How can the "unemployment" stats remain constant when jobs are being elimated?
Common sense says if there are fewer places of employment then the unempolyment stats must be higher..

Could be the way we count who is "unemployed"

[familyofman]

How can the "unemployment" stats remain constant when jobs are being elimated? The number of people who have been unemployed so long that they've given up looking (5.8 million) just keeps on growing.
It's almost a question of what unemployed - is.

[Steven W.]

How can the "unemployment" stats remain constant when jobs are being elimated?

because they're two sides of the coin - new jobs are created while others are eliminated, in this case the net offset negated each other (but is errantly described as a "plunge" out of apparent bias by the author)

[familyofman]

"new jobs are created while others are eliminated, in this case the net offset negated each other " in a manner of speaking. The calculation of "unemployed" involves a number of metrics; size of available workforce, number of jobs filled, new jobs created, jobs eliminated. For most analysts the unemployment rate is a useful number, but is not as important as the "net jobs created" - which fell again. The current estimate is that there has been a net loss of over 2.4 million jobs over the last 2 years.
Not included in the analysis is the fact that the avaolable labor pool was decreased by the number of National Guard & Reserves called up - no one has a real good handle on that because it's not normally considered. There was what is known as the "jobless recovery" of the early nineties where the unemployment rate remained constant even while jobs were being created.

[warchild9]

The wife just attended a meeting with a Commerce official who explained rather dryly that the IT industry is now going the same way as textiles: programming jobs are moving to India, Russia and...Viet Nam. We're covering the cost through federally-subsidized insurance, business loss guarantees, etc. You Bots can cheer Bush and pat each other's behinds as much as you want, but the Republic is gasping and twitching...

[Jhoffa_]

The nation's unemployment rate remained at 5.8 percent, with 8.45 million Americans officially looking for work.

I seem to remember statistics claiming between 8 & 10 million illegals currently within our borders.

Ain't that something?