Unemployment figure tells just part of story

AP ^ | June 1, 2003 | Adam Geller

[JoeSchem]

Any advice on how to get a job like that? I work at a temp agency for $8-$9, and the jobs employ only half the time and they always seem to involve heavy lifting. So part time minimum wage is looking pretty good right now.

[MacDorcha]

well, i myself just made myself known to all the small biz owners in my town, and became friends with them as i could. once it came down to me needing some cash, they gladdly hired me because they knew me. if you have any stores you frequent to the point that the manager knows you on good terms, try there. if not, look for any building projects in a business sector. apply soon and often, just like any other time, but show up on the site periodically and see if you can meet the owners or a rep from that biz. i have an office depot opening near me, and so far i know 14 people who are getting jobs there. or, if you feel it isnt below you, try a grocery store. most of the time they arent as hurt by this sort of turn down as other places may be. this is largely because we all eat. so in summary, just be known, try often, and dont act like a part time job is the end of the world.

[MacDorcha]

i get paid $8 and hour at the part time job, and $7 as the clerk. on average, i work about 30 hours a week each.

[anniegetyourgun]

Okay, I take it back. Let me help you: The USA is a hateful, backwards, loser country - and it's all W's fault. Does that fit your worldview a bit better?

[arete]

In other words this article is just another attempt by the liberal media to make things look worse than they really are.

If anything, the media is simply pushing the government propaganda line. Things really are much worse than they are telling us.

Richard W.

[A. Pole]

Okay, I take it back. Let me help you: The USA is a hateful, backwards, loser country - and it's all W's fault. Does that fit your worldview a bit better?

It is you who take pride from America being a better place than Chad or Uganda.

[anniegetyourgun]

Yep. We run a better nation....based on better foundational documents.

[Z10N157]

Technically the recession IS gone. The jobs have left and they might not be comeing back.

[Z10N157]

"He said that the markets like other non-tech businesses are not hiring laid off high tech workers because they are afraid that the worker will return to the high tech industry should and when the economy turns around."

That's because they will. :)

[ChadGore]

Let's take these one at a time.
. . only counts those people who have made an effort to look for a job in the last four weeks.

True, however I believe that someone that falls outside this 4 week window, not seeking work for a month or more, could best be distribed as "not working", that is, expending 160 hours a month to not activly employing themselves. BTW, I've often wondered, do the unemployment numbers cover independantly wealthy? If someone just sold all the MSFT they've had for the last 20 years, theey're not looking for a job anytime soon.

Re:It does not count the substantial number of Americans who have gone back to school because they can't find a job.
Students are employed as students, full time, sacrificing their time to furthur themselves and make the grade. To call them unemployed would be a disservice to our society as a whole.

... or those who have taken a part-time job for much less pay.

If your looking for a statistic to describe the number "Joyfully employed" the USA unemployment number isn't it.

It does not include people who, unable to find work, have set themselves up in their own businesses, many as home-based consultants.

This is the way a liberal despribes the next Apple computers or the next Hewlet Packard. Distainful.

And it does not count people who have become so demoralized that they've just given up looking. Again, the numer makes no effort to clarify any of these, nor should it:

1)"Joyfully employed"
2)"Enthusiastic joyfully employed"
3) "Orgasmic enthusiastic joyfully employed"
4) "So overwhelmingly wealthy, I skip to work through a field of daisies"

[clamper1797]

That's because they will. :)

Of course they will ... it's just that little 1-2 years out of work that's the problem

[MacDorcha]

then a techy should have no problem with these employers who claim that the biggest fear is them getting their old jobs back.

[John123]

The want ads of 1998 had three pages of programmer ads. Now it has three columns. So stop babbling.

What does this tell you? Could it be because programer jobs are just not there anymore? You can blame high tech jobs being exported and/or you can blame illegal aliens. Perhaps people need to find another skill that has a demand instead of waiting for a comeback that just may never happen.

[Prolifeconservative]

Since these numbers were release the markets are BULLISH! That says it all.

Here's something to try at home with your kids: Say the word "BULLISH" real fast ten times and it starts to come out BUSH.

Mere coincidence?

[Willie Green]

Say the word "BULLISH" real fast ten times and it starts to come out BUSH.

Sounds like a close homonym for BS to me.

Mere coincidence?

Probably. But if the shoe fits...

[AHerald]

It does not include people who, unable to find work, have set themselves up in their own businesses, many as home-based consultants.

Sorry to hear that some on this board are having a rough time. I started my own business, computer consulting and writing specialized small business applications in VB, last summer and have been blessed with more work than I can possibly handle. For the past six months, in particular, there's been a disconnect between the doom and gloom economic news reports and my own experience.

[Prolifeconservative]

I'm confused.....what shoe?