Welcome to Jobless America

Townhall.com ^ | January 25, 2014 | Jeff Crouere

[Kaslin]

It is becoming laughable to hear the Obama administration talk about a so-called “recovery.” Supposedly, this “recovery” started in June of 2009; however, in reality our economy is on life support and the latest jobs figures just confirm this horrible news.

In the government’s December labor report, the nation’s unemployment rate dropped to 6.7 percent, which is our lowest rate since October of 2008. While this may be heralded as good news, it is truly disturbing. Unfortunately, only 74,000 new jobs were added last month, the worst job growth numbers since January of 2011.

This is anemic job creation, a fraction of the 200,000+ new jobs needed each month just to keep pace with the nation’s population growth. It is even more shocking since most analysts predicted approximately 193,000 new jobs in December.

Even worse, of the new jobs, 40,000 were temporary positions, not what wage earners need to care for their families. Not surprisingly, the average work week for Americans dropped to only 34.4 hours. So, there are few full time jobs being created and on average Americans are working less. No wonder there are 47 million Americans on food stamps and over 50 million people who are considered poor.

The reason the unemployment rate dropped is that an astounding 347,000 Americans left the work force in December. This means that 5 times more Americans exited the labor pool than located new jobs. Our country now has 91.8 million Americans not in the work force. These are Americans who are receiving benefits, living off their savings or living on the streets. Many of these Americans have given up any hope of finding work and for these poor individuals; the hope of the American dream is over.

We cannot have a “recovery” with no jobs. There can be no “recovery” with a labor force participation rate of only 62.8 percent, the lowest level since 1978. In December, the country’s civilian labor force dropped to 154.9 million. This is occurring at the same time that the population is increasing to 317 million.

If the labor force participation rate was the same today as it was at the start of the Obama administration, the nation’s unemployment rate would be over 11 percent. If that were the case, experts would be worried about an economic “crisis” and not boasting about a “recovery.”

There could be even worse news in future months. Due to Obamacare, the healthcare industry will face a severe crisis. In December, 6,000 healthcare jobs were lost, the first time in 10 years that there have been any losses in healthcare. This trend will likely accelerate in 2014 as the truly disastrous policies of Obamacare are implemented.

If the President was truly concerned about the economy, he would immediately halt the onslaught of Obamacare and start working on pro-growth policies of tax and budget reform and sensible energy policies such as construction of the Keystone pipeline. Sadly, the President is still committed to pro government, anti-growth positions that exacerbated these problems in the first place.

While the administration claims that “Happy Days are Here Again,” the reality is that our economic clouds are darkening and a major storm is coming our way.

[NEPA]

My job turned into a part time job. I've been seriously looking for work for about 18 months and have had 2 interviews both of which went so well I thought I would be hired.

Age is certainly a factor, I'll be 58 in April.

I'm in CDL school; not because I really want to drive a truck but because that's what's out there right now.

But will companies hire a 58 year old female new driver fresh out of school? It won't be easy but I'm determined to get a full time job.

[NEPA]

BTW, there's a federal program called Work Investment Act (WIA) administered through county employment offices that will help re train workers. The money available is $3500-$5000 per person. Urban counties get more than rural.

You have to go to workshops and jump through some hoops. The program has to be on an approved list through an approved school. It can be used toward certain college degree programs or like me pay the full ride for something like commercial driving. The approved training is only for jobs that actually have a future.

Its a program that actually makes sense since the retrained workers will pay that money back in income taxes.

[cynwoody]

China now sells 300 trillion more to America, than America sells to China.

Last year, Trader Joe's sold $1300 more to cynwoody than cynwoody sold to Trader Joe's ($0).

So, my economic situation must be dire? Right?

[kearnyirish2]

I’m glad you were able to find something stable; that is good news. I understand people have to be realistic, but it is hard to adjust to current wages if you have a mortgage or debt from the “before-times”. Many FReepers would say never borrow money, which is great (if impractical) advice; there would rarely be a home or new vehicle sold again.

You are right that this is a depression; recession is an understatement and recovery an insult. The Dems together have destroyed the WASP ethic of this country; their policies have already suppressed the WASP demographic.