Patterico's Pontifications

11/2/2012

UNEMPLOYMENT RISES!!!

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 7:04 am



Big Media is already giving tendentious headlines that make the report sound great, so why not give a tendentious headline that makes it sound extra dismal?

The basic actual facts are, unemployment ticked up a tenth of a point, and job creation was decent but still barely beat what you need to keep up with population increases. Yet here is the spin:

Businesses picked up their pace of hiring in October and the unemployment rate rose as more people started looking for work, according to new government data that offer a glimmer of optimism for the long-ailing job market on the eve of the presidential election.

Employers reported adding 171,000 jobs in October, beating both analysts’ expectations (125,000 jobs added) and September’s job creation (a revised 148,000).

The unemployment rate rose to 7.9 percent, up from 7.8 percent, but the reason behind the uptick also points to improvement in the labor market. Some 578,000 more Americans counted themselves as part of the labor force, and only 410,000 more people reported having a job. In one welcome sign, the proportion of the population reporting that they had a job rose one-tenth of a percent to 58.8 percent. The Labor Department counts only those with jobs or looking for jobs as among the U.S. workforce.

Woo-hoo! More Americans count themselves as unemployed. This is good because it takes them out of the ranks of those who have totally given up. It’s nice to have this context — but where was the context when they had totally given up, and they weren’t counted as part of the unemployment numbers?

In truth, the big picture is that the record of this president still sucks. He said he was going to have us at 5.2%. We’re not quite there, huh?

Say it with me: one term proposition!

57 Responses to “UNEMPLOYMENT RISES!!!”

  1. SCOAMF?

    nk (875f57) — 11/2/2012 @ 7:07 am

  2. Woo-hoo! More Americans count themselves as unemployed. This is good because it takes them out of the ranks of those who have totally given up.

    I agree, but it’s funny how this becomes relevant or ignored, depending on whether it favors Obama or not.

    Dustin (73fead) — 11/2/2012 @ 7:08 am

  3. plus also this is a foretaste of how the rate will rise under president Romney as people what were discouraged by food stamp’s uselessness start looking for work again

    happyfeet (e5eb5a) — 11/2/2012 @ 7:21 am

  4. Be assured that this illuminating context will be swiftly forgotten during the first six months of the Romney presidency.

    Pious Agnostic (7c3d5b) — 11/2/2012 @ 7:26 am

  5. ZOMFG Obama created over 700,000 in the last 4 months. People are flooding back into the labor market, in droves. You rethuglikkkans are rooting against America.

    JD (d2dac5) — 11/2/2012 @ 7:30 am

  6. All we will hear is how unemployment is larger under Mittens due to the MSM twist of the context of numbers. Everybody should remember the reporting during W, ‘sure, unemployment is dropping, but they are all low paying hamburger flipping type jobs, low wage jobs’, which is exactly what we have now. I don’t want a middle aged and up person asking ‘do you want everything on that’. It’s disturbing.

    Rich (b2e8a5) — 11/2/2012 @ 7:32 am

  7. Under Romney 7.9% and 14.3% will be totally unacceptable by our enlightened media. Think of the cries of RACIST!!!! By C. Matthews & Co. should this number come up.

    Ipso Fatso (1e3278) — 11/2/2012 @ 7:40 am

  8. R.I.P. Arthur Jensen, the UC Berkeley professor who initiated the idea that genetics, not environment, is the reason why blacks score lower than whites on IQ tests
    — Mourn, ye racists!

    Icy (dced15) — 11/2/2012 @ 8:14 am

  9. IQ is what people who design IQ tests to measure IQ measures. They’re rose fertilizer.

    nk (875f57) — 11/2/2012 @ 8:31 am

  10. Arthur Jensen did not initiate the idea that genetics, not environment, is the reason why blacks score lower than whites (or Asians) on IQ tests. That idea is centuries old!

    Michael M. Keohane (cca8f0) — 11/2/2012 @ 8:32 am

  11. I doubt that n****s are any more dumber than P****s. Africa is a far more challenging environment than Poland.

    nk (875f57) — 11/2/2012 @ 8:33 am

  12. There are three components to inbred brains — the genes, the womb, the tit.

    nk (875f57) — 11/2/2012 @ 8:37 am

  13. Brightest, most geniusy, coooolest potus of all time. Fox news is reporting that a wealthy Columbia University donor was told that Choom had a 2.6 GPA. Surely he lies. So why does Urkel spend millions to hide his records? Payback is fair since the prick wants to intrude into everyone else’s lves, no? Of course some would say how could the dimbulb even manage to score that high? Or did all that ganja and coke have an impact?

    Calypso Louis Farrakhan (e799d8) — 11/2/2012 @ 8:44 am

  14. So,unexpectedly, the latest jobs report shows an increase in jobs for October and revised increases for August and September. This means President Obama can really claim things are looking up. Was this one of the Administration’s October surprises? If so, it may be too late.

    DRJ (a83b8b) — 11/2/2012 @ 8:46 am

  15. Tendentious [sic] headline at your link

    “Job growth, unemployment rate rose “

    sleeeepy (b5f718) — 11/2/2012 @ 8:49 am

  16. Just wait until the stimulative effects of rebuilding from Hurricane Sandy kick in! Destroying wealth is actually good for the U.S. economy and we could use several more catastrophic events to jump start employment. People like Paul Krugman and sleeeepy explain the theory much better.

    daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 11/2/2012 @ 8:56 am

  17. Valerie Jarret wants to be re-elected but I doubt Obama does. His retirement will be curious — not very interesting.

    We cannot cut a President’s salary, but we can deny him a pension, and if anybody deserves having his pension cut it’s this mother-exploiter.

    nk (875f57) — 11/2/2012 @ 8:58 am

  18. #3, perhaps more damning to Obama is the fact that there are so few people re-entering the workforce so late in the “recovery”.

    There should be as many new jobs each month as there were pink slips on the way down. But we are not even up to replacement numbers.

    Stagnant and drifting, with the world waiting for us to lead them. God help us if this fool is re-elected.

    Kevin M (bf8ad7) — 11/2/2012 @ 9:01 am

  19. can people what can’t be bothered to attempt to “re-enter the workforce” rouse themselves enough to vote either way I wonder

    happyfeet (311d2c) — 11/2/2012 @ 9:10 am

  20. Substitution for Pillman, sleazy!

    Media Mutters (721840) — 11/2/2012 @ 10:05 am

  21. Unemployed and seeking a job, or unemployed and not-seeking; it shouldn’t matter to the stats:
    You’re still UNEMPLOYED!

    The real number of all those without jobs in the available work-force is 11%+.
    The real scandal is that the work-force participation rate is at a 30+years low.

    Four and Gone!

    AD-Restore the Republic/Obama Sucks! (b8ab92) — 11/2/2012 @ 10:18 am

  22. Comment by DRJ — 11/2/2012 @ 8:46 am

    Too Little, and Way Too Late!

    The Domestic Economy shows the results of Leading From Behind, too.

    AD-Restore the Republic/Obama Sucks! (b8ab92) — 11/2/2012 @ 10:23 am

  23. Arthur Jensen did not initiate the idea that genetics, not environment, is the reason why blacks score lower than whites (or Asians) on IQ tests. That idea is centuries old!
    Comment by Michael M. Keohane — 11/2/2012 @ 8:32 am

    — Okay, can we say that he was the initial member of modern-day academia that prominently promoted this notion with no discernible racial animus behind his findings? [Not that this in any way means that his conclusions were correct.]

    Icy (dced15) — 11/2/2012 @ 10:31 am

  24. Bill Clinton: ‘I May Be The Only Person In America, But I’m More Excited About Obama This Time’.
    — Next Tuesday may well prove him right.

    Icy (dced15) — 11/2/2012 @ 10:36 am

  25. He actually said “I am far more enthusiastic.” And, of course, how you interpret “only person” depends on the definition of “is” — or something.

    Icy (dced15) — 11/2/2012 @ 10:43 am

  26. Agreed! Before playing the “race card,” you should carefully consider the arguement and the evidence presented. The truth can and will hurt but, in the long run, denying the truth is worse. One of the reasons for the mortgage mess was the false message that African Americans & Hispanics were being denied mortgages for racial reasons. This was possible because two important pieces of information were omitted. The first piece was that Asian-Americans received the most mortages, White-Americans came in second, followed by African-Americans with Hispanic-Americans dead last. The other important datum was the default rate – if the imbalance was due to racism, the default rates of African-Americans & Hispanic-Americans would be substantially lower than that of either Asian-Americans or White-Americans. That neither the Civil Rights groups or their politician & media allies ever mentioned the Asian-American’s position or the default rates means only one thing – their case was fraudulent from the beginning,

    Michael M. Keohane (cca8f0) — 11/2/2012 @ 10:53 am

  27. can people what can’t be bothered to attempt to “re-enter the workforce” rouse themselves enough to vote either way I wonder

    Well, with Barney Franks offering them “free” medical care in a second term, maybe. Especially if it includes medical marijuana.

    Kevin M (bf8ad7) — 11/2/2012 @ 11:19 am

  28. Here is Obama’s One Term proposition in raw numbers drawn from BLS tables:

    Total Non-Farm Employment, Seasonally Adjusted:
    Jan, 2009 133,561,000
    Oct, 2012 133,755,000

    We have added 194,000 jobs to US employment, net, in nearly four years.

    Esau's Message (72b8e3) — 11/2/2012 @ 11:29 am

  29. A bit more on Obama’s One Term proposition, again in raw numbers drawn from BLS tables:

    Civilian Non-institutional Population, over 16 years, not in labor force:

    Feb. 2009 60,512,000
    Oct. 2012 69,795,000

    That’s 9,283,000 more people not in the labor force, net.

    Esau's Message (72b8e3) — 11/2/2012 @ 11:48 am

  30. Economists: These employment gains are implausibly high.

    DRJ (a83b8b) — 11/2/2012 @ 12:51 pm

  31. I’m excited! I think it’s gonna happen for the Mittster.

    I sort of wish I could fly out of the Gulag CA to actually celebrate.

    Patricia (e1d89d) — 11/2/2012 @ 12:52 pm

  32. Pethokoukis’ translation: “Unemployment is headed back to the 8% level after the election.”

    DRJ (a83b8b) — 11/2/2012 @ 12:52 pm

  33. Ten people. Six have jobs. Four don’t. Thanks Voters 2008!

    Birdbath (716828) — 11/2/2012 @ 1:33 pm

  34. DRJ- Probably higher if Mitt requires the BLS to use real accounting, and key the UE #’s to the WorkForce Participation Rate.

    AD-Restore the Republic/Obama Sucks! (b8ab92) — 11/2/2012 @ 1:59 pm

  35. Just got back from early voting at the City Hall in my Peoples’ Republic. It took 80 minutes and there 120 people in front of me when I arrived. Normally I like to listen to stupid lib talkers bray while they wait to vote, but the mood this year was considerably different than in 2008 and 2010. It was very quiet and somber, almost funereal.

    Suh-weeeet!

    daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 11/2/2012 @ 3:15 pm

  36. bitter Last Days of
    Teh Paleomedia
    Rest In Pieces y’all

    Colonel Haiku (4fa8e9) — 11/2/2012 @ 4:19 pm

  37. CBS News Radio calls Stuart Rothenberg a “political analyst” as they turn to him for analysis of these numbers. Calling 0bama Superfan/Democrat strategist Rothenberg a political analyst is akin to calling Josef Stalin a gentle grandfather.

    Colonel Haiku (4fa8e9) — 11/2/2012 @ 4:23 pm

  38. Looking at all the gas lines, somebody in charge is going to lose his job. If you don’t drill and don’t allow new refineries, you don’t have enough gas when the fecal matter hits the cooling device. Suddenly those EVIL oil companies are not such awful guys when we need gas.The One could not run a 2 ca funeral nor a lemonade stand, much less a country.

    It still won’t be enough to turn the NY/NJ aren’t blue, but Pennsylvania might. And if that happens, GAME OVER. Preference cascade here we go.

    Bugg (c8b43a) — 11/2/2012 @ 4:59 pm

  39. Jim Hoft has an article that says 20,000-30,000 people showed up for a Romney rally in Ohio today-his largest to date– and Jim has posted a picture that tends to substantiate the crowd. Obama crowds in Ohio have been significantly smaller.

    http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2012/11/wow-20000-30000-turn-out-to-see-romney-ryan-in-ohio-obama-draws-crowds-less-than-4000/

    elissa (d23274) — 11/2/2012 @ 5:07 pm

  40. Unemployment up, take home pay stagnate, savings dwindling and this nitwit wants four more years. A clean sweep on election day is needed to halt the insanity of the democrats.

    mg (31009b) — 11/2/2012 @ 5:10 pm

  41. ‘“We’ve made real progress,” Obama told a crowd in Hillard, Ohio’

    Yeah.

    On the road to full-blown communism.

    Dave Surls (46b08c) — 11/2/2012 @ 5:17 pm

  42. There’s a Romney-Ryan event in Ohio right now. You can watch it live at this Right Scoop link. Ryan is speaking now.

    DRJ (a83b8b) — 11/2/2012 @ 5:27 pm

  43. 75 times more Food stamp recipients than new job creation. That’s the Obama legacy.

    SPQR (768505) — 11/2/2012 @ 5:37 pm

  44. cnn has a chick in a high school gym covering obama, bitching and moaning about Mitt’s line about chinese Jeeps. They are starting to unravel. Time for popcorn with butter and crispy shallots on top.

    mg (31009b) — 11/2/2012 @ 5:39 pm

  45. DRJ–thanks for the link, I have it playing on another window. Frankly, I can’t believe how good Mitt looks and sounds this late in the day and this late in the campaign. Voice strong, positive message, energetic movements, his face and eyes look relaxed and rested. He asks America to vote for love of country. I like that.

    elissa (d23274) — 11/2/2012 @ 5:52 pm

  46. 75 times more Food stamp recipients than new job creatio

    Wow.

    For all the whining Obama gave us about what he inherited, he sure as hell left Romney a mess to clean up.

    Dustin (73fead) — 11/2/2012 @ 5:56 pm

  47. Dustin, if Obama is reelected, think of how he’ll blame the economic performance in 2013 on the mess he inherited in January of 2013 …

    SPQR (768505) — 11/2/2012 @ 6:16 pm

  48. Crispy shallots on top? Is that a thing?

    Patricia (e1d89d) — 11/2/2012 @ 7:53 pm

  49. Jobs added: 171,000 (which will undoubtedly be revised down)
    Jobs lost: 170,000
    Net job gain: 1,000 (actually thousands of jobs lost, after the inevitable revision down)

    This is the “modest” economic improvement that the media is so eager to fluff Obama up over.

    deepelemblues (6d66f6) — 11/2/2012 @ 8:14 pm

  50. I just watched Nightline so you don’t have to.

    The media is pulling out the big guns for race warfare.

    It breaks my heart, but it’s all it has at this point.

    Ag80 (b2c81f) — 11/2/2012 @ 9:03 pm

  51. Ag80,

    It’s going to backfire on them. People are tired of being called racist just because they disagree with someone politically. These lily white liberals that keep screaming racism are going to be surprised at the backlash Tuesday night.

    peedoffamerican (1563b7) — 11/2/2012 @ 9:35 pm

  52. _________________________________________

    The media is pulling out the big guns for race warfare.

    And woe to this nation if the MSM is having more impact than it has a right to. If it’s influencing the mindset of enough of the public to make it the ultimate sucker and sap.

    There’s one poll that I always take seriously, that I find the most interesting and reliable, namely because of its accuracy in the past. I’m referring to the one from Rasmussen. Their current results suggest this society has entered a phase of socio-political corruption, or, to be more specific, a form of laziness and left-leaning anomie that I associate with exhausted, marginal countries.

    Anything less than a substantial margin of victory for Romney on Tuesday should make everyone say “don’t cry for us, Argentina.”

    Mark (66bba6) — 11/2/2012 @ 11:13 pm

  53. Patricia – shallots add wonderful flavor to popcorn. As the oil in the kettle heats add the shallots, let the high heat do it’s thing add the popcorn, when all is popped top with butter and salt. Very tasty to me. Homegrown shallots and popcorn, so good.

    mg (31009b) — 11/3/2012 @ 12:29 am

  54. Also top a lobster roll with crispy shallots, or pork chops. You will love it.

    mg (31009b) — 11/3/2012 @ 2:44 am

  55. Odd/even gas rationing-welcome, back, Carter. NOW GET OUT!

    Barone calls it for Romney, handily. If by 9PM NH and PA are in Romney’s column it will be over earlier than most think. It’s not a given,but a strong possibility.

    http://washingtonexaminer.com/barone-going-out-on-a-limb-romney-wins-handily/article/2512470

    Bugg (c8b43a) — 11/3/2012 @ 5:29 am

  56. Thanks, mg!

    Patricia (e1d89d) — 11/3/2012 @ 9:22 am

  57. Here’s the brand new ad made overnight by the Romney people. It is called “Love of Country” and references comments he made in the awesome Ohio closing speech last evening that DRJ linked to (as usual) and about which I (as usual) opined. The ad has a clip of the current president earlier in the day telling his supporters to vote for revenge. Powerful stuff in just 30 seconds.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ShdiYQ1EHvA&feature=youtu.be

    elissa (3f3e6e) — 11/3/2012 @ 9:31 am


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