Observed by experts that the September 7.8% unemployment rate is a rare silver lining turned inside-out on unchanged economic storm clouds. One even made this concession, "...[Y]ou could argue that a lot of people stepped out of the workforce because they are discouraged. Gov. Romney is making that point. He is overstating the point, but it is a valid one.” (Mark Zandi of Moody’s)
Look at Saturday’s Philadelphia Enquirer report by Linda Loyd “A jobs stunner: Unemployment rate dips to 7.8%.” Her article opens with this paragraph:
“With just a month before the presidential election, the U.S. unemployment rate unexpectedly fell to 7.8 percent in September, dipping below 8 percent for the first time since January 2009.”
For a liberal - in the tank for Obama - MSM operation like the Philadelphia Enquirer that headline translates to “Give us a break! What are you really peddling here?”
Included in the hard-hitting analysis about the real meaning of yesterday’s “7.8%” BLS unemployment figure for September, the Philly Enquirer cited several economists to put it all into a real world context. The first, Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, said the following:
“While the latest numbers ‘strongly suggest the labor market continues to improve, the world hasn't changed as much as the data suggests.... *** The decline in the unemployment rate overstates the improvement in the labor market.... There was a big increase in employment related to part-timers, who are working part-time because of economic reasons. They couldn't find a full-time job. *** It's more statistical than real....The number of part-timers will drop again in October, and [the unemployment rate] will almost assuredly rise back closer to 8 percent’."
Also mentioned as a significant factor in arriving at the 7.8% unemployment figure is the huge increase in part-time employment. According to Nigel Gault, chief U.S. economist for IHS Global Insight, who was quoted in Linda Loyd’s article, "The [DOL/BLS] report is highly significant politically because it sent the unemployment rate back down to 7.8 percent, the same as in January 2009, when President Obama took office." However, Nigel Gault also pointed out that, “The number of people with part-time jobs who wanted full-time work rose from 8 million in August to 8.6 million in September. *** Manufacturing jobs fell by 16,000. The decline was spread across industries, including computer and electronics, printing and automotive. *** Although the unemployment rate fell, the so-called under-employment rate [U6] - part-time workers who would prefer full-time jobs and people who want to work but have given up looking - held at 14.7 percent...”
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