President Obama's highly-touted Recovery Summer continued to unravel as the US economy "unexpectedly" suffered a net loss of 131,000 jobs in July. However, the jobless rate, calculated separately via household surveys, remained steady at 9.5 percent as the size of the workforce declined proportionately. According to the survey, a growing number of unemployed have simply abandoned hope of procuring a job.
The drop in payrolls in last month is attributed primarily to the dismissal of nearly 143,000 temporary census workers. The private sector added a paltry 71,000 jobs, hardly evidence of an economic recovery.
Also continuing a troubling pattern, the previous month's employment data was downwardly adjusted. Payrolls in June actually fell by 221,000, far more than the 125,000 decline initially reported. The US economy lost 352,000 jobs in June and July. This figure presumes the July numbers will not be adjusted likewise.
The July report also reveals that a stunning 45 percent of the 14.7 milliion unemployed Americans have been out of work for longer than 6 months. Some have speculated that the repeated extension of unemployment benefits may be contributing to this figure. As many jobless do eventually lose their benefits, they are no longer counted in the unemployment figures. For this reason, the gap between the headline rate (the official unemployment rate per ILO definition, U-3) and the total unemployment rate (U-6) remains large as total unemployment holds steady at 16.5 percent.
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Comments (22)
I think a real recovery wil... (Below threshold)1. Posted by 914 | August 6, 2010 10:37 AM | Score: 13 (15 votes cast)
I think a real recovery will begin after November.
1. Posted by 914 | August 6, 2010 10:37 AM |
Score: 13 (15 votes cast)
Posted on August 6, 2010 10:37
2. Posted by recovered liberal democrat | August 6, 2010 10:50 AM | Score: 11 (11 votes cast)
People are being hurt by this regimes' policies and that is a very bad thing. The only silver lining to this dark cloud is that people will be so tired and disgusted with the liberals at every level of government, a liberal democrat dog catcher won't be elected.
2. Posted by recovered liberal democrat | August 6, 2010 10:50 AM |
Score: 11 (11 votes cast)
Posted on August 6, 2010 10:50
3. Posted by LeBron Steinman | August 6, 2010 10:56 AM | Score: 7 (7 votes cast)
"...as total unemployment holds steady at 16.5 percent."
Hey, you're mind isn't right per the Palace Guard Media.
It's "funemployment", dammit.
3. Posted by LeBron Steinman | August 6, 2010 10:56 AM |
Score: 7 (7 votes cast)
Posted on August 6, 2010 10:56
4. Posted by Pretzel Logic | August 6, 2010 11:09 AM | Score: 5 (5 votes cast)
rld I agree with you. I think they've gotten an up close look at liberalism and realize - it sucks-
also, I heard that during the depression, government jobs were NOT counted in the published figures. Anyone know if that's true?
4. Posted by Pretzel Logic | August 6, 2010 11:09 AM |
Score: 5 (5 votes cast)
Posted on August 6, 2010 11:09
5. Posted by Oyster | August 6, 2010 11:10 AM | Score: 7 (7 votes cast)
Not to worry, Alan. They'll do a much better job with your prostate come 2014.
5. Posted by Oyster | August 6, 2010 11:10 AM |
Score: 7 (7 votes cast)
Posted on August 6, 2010 11:10
6. Posted by irongrampa | August 6, 2010 11:11 AM | Score: 5 (5 votes cast)
If it weren't for the truly undeserving, I'd laugh my ass off watching and rooting for this to escalate.
Pity there isn't some way to exempt them.
6. Posted by irongrampa | August 6, 2010 11:11 AM |
Score: 5 (5 votes cast)
Posted on August 6, 2010 11:11
7. Posted by GarandFan | August 6, 2010 11:19 AM | Score: 7 (9 votes cast)
"This figure presumes the July numbers will not be adjusted likewise."
You can count on it.
Got to give Barry and Company credit. They're consistent. Consistently down. Orzog is gone. Romer is gone. Will Summers be next?
Come on NOVEMBER!
7. Posted by GarandFan | August 6, 2010 11:19 AM |
Score: 7 (9 votes cast)
Posted on August 6, 2010 11:19
8. Posted by ak4mc | August 6, 2010 11:40 AM | Score: 5 (5 votes cast)
8. Posted by ak4mc | August 6, 2010 11:40 AM |
Score: 5 (5 votes cast)
Posted on August 6, 2010 11:40
9. Posted by P. Bunyan | August 6, 2010 12:20 PM | Score: 10 (10 votes cast)
"I think a real recovery will begin after November."
Maybe November 2012, if we're really lucky.
The executive branch has been granted so much power (without oversite or accountability) in this last year and a half that even if the Republicans take one or both houses of congress this fall the only purpose they will serve is as someone for the press/administration to blame for all of Obama's destruction.
(note: I almost wrote "failures" instead of "destruction", but it's not really a failure if Obama wants it to happen. If our economy and country are destroyed Obama will consider that a success and an opportunity to "fundamentally transform" into the communist dictator he really wants to be.)
9. Posted by P. Bunyan | August 6, 2010 12:20 PM |
Score: 10 (10 votes cast)
Posted on August 6, 2010 12:20
10. Posted by Eric | August 6, 2010 12:50 PM | Score: 7 (7 votes cast)
It's funny now, but less than a year ago the conventional wisdom was that the Democrats would control the government for decades.
10. Posted by Eric | August 6, 2010 12:50 PM |
Score: 7 (7 votes cast)
Posted on August 6, 2010 12:50
11. Posted by Hank | August 6, 2010 12:55 PM | Score: 8 (8 votes cast)
And while the jobless continue to suffer here in the US, "a federal agency run by a hand-picked Obama appointee has launched a $36 million program to train workers, including 3,000 specialists in IT and related functions, in South Asia."
11. Posted by Hank | August 6, 2010 12:55 PM |
Score: 8 (8 votes cast)
Posted on August 6, 2010 12:55
12. Posted by Tsar Nicholas II | August 6, 2010 1:06 PM | Score: 6 (6 votes cast)
If this is a "recovery" then I'd sure as hell hate to see what the alternative would look like.
12. Posted by Tsar Nicholas II | August 6, 2010 1:06 PM |
Score: 6 (6 votes cast)
Posted on August 6, 2010 13:06
13. Posted by Roy | August 6, 2010 1:33 PM | Score: 6 (6 votes cast)
Eric - it just feels like it's been decades.
13. Posted by Roy | August 6, 2010 1:33 PM |
Score: 6 (6 votes cast)
Posted on August 6, 2010 13:33
14. Posted by GarandFan | August 6, 2010 2:11 PM | Score: 8 (8 votes cast)
Well since a little Obamanomics ain't working, the obvious cure is even MORE Obamanomics.
Let's up that national debt and SPEND our way to prosperity. I'm sure our Chinese masters will be good for say, another $6 TRILLION. We can even let Barney Frank roll the dice 'one more time'.
14. Posted by GarandFan | August 6, 2010 2:11 PM |
Score: 8 (8 votes cast)
Posted on August 6, 2010 14:11
15. Posted by Hank | August 6, 2010 3:32 PM | Score: 4 (4 votes cast)
From Contentions...
"Here is Speaker Nancy Pelosi's reaction to the dismal new unemployment numbers:
Today's report shows our teachers, police officers, firefighters, and nurses are still feeling the worst of the Bush recession -- while Republican leaders demean them as "special interests" and try to block legislation that will grow our economy. Democrats will return next week to save or create hundreds of thousands of jobs for our teachers, nurses, firefighters and police officers -- and close loopholes that allow corporations to ship American jobs overseas. This is critical as over the last three months, state and local governments have cut more than 46,000 jobs in education."
You know, I have a generally low opinion of Republicans. But good god, the democrats are friggin insane!
15. Posted by Hank | August 6, 2010 3:32 PM |
Score: 4 (4 votes cast)
Posted on August 6, 2010 15:32
16. Posted by GarandFan | August 6, 2010 4:32 PM | Score: 6 (6 votes cast)
"But good god, the democrats are friggin insane!"
Nancy just lives in an alternate universe. Those "jobs" she's going to "save"; well they'll but up on the chopping block for another bail out next year, just like they were last year. Seems just about every state but New Jersey is avoiding making any heavy decisions on where to cut their budgets.
And you'll notice, those budget cuts always first hit the primary services one expects from the state. All the other 'gimme' services? Not so much.
16. Posted by GarandFan | August 6, 2010 4:32 PM |
Score: 6 (6 votes cast)
Posted on August 6, 2010 16:32
17. Posted by 914 | August 6, 2010 5:32 PM | Score: 6 (6 votes cast)
To Nancy and other utopic dreamer's like Barry, funding 46,000 NEA union education job's more then make up for the 10,000,000 million job's She and Barry have single handedly lost in 2 short years.
17. Posted by 914 | August 6, 2010 5:32 PM |
Score: 6 (6 votes cast)
Posted on August 6, 2010 17:32
18. Posted by donw | August 6, 2010 9:52 PM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
Why aren't there any Liberal Democrats posting and touting the new job figures?
Hello! Hello! - Calling all Democrats to come to the rescue of B.O.
18. Posted by donw | August 6, 2010 9:52 PM |
Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
Posted on August 6, 2010 21:52
19. Posted by Jim Addison | August 7, 2010 2:27 AM | Score: 4 (4 votes cast)
To paraphrase Ronald Reagan in 1980:
"Recession is when your neighbor loses his job. Depression is when you lose yours.
"Recovery is when Barack Obama loses his!"
19. Posted by Jim Addison | August 7, 2010 2:27 AM |
Score: 4 (4 votes cast)
Posted on August 7, 2010 02:27
20. Posted by Brian Richard Allen | August 7, 2010 6:21 AM | Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
recovered liberal democrat reckons the only silver lining to this dark cloud is that people will be so tired and disgusted with the liberals at every level of government, a liberal democrat dog catcher won't be elected.
Be elected to what?
Pretense to the "presidency," perhaps?
After all; from the communist traitor, Wilson, via the fascist traitor, Roosevelt, by way of the gangster, Kennedy, the corrupt war-profiteer, Johnson, the traitors Carter and Cli'ton, the second-generation traitors, Kerry and Gore, through the self-and-own-culture-loathing mobbed-up Mussolini-modeled modified-Marxist murtadd Muslim sail eared simpleton who pretends to what presently passes for a "presidency;" for a hundred years or so already, bloody dog-catchers are all the "Democrats" have offered up for election!
20. Posted by Brian Richard Allen | August 7, 2010 6:21 AM |
Score: 2 (2 votes cast)
Posted on August 7, 2010 06:21
21. Posted by CNC | August 7, 2010 12:30 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
The recovery may begin in November, but it will collapse in January when increased taxes kick in. And - I am not buying the 9.5%!
21. Posted by CNC | August 7, 2010 12:30 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on August 7, 2010 12:30
22. Posted by John S | August 8, 2010 9:20 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
"I am not buying the 9.5%"
Don't buy it. If the government accounted for the millions that are no longer counted as part of the workforce, the unemployment rate would be 13 to 14%. If it was measured the same way it was during the Carter or Reagan administration, unemployment now would be over 20%. In a few years we will all be part-time minimum wage (or paid in cash) and the government will tell us we have full employment.
22. Posted by John S | August 8, 2010 9:20 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on August 8, 2010 21:20