EDITORIAL: More phony job numbers - Washington Times
The last time the employment figures looked this grim was more than 30 years ago when the nation was heading into a recession. Had the April dropouts been included in the official number, the unemployment rate would have risen instead of declined. If the official jobless figure were calculated based on the June 2009 employment participation rate, when the recovery officially began, unemployment would be more accurately pegged at 11 percent today.
The April figures reveal an accelerating and troubling trend. In March, there were about three people dropping out of the system for every new job created. Now the rate is four-and-a-half dropouts per new job. Luckily for the White House, the more people who shift from looking for a job to giving up, who transition from hope to despair, the lower the official number tracks. If a few million more citizens simply gave up on the American dream, President Obama could brag about steep drops in unemployment while the country spiraled into misery.
The last time the employment figures looked this grim was more than 30 years ago when the nation was heading into a recession. Had the April dropouts been included in the official number, the unemployment rate would have risen instead of declined. If the official jobless figure were calculated based on the June 2009 employment participation rate, when the recovery officially began, unemployment would be more accurately pegged at 11 percent today.
The April figures reveal an accelerating and troubling trend. In March, there were about three people dropping out of the system for every new job created. Now the rate is four-and-a-half dropouts per new job. Luckily for the White House, the more people who shift from looking for a job to giving up, who transition from hope to despair, the lower the official number tracks. If a few million more citizens simply gave up on the American dream, President Obama could brag about steep drops in unemployment while the country spiraled into misery.
