Think 6.7% Unemployment is an improvement? Think again.

More of the jobless are giving up on finding work

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
"The unemployment rate fell to 6.7% in December -- the first time it's been below 7% in five years. But the drop was for all the wrong reasons.
The rate fell because many people got fed up, stopped looking for work and dropped out of the labor force altogether. (The jobless have to be actively looking for work in order to be counted as unemployed by the Labor Department.)
In December, 347,000 people dropped out of the workforce. That pushed the participation rate, which is the percentage of the population in the labor force, down to 62.8%. That's the lowest it's been since early 1978.
In some ways the participation rate may be even weaker than it was in 1978, since more women work outside the home today. The December participation rate for men alone matched a record low dating back to 1948.
It's easy to see why it's tough for so many to find work, since employers added just 74,000 workers in December.
Related: Jobs report - a big fat disappointment
Some of the decline in the participation rate can be attributed to changing demographics, since many baby boomers are retiring and dropping out of the work force.
But most of the low participation rate is due to the weakness in the job market. For instance, only a third of teenagers are either working or looking for work, putting the participation rate for that age group at one of the lowest levels on record.
Related: Odds of getting hired after a year: 9%
Long-term unemployment has caused a flood of discouraged workers to drop out of work force. The average unemployed job seeker has been out of work for 37 weeks.
"It's no wonder people are dropping out of the labor force," said Robert Brusca of FAO Economics. "It's very discouraging to keep looking for jobs and constantly being rejected."
Related: Jobs search - one year and counting....
Another factor holding the participation rate down is that many of the jobs that are available just don't pay enough to lure job seekers back into the work force. Indeed, many companies are only looking to hire temporary workers.
In December, 55,300 of the jobs created were in the retail sector, many of which were seasonal hires. Another 40,400 jobs were added in temporary help services.
All the gains and losses in all the other sectors of the job market combined for a loss of more than 20,000 jobs in the month. The biggest losers were government trimming 13,000 jobs and construction eliminating another 16,000. "

http://money.cnn.com/2014/01/10/news/economy/jobless-job-market-dropouts/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

nochain wrote:

More of the jobless are giving up on finding work

NEW YORK (CNNMoney)
"The unemployment rate fell to 6.7% in December -- the first time it's been below 7% in five years. But the drop was for all the wrong reasons.
The rate fell because many people got fed up, stopped looking for work and dropped out of the labor force altogether. (The jobless have to be actively looking for work in order to be counted as unemployed by the Labor Department.)
In December, 347,000 people dropped out of the workforce. That pushed the participation rate, which is the percentage of the population in the labor force, down to 62.8%. That's the lowest it's been since early 1978.
In some ways the participation rate may be even weaker than it was in 1978, since more women work outside the home today. The December participation rate for men alone matched a record low dating back to 1948.
It's easy to see why it's tough for so many to find work, since employers added just 74,000 workers in December.
Related: Jobs report - a big fat disappointment
Some of the decline in the participation rate can be attributed to changing demographics, since many baby boomers are retiring and dropping out of the work force.
But most of the low participation rate is due to the weakness in the job market. For instance, only a third of teenagers are either working or looking for work, putting the participation rate for that age group at one of the lowest levels on record.
Related: Odds of getting hired after a year: 9%
Long-term unemployment has caused a flood of discouraged workers to drop out of work force. The average unemployed job seeker has been out of work for 37 weeks.
"It's no wonder people are dropping out of the labor force," said Robert Brusca of FAO Economics. "It's very discouraging to keep looking for jobs and constantly being rejected."
Related: Jobs search - one year and counting....
Another factor holding the participation rate down is that many of the jobs that are available just don't pay enough to lure job seekers back into the work force. Indeed, many companies are only looking to hire temporary workers.
In December, 55,300 of the jobs created were in the retail sector, many of which were seasonal hires. Another 40,400 jobs were added in temporary help services.
All the gains and losses in all the other sectors of the job market combined for a loss of more than 20,000 jobs in the month. The biggest losers were government trimming 13,000 jobs and construction eliminating another 16,000. "

http://money.cnn.com/2014/01/10/news/economy/jobless-job-market-dropouts/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

WAIT.....The cowh and biden said they've created and/or saved MILLIONS of new jobs....Do these stats include the high paying...benefit laden part time jobs?....

Let me tell you what really happened in Florida during the months of October, November and December. Because I despise Scott and everything he stands for, I have followed the issue closely.

Slick Scott manipulated the unemployment compensation system for political gain.

The online CONNECT system replaced the old unemployment system. It didn't work for thousands of unemployed Floridians. Thousands could neither file a new claim nor claim existing available weeks. There was little to no support from the staff at the "Department of Economic Opportunity." This continued into late November. It skewed the unemployment numbers. Scott used those skewed numbers to claim a lower unemployment rate.

Those who wrote to his office requesting help were threatened. They were told via email that their emails would be published on the public Sunshine website. Furthermore, this threat from the governor's office was sent by email to over 700 people - with all of the recipients' emails copied to the original email. Over 700 emails addresses were released by the governor's office. No apology was offered.

Every time Scott was questioned by the media regarding the problems with the CONNECT system, his response was something akin to "I am interested in creating jobs in Florida", followed by a fake smile. He finally forced Jesse Pannucio, the head of DEO, to acknowledge the problem in a post to the DEO site, but that was in early December, I think. I'm not sure of the exact date.

Charlie Crist has - appropriately, in my opinion - slammed Rick Scott for his actions and inactions pertaining to unemployment compensation in Florida.

There are always folks like me that just decide to retire and not continue to search for another job.  This isn't unique to the Obama administration.

I never filed for unemployment compensation... except for a short time in the 1970's... so I don't think I am counted as an unemployed statistic.

Take a look at the DEO's Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/FLDEO

The DEO disabled the public comments section several weeks ago, but people are now posting under the "Review" section.

The media in central and south Florida have covered this situation well, but there has been little to no coverage in NW Florida.

Bingo on retirement, Eric. I'm there, too. I seem to be busier now than I was when I was working. Love my volunteer work - which is one reason I haven't been as "present" on our page as usual. I am volunteering about 25 hours per week. :-)

I feel for the unemployed people who have no one else to help support them. I am blessed, but there are so many who aren't. Too many unemployed Floridians are unable to pay rent or utilities, much less gas for the car in order to go to job interviews. There are still people who have waited two to three months for unemployment compensation. It just makes me angry. As you can see.   

I totally see your side Melissa, but I've also seen unemployed people getting every benefit and buying illegal drugs, going to the dog track to gamble, or buying steaks.. I know it's NOT the majority, but they are still getting away with it and using YOUR tax money as well as mine.. Another BIG problem is disability for people who are 100% physically able to work.. I had a neighbor on 100% disability who played football for a local team.. I called social security and also went to the office to question HOW he can get disability, and was told "my job is to sign people up for benefits, NOT to take benefits away". The supervisor told me they don't have time or manpower to investigate every reported instance of possible illegal claims.. I asked him "how long ago was the last one investigated by the Pensacola office?" He turned around and walked away without answering.

Jake92 wrote:

I totally see your side Melissa, but I've also seen unemployed people getting every benefit and buying illegal drugs, going to the dog track to gamble, or buying steaks..  I know it's NOT the majority, but they are still getting away with it and using YOUR tax money as well as mine..  Another BIG problem is disability for people who are 100% physically able to work..  I had a neighbor on 100% disability who played football for a local team..  I called social security and also went to the office to question HOW he can get disability, and was told "my job is to sign people up for benefits, NOT to take benefits away".  The supervisor told me they don't have time or manpower to investigate every reported instance of possible illegal claims..  I asked him "how long ago was the last one investigated by the Pensacola office?"  He turned around and walked away without answering.

I would have gotten the name of that supervisor and written to the head of the agency and CC the newspaper and my congressman. All you usually need to do is ask for that supervisor's name and have them see you write that down and their attitude suddenly changes... funny how that happens.

I have written a LOT of letters in my time. I tend to stir up a lot of shit that needed to be stirred.

I suppose I should have said his disability was for being burned out from coke/crack, pot, and who knows how many other drugs.. The last time I saw him, he was a born again baptist who was usually drinking or drunk..

I just read this article about Scott. (Essentially, he met with the Black Caucus, promised action on their recommendations but did nothing, and insulted them by saying they all were born poor. They had another meeting planned, but since he ignored their requests, they say another meeting is "fruitless".)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/16/florida-black-caucus-rick-scott_n_4611009.html

Kudos to the Black Caucus for canceling the meeting with Scott. Obviously they realized the meeting would be nothing but a farce as well as a complete waste of time.

I'm just soooo sorry that Ricky Scott got his wee little feelings hurt.....NOT!

It would have been another photo-op for Scott... nothing else.

I know my responses sound snarky, and I hope I don't offend some of my best forum buddies who just happen to be Republican.

It is not the Republican party I detest - it is Rick Scott. My "detestation" of Scott goes all the back to 1996, when he was head of HCA. When I heard he was running for governor of our state, I went into the bathroom and.....well, I won't go into detail.   When he won the election, I wanted to fix my house up so I could sell it and get out of Dodge.

Cooler heads prevailed, and I'm still here.   

Melissa wrote:

I know my responses sound snarky, and I hope I don't offend some of my best forum buddies who just happen to be Republican.

It is not the Republican party I detest - it is Rick Scott. My "detestation" of Scott goes all the back to 1996, when he was head of HCA. When I heard he was running for governor of our state, I went into the bathroom and.....well, I won't go into detail.   When he won the election, I wanted to fix my house up so I could sell it and get out of Dodge.

Cooler heads prevailed, and I'm still here.   

Will the dems offer up Alex Sink again?....

How about Al (I created the Internet) Gore?

Of course, we could have Pat (Maybe we need a very small nuke thrown off on Foggy Bottom to shake things up) Robertson.  (Referring to nuking the State Department.)

We could have a loose cannon showdown, lol.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/04/pete-sessions-unemployment-insurance_n_4724956.html

This type of comment is exactly what is wrong with congress....

If the republicans want to continue to say how bad unemployment is then why so they not want to extend benefits. As for the claim of abuse...it is a tiny fraction, and no reason to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

But to call your political opponent immoral shows where the Republican brain is.

mediawatcher wrote:

Melissa wrote:

I know my responses sound snarky, and I hope I don't offend some of my best forum buddies who just happen to be Republican.

It is not the Republican party I detest - it is Rick Scott. My "detestation" of Scott goes all the back to 1996, when he was head of HCA. When I heard he was running for governor of our state, I went into the bathroom and.....well, I won't go into detail.   When he won the election, I wanted to fix my house up so I could sell it and get out of Dodge.

Cooler heads prevailed, and I'm still here.   

   Will the dems offer up Alex Sink again?....

I had actually leaned toward voting for her until the details came out about her hypocrisy in the funding of the Tallahassee Taj Mahal courthouse, then I did some more research and found out that, with her less than savory husband, she was just another "good ol Bubba" in the politico/business circle.

Surfnrg wrote:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/04/pete-sessions-unemployment-insurance_n_4724956.html

This type of comment is exactly what is wrong with congress....

If the republicans want to continue to say how bad unemployment is then why so they not want to extend benefits. As for the claim of abuse...it is a tiny fraction, and no reason to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

But to call your political opponent immoral shows where the Republican brain is.

Actually he was describing a growing entitlement "policy" of treating symptoms and not the disease - he was not describing a political "opponent". How many bills with the real possibility of job creation has the House sent to the Senate only to have Reid do nothing? Depending on interpretation I have seen anywhere from 15-25. Should federal unemployment benefits be extended? Perhaps with some strings attached - real proof of serious attempts to secure employment would be a good place to start. Unless more people start working how will the ACA be funded? More hypothetical deficit dollars?

Sessions: "I believe it is immoral for this country to have as a policy extending long-term unemployments [benefits] to people rather than us working on creation of jobs," Sessions said. "A job is the most important attribute, I believe, in a free enterprise system."

No -by extension if you would vote for an "immoral" policy or support an immoral policy it makes your choice immoral.  

What real proof of serious employment would satisfy you?

The GOP naming of bills introduced by the House to create job growth starts with yes you guessed it repealing ACA. Wow that's an interesting start.
Depending in interpretation would be a huge understatement.

TPP to

Try again.....Geez

nochain wrote:

Surfnrg wrote:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/04/pete-sessions-unemployment-insurance_n_4724956.html

This type of comment is exactly what is wrong with congress....

If the republicans want to continue to say how bad unemployment is then why so they not want to extend benefits. As for the claim of abuse...it is a tiny fraction, and no reason to throw the baby out with the bathwater.

But to call your political opponent immoral shows where the Republican brain is.

Actually he was describing a growing entitlement "policy" of treating symptoms and not the disease - he was not describing a political "opponent". How many bills with the real possibility of job creation has the House sent to the Senate only to have Reid do nothing? Depending on interpretation I have seen anywhere from 15-25. Should federal unemployment benefits be extended? Perhaps with some strings attached - real proof of serious attempts to secure employment would be a good place to start. Unless more people start working how will the ACA be funded? More hypothetical deficit dollars?

Sessions: "I believe it is immoral for this country to have as a policy extending long-term unemployments [benefits] to people rather than us working on creation of jobs," Sessions said. "A job is the most important attribute, I believe, in a free enterprise system."

Keeping it real 50 percent of all  FUTA taxes go to euc so it is not "hypothetical deficit dollars". Every business pays for it....so it should be used for the purposes we paid for.......there need be no offset

Surfnrg wrote:

The GOP naming of bills introduced by the House to create job growth starts with yes you guessed it repealing ACA. Wow that's an interesting start.

Really? Have any examples? Meanwhile back at the farm, here are 40 examples of job creation oriented bills stuck in the Senate. There might be one or two related to ACA. Why is the Senate so determined to obstruct improving the job situation while at the same time pushing so hard for entitlement legislation? Why is the DOJ and BHO so enamored with ignoring current illegal immigrant laws while whining about immigration "reform"?

http://majorityleader.gov/JobsTracker/

nochain wrote:

Surfnrg wrote:

The GOP naming of bills introduced by the House to create job growth starts with yes you guessed it repealing ACA. Wow that's an interesting start.

Really? Have any examples? Meanwhile back at the farm, here are 40 examples of job creation oriented bills stuck in the Senate. There might be one or two related to ACA. Why is the Senate so determined to obstruct improving the job situation while at the same time pushing so hard for entitlement legislation? Why is the DOJ and BHO so enamored with ignoring current illegal immigrant laws while whining about immigration "reform"?

http://majorityleader.gov/JobsTracker/

    Keystone would provide how many immediately?.....Should have been started long ago....What about the millions of jobs that the administration claimed they had created during the election cycle?...