Unemploment

[ted mcmeekin]

UNEMPLOYED vs. OUT OF WORK

If you can get through this---- then you too will understand.


COSTELLO: I want to talk about the unemployment rate in America.
ABBOTT: Good Subject. Terrible Times. It's 9%.
COSTELLO: That many people are out of work?
ABBOTT: No, that's 16%.
COSTELLO: You just said 9%.
ABBOTT: 9% Unemployed.
COSTELLO: Right 9% out of work.
ABBOTT: No, that's 16%.
COSTELLO: Okay, so it's 16% unemployed.
ABBOTT: No, that's 9%...
COSTELLO: WAIT A MINUTE. Is it 9% or 16%?
ABBOTT: 9% are unemployed. 16% are out of work.
COSTELLO: IF you are out of work you are unemployed.
ABBOTT: No, you can't count the "Out of Work" as the unemployed. You have to look for work to be unemployed.
COSTELLO: BUT THEY ARE OUT OF WORK!!!
ABBOTT: No, you miss my point.
COSTELLO: What point?
ABBOTT: Someone who doesn't look for work, can't be counted with those who look for work. It wouldn't be fair.
COSTELLO: To who?
ABBOTT: The unemployed.
COSTELLO: But they are ALL out of work.
ABBOTT: No, the unemployed are actively looking for work... Those who are out of work stopped looking.
They gave up and if you give up, you are no longer in the ranks of the unemployed.
COSTELLO: So if you're off the unemployment roles, that would count as less unemployment?
ABBOTT: Unemployment would go down. Absolutely!
COSTELLO: The unemployment just goes down because you don't look for work?
ABBOTT: Absolutely it goes down. That's how you get to 9%. Otherwise it would be 16%. You don't want to read about 16% unemployment do ya?
COSTELLO: That would be frightening.
ABBOTT: Absolutely.
COSTELLO: Wait, I got a question for you. That means there are two ways to bring down the unemployment number?
ABBOTT: Two ways is correct.
COSTELLO: Unemployment can go down if someone gets a job?
ABBOTT: Correct.
COSTELLO: And unemployment can also go down if you stop looking for a job?
ABBOTT: Bingo.
COSTELLO: So there are two ways to bring unemployment down, and the easier of the two is to just stop looking for work.
ABBOTT: Now you're thinking like an economist.
COSTELLO: I don't even know what the heck I just said!
And now you know why Obama's unemployment figures are improving

 

[seattleguy]

I think I remember from school that full employment is generally considered to be around 4-5% unemployment.

 

[pitzerwm]

Actually, it was 3% until the dems had 6% (in the 60s or 70s) when they were in total control, so they just started to declare that 6% was full employment and the media just went along with it. Soon 9% will be the new full employment and the media will buy it and sell it to us.

 

[mac]

It's amazing on how the more things change, the more they remain the same. I wish one of the talk radio people would play that clip.

 

[rph9168]

Look for more half truths and outright lies this year. National elections tend to make that happen. Anyone that believes unemployment is going down that much has lost touch with reality.

In my area it seems like several years ago the hot investment was to build a strip mall. We have them all over the place. The problem is that most of them are not anywhere near fully occupied and in some cases never had any businesses in them. I will believe the economy is really turning around and unemployment improving when I see those empty strip malls begin to have businesses in them. Until then I will not believe anything this government says about the economy or unemployment.

 

[JeffM]

Actually, it was 3% until the dems had 6% (in the 60s or 70s) when they were in total control, so they just started to declare that 6% was full employment and the media just went along with it. Soon 9% will be the new full employment and the media will buy it and sell it to us.

The "Full employment" rate is the percentage of the population which is willing to work at the current wages offered to them. As inflation increases, you can actually expect the unemployment rate to increase as firms cut workers to they are able to keep more productive employees and pay them better. It's not that the government has substantial control over unemployment rates (although they can influence the marketplace through incentives and other government spending), it really comes down to firms being able to generate profits to survive and being able to employ productive employees.

IMO, the "economy is bad" is a crutch that many individuals and groups are using to excuse poor performance. (I'm probably going to take some heat for that statement...) If it is bad, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! If you really want to shake things up, start cutting back social assistance programs to individuals who abuse them continually! Social assistance 100 years ago was frowned upon and recipients were often ridiculed! It continually astounds me how lazy we have allowed our society to become. The U.S. government spends $727 BILLION on welfare programs last year, can anyone think of better uses for YOUR money the government is spending? </rant>

 

[pitzerwm]

This is a good one, Chinese companies importing labor to work on our infrastructural. ABC, not right wing nuts

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/us-...513?tab=9482930?ion=1206853&playlist=14594944

 

[JeffM]

Assuming that like most major projects there was a sealed bid which any firm may present a bid, why did U.S. firms (which have now changed their position in hindsight) not bid low enough to secure employment for their workers in the first place? It's because they were not willing to play ball at a price which the California D.O.T. was willing to pay.

I'm not saying that the Chinese firms had the right to bid in the first place, but if you want to practice protectionism in the marketplace (which always sounds better in theory and will ultimately drive up inflation) then they should not have been allowed to bid in the first place. If anything, hiring at the lowest bid has saved California taxpayers money. Although it does not have the economic spinoffs which the news segment suggested, it does have some as those Chinese workers will spend some money within the U.S., plus lodging, food, fuel, etc.

 

[mac]

Jeff I agree that there are a lot of people abusing the system. Please tell me how I can get rid of these people. The government erase over a million people from the job market in December alone to reduce the rate. They did this by not counting the people who ran out their "benifits". That sure looks like cooking the books to me.

 

[JeffM]

The focus really needs to be put onto the fact that these people who "ran out of benefits" are not actively looking for work and have no business being counted as "unemployed". They could have decided to retire, go back to school full-time, or could be discouraged from not having any luck. It is not the government "erasing" people or "cooking the books", it just requires further investigation into the numbers to see the real picture.

Earlier this month, the Canadian unemployment stats for January were released and it showed an increase of 0.1%. When you look at the numbers, 39,000 full time jobs were created and 37,000 self-employed people sought other work. Economic analysis of these reports will give an accurate understanding of the one number most people often refer to.

 

[rph9168]

Don't expect anything near accurate numbers during an election year especially when unemployment is a big issue. Here in Georgia the unemployment rate is almost 10% and in a recent study Atlanta was ranked 100 out of 100 for creating jobs. I know several people currently on unemployment who would gladly give up their unemployment benefits for a job.

I also know several long time veterans in our industry that have not had any luck finding something. Companies are laying people off and cutting back on many of what used to be necessary services like field and technical support. Check out this article I wrote in this month's ALN.

http://carwashmag.com/issues/feb-2012/management.cfm

While I am sure there are some taking advantage of the system I think the real solution is to get our economy going.

 

[pitzerwm]

On the financial channel, they were saying that in hi-tech that there are 3M jobs available but these dumb kids coming out of high school/college with worthless degresses in under water basket weaving can't fill them. The government wouldn't give them the H whatever to bring in foreign workers, so they have no choice but to go to the worker.

 

[JMMUSTANG]

This is a good one, Chinese companies importing labor to work on our infrastructural. ABC, not right wing nuts

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/us-...513?tab=9482930?ion=1206853&playlist=14594944

Don't worry Obama will come to the rescue in the election year.
Obama will probably announce that he will stop immediately all Fed. funding for all projects in Ca. until this situation is resolved. LOL

 

[pitzerwm]

Apparently, CA had to forgo Fed money to hire the Chinese. Fed law already forbids that. Which really tells you something, because, I thought Fed money amounted to 90% of the project and the states put up the 10%