Federally Touted 'Economic Recovery' - Data Shows Otherwise

[Donnachaidh]

http://www.thepelicanpost.org/2011/04/25/federally-touted-%E2%80%98economic-recovery%E2%80%99-data-shows-otherwise/

Two separate measures of U.S. employment tell different stories

Last week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics stated that unemployment had fallen to 8.8 percent, with 34 states claiming a decrease in their unemployment rates. Yet the employment-to-population ratio is now lower than it was when the recession officially ended, and the share of employed Americans also fell to 45.4 percent, the lowest level since 1983. Here in Louisiana, only 41.6 percent of working age individuals are employed, excluding military personnel and the self-employed.

Edward Leamer, professor of economics at University of California at Los Angeles, claims that the employment-to-population ratio is a better measure of the job market. Unlike the unemployment rate, changes in labor participation do not affect the statistic.

“It’s people getting so discouraged that they’re dropping out,” said Leamer. He says about half of the decrease in the unemployment rate during the last four months was caused by Americans who gave up looking for work and left the labor force, also known as “discouraged workers”.



More at the link --

[damntexdem]

1. It is incorrect that data shows otherwise -- rather, data show otherwise.

The word data is the plural of datum.

[Donnachaidh]

2. oh fer chrissakes.....

:eyes:

[inna]

4. fair enough, but completely beside the point

[Poboy]

3. Green shoots! -nt

[Poboy]

5. .