Tag Archives: Unemployment

Poor Barack’s Almanac

Obama Swimming While The Economy Burns

Does anyone even care about unemployment numbers now that the elections are over?

Government unemployment numbers for December showed that while the general unemployment rate remained flat at 7.8 percent, unemployment for women and African-Americans rose despite an economy that created 155,000 jobs.

Unemployment for women rose to 7.3 percent in December from 7.0 percent while the rate for African-Americans rose sharply to 14.0 percent from 13.2 percent in November.

Unemployment among African Americans has remained quite high throughout the sluggish economic recovery of the past several years, despite the steady decline in overall unemployment in the economy generally.

Obama won roughly 93 percent of the black vote this time, as well as a majority of the women’s vote. I have no sympathy for them. None.

You voted for this. Own it.

Eight Is Enough

The unemployment rate has been over 8% for 43 straight months.

U.S. employers added 96,000 jobs last month, a weak figure that could slow the momentum President Barack Obama hoped to gain from his speech to the Democratic National Convention. The unemployment rate fell to 8.1 percent from 8.3 percent in July. But that was only because more people gave up looking for jobs.

The government also said that 41,000 fewer jobs were created in July and June than first estimated. The economy has added just 139,000 jobs a month since the start of the year, below 2011′s average of 153,000.

Cash-short governments were a key reason the job market was weaker in June and July than first estimated. Federal, state and local governments cut 39,000 jobs in those months — above the earlier estimate of 18,000. In previous recoveries, governments have typically added jobs, not shed them.

Does anyone think these numbers will improve with four more years of Obama?

It’s The Economy, Stupid

The new unemployment numbers are out; and they cannot be welcome news to Barack Obama. The Obama economy is still in the terlet, and the unemployment rate is still above 8 percent.

Amazingly, the poll numbers for the November election show Obama and Mitt Romney in a virtual dead heat. How is that even possible?

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits were a adjusted 374,000, the Labor Department said. The prior week’s figure was revised to show 2,000 more applications than previously reported.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims dipping to 370,000 last week. The four-week moving average for new claims, a better measure of labor market trends, rose 1,500 to 370,250.

The unemployment rate, which ticked up to 8.3 percent in July, has been stuck above 8 percent for more than three years, the first time this has happened since the Great Depression.

Wait, am I allowed to quote the unemployment numbers, or is that racist?

I’m Sure It’s Just A Coincidence

Unemployment dropped in every state that elected a Republican governor in 2010.

In 2010, influenced by the Tea Party and its focus on fiscal issues, 17 states elected Republican governors. And, according to an Examiner.com analysis, every one of those states saw a drop in their unemployment rates since January of 2011. Furthermore, the average drop in the unemployment rate in these states was 1.35%, compared to the national decline of .9%, which means, according to the analysis, that the job market in these Republican states is improving 50% faster than the national rate.

On the other hand, the unemployment rate in states that elected Democrats in 2010 dropped, on average, as much as the national rate decline and, in some states such as New York, the unemployment rate has risen since January of 2011.

The three states with the best results?

Michigan – 10.9% to 8.5% = a decline of 2.4%
Florida – 10.9% to 8.6% = a decline of 2.3%
Nevada – 13.8% to 11.6% = a decline of 2.2%

So raising taxes and increasing spending won’t cure unemployment? I’m shocked!

Zero, My Hero

Apparently, the folks who referred to the president as a “Zero” were right on the mark, as August saw zero jobs created!

The US economy created no jobs and the unemployment rate held steadily higher at 9.1 percent in August, fueling concerns that the US is heading for another recession.

It was the first time since World War II that the economy had a net zero jobs created for a month.

Economists had been expecting the report to show a net of 75,000 jobs created, an unusually low number considering the US is technically more than two years removed from the end of the last recession.

There’s no need to worry, though, because President Obama is expected to solve this problem with yet another speech. This one will address “job creation” and is set for Thursday – the same day the NFL opens its season. Mr. President, since no one will see that speech, allow me to offer a suggestion; the best way to stimulate job creation is to get government out of the way.