UNEMPLOYMENT: Thoughts, Comments, Predictions, etc.

[KingSolomon]

I'd like to know what folks are thinking about the economy. Is the economy improving or getting worse? Is the US in recovery and if so, is it sustainable at this point? And what are the economic predictions moving forward from now through election day?

I believe the economy will continue to improve. For right now hiring has slowed causing unemployment levels to remain constant. This will change drastically over the next few months as more and more jobs open up. I'm predicting unemployment will dip below 8% by July if not by June. By August it will be at or below 7.5% And depending on whether the housing market shows improvements then by election day unemployment could very well be as low as 7% or lower.

What do you think?

[RavensGrrl]

dude i don't know what the real number is right now. from some accounts that i've read, the popularly published figures do not include people that have stopped looking for work. this is more than a little detail! lol. i heard on fox news radio this morn that the real figure is closer to 13-14%. i like to hear some thoughts on this..

[KingSolomon]

Unemployment has been calculated the same way for decades. It's no different today than when Reagan was in Office. When you hear the arguments you point out, consider it nothing more than pretext because nothing has changed except who the POTUS is and he being different than all previous presidents!

[Marshan Man]

dude i don't know what the real number is right now. from some accounts that i've read, the popularly published figures do not include people that have stopped looking for work. this is more than a little detail!

They never have. So you're comparing the same metric to the same metric. So even when everything was great back in 98 and the UE rate was 4.5% those people not looking for work weren't counted either.

[soulflower]

Job openings are the highest in 3 years

More people are voluntarily leaving jobs

The economy is improving at a decent pace.

It's not gangbusters but jobs are being created faster now than they were 2001 to 2008

[Balt Observer]

Hmm...a thread devoted to Obamagasming disguised as a legitimate "discussion".

How predictable.

[RavensGrrl]

Unemployment has been calculated the same way for decades. It's no different today than when Reagan was in Office. When you hear the arguments you point out, consider it nothing more than pretext because nothing has changed except who the POTUS is and he being different than all previous presidents!

i have no argument with what you're saying. this just tells me that they have been under-reporting this for years..no big surprise when our govt. is involved. the only thing that really matters though is that we have a lot more people out of work right now than we think & something must be done about it. am i right?

[soulflower]

i have no argument with what you're saying. this just tells me that they have been under-reporting this for years..no big surprise when our govt. is involved. the only thing that really matters though is that we have a lot more people out of work right now than we think & something must be done about it. am i right?

Jobs are available. But not everyone has the skills to do the jobs that have the highest demand today.

Plus, people over 50 who are unemployed are having such a hard time getting jobs that they're retiring early and going on disability

[sushilover]

Hmm...a thread devoted to Obamagasming disguised as a legitimate "discussion".

How predictable.

The saddest part is how the leftwingers refuse to acknowledge the 800-pound gorilla in the room: that Barry Obama is a failed affirmative action hire whose ineptness, incompetence and overall buffoonery -- particularly as it relates to the chronic unemployment that has flourished under his failed socialist policies -- has been nothing short of an unmitigated disaster for this nation.

[RavensGrrl]

Jobs are available. But not everyone has the skills to do the jobs that have the highest demand today.

Plus, people over 50 who are unemployed are having such a hard time getting jobs that they're retiring early and going on disability

interesting. well, here's ravensgrrl's rule.. anyone who voluntarily retires should not be counted in the unemployment numbers, that's a choice they made.

[soulflower]

interesting. well, here's ravensgrrl's rule.. anyone who voluntarily retires should not be counted in the unemployment numbers, that's a choice they made.

They're not counted. That's part of the reason why the unemployment rate has been falling.

Retirements are surging as Baby Boomers enter their 60s

[KingSolomon]

@suishilover, maybe you'd like to explain your position as opposed to throwing out what many would consider uninformed garbage from a rightwing bigot.

[RavensGrrl]

They're not counted. That's part of the reason why the unemployment rate has been falling.

Retirements are surging as Baby Boomers enter their 60s

cool. we're getting off topic here though. my only point was that people who have stopped looking for work & have not decided to retire are "unemployed" & should be counted in the numbers. how can people make a good decision about our leaders with only partial data? at least give us both figures, ya know? like this is the figure we've been forcefeeding you for years & here's the figure for peeps who are too disgusted to even look anymore. we're smart enough to figure it all out..

[Wizard777]

I'd like to know what folks are thinking about the economy. Is the economy improving or getting worse? Is the US in recovery and if so, is it sustainable at this point? And what are the economic predictions moving forward from now through election day?

I believe the economy will continue to improve. For right now hiring has slowed causing unemployment levels to remain constant. This will change drastically over the next few months as more and more jobs open up. I'm predicting unemployment will dip below 8% by July if not by June. By August it will be at or below 7.5% And depending on whether the housing market shows improvements then by election day unemployment could very well be as low as 7% or lower.

What do you think?

We seem to gain ground in one area and lose it in another. Gas prices are going down and lay offs are going up. If they want to see real job creation then they have to make outsourcing a liability instead of a benefit. They also have to create a tax code that would allow the wealthy to keep their tax cuts. But only if they actually create those job they've been promising for the last 10 years. If they don't create the jobs then well take their higher tax money and invest it in education and infrastructure projects and the government will create the jobs they refuse to.

[soulflower]

cool. we're getting off topic here though. my only point was that people who have stopped looking for work & have not decided to retire are "unemployed" & should be counted in the numbers. how can people make a good decision about our leaders with only partial data? at least give us both figures, ya know? like this is the figure we've been forcefeeding you for years & here's the figure for peeps who are too disgusted to even look anymore. we're smart enough to figure it all out..

I think you're missing the point. Atleast 2/3s of the people who stopped looking for work were close to retirement anyway. Some may have retired sooner than they wanted because of the economy but they were going to retire soon anyway

Young, healthy people giving up looking for work is rare. People aged 24 to 55 are generally counted in the numbers

[Wizard777]

The very best thing America can do for the economy is to clear the House of all those Obstructionist Republicans holding the economy hostage for Presidential votes.

[Balt Observer]

THE very best thing that can happen for the economy and high unemployment is President Romney's inauguration in January.

[KingSolomon]

@Balt Observer: So you like the idea that Romney would repeat his performance at Bain by causing folks to go on unemployment as well as his performance as Massachusetts Governor where under his watch job creation in that state was almost last in the country?

Based on statistics there's no legitimate reason to vote for Romney when it comes to the economy, maybe you'd like to try again because your first response is pretextual.

[Fang]

In comparison to other Presidents the UE rate has been historically high under Obama. And yes, he did inherit a recession and rising UE. That is not in dispute. I'm just going by the #'s. Reagan had a similar situation he inheritied from Carter, but the UE rate dropped quickly under Reagan.

As far as the economy, it's hard to say because everyone says something different. The UE Rate is a number you can look up. But it's not that cut and dry with the economy. I can only say for myself raises have been very small to non-existent in the past 3-4 years. But from 1992 to 2007 my salary went up quickly and jobs were much easier to come by.

[Wizard777]

THE very best thing that can happen for the economy and high unemployment is President Romney's inauguration in January.

That would be the best thing that could happen for the OWS movement. The GOP is running on the Leona Helmsley philosophy. "Taxes are just for the little people." That's because the wealthy pay lobbyists instead of taxes. If Romney wins they won't even have to pay lobbyists anymore. Because the GOP will replace too big to fail with too big to pay taxes. Warren Buffet will be tax exempt and his secretary will be paying 90%. She'll barely be able to afford to live in a OWS camp.