Really, what's the unemployment rate?

[cpd109]

I had seen the gubmint claimed 9.5%- seems a little low to me. Then I saw elsewhere that the real rate was 21.5% and another place that said 21.8%. I figure it's around there somewhere. I did find this:

http://www.infowars.com/the-jobless-effect-is-the-real-unemployment-rate-16-5-22-or/

So, does anyone else have a clue, or link, for the real unemployment. Not the one that shows people still looking for work, but the folks that have given up and/or run out of benefits. Or college grads who haven't gotten a job yet.

Now, having said that, how many vacations has Barry had at gubmint expense since the BP/Gulf problem. Is this 3, or 4? (Of course, maybe it's better that he's not in Washington where he could do more harm.)

[1gewehr]

Here you go:
http://www.shadowstats.com/

They say it's over 21% as of June. That seems much more in line with what I'm seeing. In this area, almost no teenagers have summer jobs, and fast-food restaurants are short-staffing as much as possible.

[juanni]

It is a good policy to dismiss any US govt provided statistic, unemployment, GDP, inflation, SPENDING etc.... are all cooked. :wink:


..............juanni

[keiser]

I have read 1 in 4 US Males are either out of work or under employed (part time when they want full time).

As far as the stats, you can trust the government. If you doubt it just ask an Indian.

[XHardrock]

I read this in Dec 09,,,,seemed on par then.
I need to catch up with the new news.

by Erick Schonfeld on Dec 4, 2009
The U.S. unemployment numbers are out today, and most headlines will show that the U.S. unemployment rate in November was 10.0 percent, down from 10.2 percent in October. That number is depressingly large, but even that under-counts the true number of unemployed. For instance, it doesn’t count those people who don’t have a job and have given up looking for one, or those who have found marginal part-time work but still can’t make ends meet and are still looking for a full-time job.

The government keeps stats on all of these “marginally attached workers” and people “employed part time for economic reasons” (rather than by choice). If you add all of those people in, the total unemployment rate in the U.S. is 17.2 percent, compared to 12.6 percent a year ago. The only good news is that number is down from 17.5 percent in October.

[martin35]

When a unemployed person exhausts all his benefits he falls of the score card of the present administration, they become invisible to government statisticians.
Those who were long term unemployed before the worst depression since 1929 were over estimated before the last election but soon disappear for stimulus results,,, they must have found work or we would have found their starved remains.
The Salvation Army, food pantries around the nation and I would estimate they could add another 4 - 6 % to the actual figures

[MtnWulf]

Those of us who are self employed are also invisible to the stats.

Most electricians, roofers, plumbers and so on around here are self employed, with maybe one or two helpers, which keeps them below the level for workmans comp and unemployment payments.

When they run out of work there is no reporting, or benefits being paid to them.

Most of the ones in the construction business here are working part time or not at all. A few have some work, but not many.

[offshore44]

Same deal with IT contractors...if you work on a 1099, then you aren't counted as unemployed when the work runs out.

There are a lot of folks that haven't worked in awhile...and I have no idea how they are keeping their bodies and souls together.

I stopped looking at the U6 numbers awhile ago because they are high, and are still under-reporting the number of people who need a job.

College / High School graduates don't get counted either.

[DC]

you'll have to wait until after November to find out. As soon as Democrats lose control of Congress and Republicans can safely take the blame for high unemployment, the correct numbers will be all over the place.

[kfranz]

Why the fugk would you "count those people who don’t have a job and have given up looking for one?" That isn't unemployment, that's called being a fugking bum. I did that one summer. Had enough cash that I didn't have to work. I sat around a cabin with no running water in the north woods reading books and drinking Jim Beam and Coke, no ice. I could have had a job, but I was not looking for one. I was a bum.

While I'm pissing on the unemployment parade, I wonder how many of those "people who don't have a job and have given up looking for one" collect disability. I can't tell you how many families I run across where one or both of the parents collects disability, and given that I teach special ed, many of them have figured out how to get SSI for their kids too. No job, no skills, nothing preventing them from obtaining work of some sort except the fact that they don't have to, because they get paid regardless of work status.

[mitchellh]

Here's a very sobering youtube video

<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/QfBZnyJg0Bw&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/QfBZnyJg0Bw&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

[chrsdwns]

Official "Real" Unemployment is 17-17.5%.

Add in idle or under employed self employed workers and contractors and you add another 3-5% conservatively - a lot of these people are in the construction business which has been wiped out so the numbers may be larger.

Now add in the illegal alien off the books workers who do not get counted in any government statisitcs - lets say another 3-5% which would be conservative.

Now add in the hard core unemployed welfare recipients about 2% of the population receives almost all of their support from the government , and a further 8% get at least some of their support via Food Stamps and ADC and others sources. Lets say 3% on average.

So 25% total unemployment is very reasonable and it may be as high as 30% in the real world.

The wild card is the illegal alien population's unemployment which is unknowable in any precise percentage

FWIW, school enrollment in our area is down by as much as 30% in areas with large illegal populations.

The bad news is that it will get worse before it gets better - possibly much worse.

The worst news of all is that the economic sectors and economic activity that traditionally pull us out of recessions have been suppressed by the missallocation and squandering of "Stimulus Funds" and thus will not be able to help support a solid broad based economic recovery in the near term future.

It is hard to how see we can come out of this government induced disaster without at least a significant medium term across the board reduction in standard of living

Of course that was the plan all along.

People really did not understand the meaning of the slogans such as "wealth redistribution" and the " US needs to stop over consuming the world resources " , "energy prices must rise to meet sustainability ", the US must stop the arrogance of assuming it is the police force to the world" ect

Hopefully these people will soon will figure out the meaning of the Lefts code words for selling the destruction of our way of life in time to make changes before it is too late and realize that THEY will bear the brunt of the suffering that will occur.

[one hand clapping]

I think it is almost impossible for us to REALLY know cause uncle sugar LIES ,LIES, LIE$$, for its corporate masters. The masters own the media sooo---

Its george Orwell time folks---- the never ending war justifies everything the oligarcs want to do to us -- take from us. The war on islam, the war on poverty, the war on drugs , the war on drug users, the war on inequality, To me this adds up to the WAR ON FREEDOM and the American Individual

they are taking us down on purpose!!!!!! so we can be taken over.

watch for those fools to start more armed conflict WITHOUT trying to win-NOT letting the troops realy use the big stuff. using.3 only "humane " tatics"

[cpd109]

I found these comments on it today:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/10/opinion/10herbert.html?_r=3&adxnnl=1&ref=opinion&adxnnlx=1281546036-Ery4PjzqeAdNG2iOo0VsjA

[martin35]

Statistics that drive policy have to be suspect.

[ggiilliiee]

Martino ...things are good in orygun ...machine shops hiring ..roads gettin worked on ..logs a fallin ...women fully satisfied ...
dogs are a fartin and the fish are jumpin .....



i think its regional ...see folks as you hold on to the old butternut ways ...people tend to pass ya by ....like china ...whang is in shape and can do calculus in the ninth grade
....bubba ,cant do an ejector (26 still livin at home ) job and has become mildly famous for kickin himself in the balls on Utube ...real CEO material ...heheh .

bottom line if ya cant find a job ...check your own skills ...nobodys FAULT but YOURS .....
just sayin not sprayin ...

maybe you should call boner and steele ...they might need some golf caddys .20 an hr ....
think of it this way yer boys spent more on golf than you made last year .......why is those people payin another 5 k in taxes such a stretch for you ...

[bykerhd]

Maybe you should pull your head out of those fartin' dogs butts there ggiilliiee.
Things are BAD all around the country. Your region may not be hit as hard as elsewhere. But, I bet if you took your blinders off you would see all the empty stores, mall parking lots with only a few cars, home foreclosure sales, and businesses closing that are right out there for anybody willing to look.

You should go work for "The Won". His White House PR guy has actually had lapses and occasionally, but briefly, told the truth.
Maybe there will be an opening there soon ?:tongue:

[Seaweed]

Lots of empty stores here in Oregon, but the streets and highways are full of tourists. Just spreading the PERS and unemployment checks around I guess.

[offshore44]

There are a few part time, minimum wage jobs available in my local Orygun AO, but anything that requires skilz and pays a living wage is scarce with way more qualified applicants than jobs. Another note: They don't seem to be hiring "fat, middle-aged white guys" much either. YMMV

[Seaweed]

Well then, how about older-than-middle-age fat white guys then?


On another note, I applied for a NOAA contract to do fisheries science, and when we stated that our business was over 50% women owned (owners being me, my wife, and mother-in-law), all sorts of doors opened. Who would have thought that???

[offshore44]

Originally posted by Seaweed
Well then, how about older-than-middle-age fat white guys then?


On another note, I applied for a NOAA contract to do fisheries science, and when we stated that our business was over 50% women owned (owners being me, my wife, and mother-in-law), all sorts of doors opened. Who would have thought that???

Same-o, Same-o I suppose.

The wife and I have been talking about that as well. may as well play the game if the game exists.

[keiser]

Check out item #6 on employment stats:

Employment Stats - Item #6 (http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/110335/is-a-crash-coming-10-reasons-to-be-cautious?sec=topStories&pos=8&asset=&ccode=)

[chrsdwns]

The real scary thing is how many more will be unemployed a year from now and how long it will be before the true unemployment rate goes below 10%

[Insider]

Unemployment is around 24% in North Central Florida.

[bykerhd]

from InsiderUnemployment is around 24% in North Central Florida.

Is that UP or DOWN ??? :biggrin:
No fair counting the old(the REAL OLD), retired folks as unemployed you know.:wink:
It's Ok to count those retired folks that took early retirement because there was absolutely nothing else out there for work for them though.:sad:

[raexcct2]

Well then, how about older-than-middle-age fat white guys then?

How about us middle aged brown guys?

Two and half years unemployed and finally found a job in Iraq, of all places, at least until next May.

Funny part about that was when I was in JFK airport in NYC waiting for my flight, I ran across another ex-serviceman of Puerto Rican descent on my flight who was going to South Africa for a job.

Wonder what the real unemployment rate will be when we pull out of Iraq?

[cpd109]

Originally posted by bykerhd
from Insider

Is that UP or DOWN ??? :biggrin:
No fair counting the old(the REAL OLD), retired folks as unemployed you know.:wink:
It's Ok to count those retired folks that took early retirement because there was absolutely nothing else out there for work for them though.:sad:

What? Did Walmart stop hiring greeters?

[mitchellh]

<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/9ssIhiD8kKM?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/9ssIhiD8kKM?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

Updated.

[Ironhandjohn]

The rate just got higher by 1 as of last Wednesday. I lost my job just 2 weeks shy of starting classes at my local community college. I was leaving anyway, but the ops manager got a whiff of my plans(probably from another driver)and had me fired for violating a safety reg that is ignored by everyone. Losing 2 weeks pay sucks, but Mrs. Ironhand makes a good living and I'll be doing something part-time when my schedule stabilizes.

[ggiilliiee]

byker ...since we posted ..4 more people i know just got machinist . fab jobs ...good money too ...aircraft parts ...

and i agree with the military coming back ..obviously unemployment will go up again ..it always does ....they normally always need training after they get out ....no offense but reading the instructions on the side of a rocket launcher is not quite the same as programing a cnc....as blowing stuff up is not the same as passing a part thru an inspector .....ive seen them come ...and go many times ...

obesity is your bigest problem in most states ..330 lber ..not gonna be pullin a choker lead ...not even gonna fit in the door ya gotta lean into to work a cnc ....dont mean to be rude but you folks back east ..(got some here too)..are a bunch of freekin whales..!!!!! .....im mean ....seriously !!!!...heck ive hired B4, and man i wouldnt give a guy like that a second look ....why because if he has that little integrity for his own self ...sure not gonna let him run a 3 mil machining center ...with 30 k worth of rare metal b4 its even been chucked up

hell most of you guys dont even get that enthused about your HOBBYS ...all half assed work ....or wrong .....(badger of dishonour )

ill say it again if you cant find work ...its you ....noone else

fuk a go getter can mow 10 freekin lawns a day ...and make 150-200 bucks .(did that when i was 12 ta pay for skool clothes

.the days of gm and getting 45 an hr are over bubba ...better get rid of a few motor homes and boats ...and get back to what you can afford ..and what your worth .....puttin in a screw every 5 mins aint worth 45 anywhere here ..and foolish to the employer ..theyd never make payroll ,or profit ..

problem is the work etthic ...

in china ...whang!!!...wook fastuh ...oh ..famiry die !!!

here ..can i get a draw ..i wanna go fishin for a few days while were real busy ..
its all up to you ...if your waitin for obamma or someone else to find you a job ...your gonna be waitin a looooong time ...