US Unemployment Down to 5.9%...Lowest in 6 Years

[Grumpy Ol' Man]

The economy is vastly improved over when we hit the depths of the recession in early 2009. It's been a slow climb out, much of the delay due to the gridlock in Congress. Elected representatives did not want to legislate to improve an economy that might make political "hay" for the other Party. Through that gridlock, the employment situation has improved.

There are still those who attempt to discredit any improvement for political reasons. Some try to bring the "participation rate" into the equation. "Many have tired of looking for work so have dropped out." Many have quit looking for work because they have retired!!! We are seeing thousands of us "boomers" reach retirement age and droping out of 'participating' in the employment arena.

Certainly, many are "underemployed". We have preached the necessity to get a college degree. We have told kids not to worry about building huge piles of college debt. We have assumed they would all find high paying jobs in already saturated fields. In the meantime, we have steered kids away from the trades and from more technical work. Now, there is a shortage of construction workers, medical technicians, etc. There is a glut of history majors, graphic arts majors, etc.

Our firm won't let me retire. I'm 68 years old and they insist that I continue working 50 hours/week. There just aren't folks out there prepared to do what I do. One of our offices is looking for Engineers and would hire those with experience on the spot. They just aren't out there!!

As I've said before, on this discussion board, not one of our kids went to college out of high school and all have remained gainfully employed. Knock on wood, not one of our kids or their spouses has ever moved from one job unless they have had a better one waiting.

If you want work... If you really want work and will go where the work is and will exhibit good work ethic, you can find work in the U.S. today. If the area in which you live happens to fall into one of the higher unemployment locations and you are not willing to move... you will be unemployed or underemployed. If you can't show up on time, show up sober, show up willing to work harder and longer than anyone else there... you will be unemployed or underemployed. If you are assuming you are 'owed' employment and do not feel it necessary to learn something new every day... you will be unemployed or underemployed.

 

[SeaBreeze]

Who is this Mitchie you speak of QuickSilver.

She's speaking about this Mitchie. http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/no-wonder-mitch-mcconnell-wants-credit-the-economy

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) this week raised a few eyebrows, claiming that Republicans deserve credit for the nation’s improved economic conditions. It was an amazing turn of events for a Republican leader who spent the 2014 election cycle blaming President Obama for weak economic growth.
But in light of the new job numbers, the motivation behind McConnell’s ridiculous rhetoric is at least understandable – it’s been a long while since Americans have seen job growth like this.

How long, exactly? Well, the unemployment rate has fallen to 5.6% – its lowest point in nearly seven years – but that’s not always the best metric to watch. Rather, the figures I care about most are straight-up job creation totals, and by this metric, 2014 was the best year since 1999.

Following up on a report from a month ago, above is a chart showing job growth by year for the four most recent presidential administrations – the blue columns point to the two Democratic administrations (darker blue for overall job growth, lighter blue for private-sector-only growth), and the red columns point to the two Republican administrations (darker red for overall job growth, lighter red for private-sector-only growth).

Notice, 2014 isn’t just an encouraging year as compared to other years in the Great Recession era; it’s actually a strong year on its own. Indeed, more jobs have been created this year than in any year of the Bush/Cheney era – or the Bush/Quayle era, for that matter.

The Clinton era is, for good reason, generally seen as the best American economic period in recent memory, and the above image certainly helps show why. But take a closer look and you’ll notice this year’s job growth is actually stronger than four of the eight Clinton years.


For Republicans, who suddenly want credit for the economy, all of this should be impossible. As far as GOP lawmakers are concerned, President Obama’s agenda of health care reform, burdensome regulations, Dodd/Frank, and the Affordable Care Act are crushing the domestic economy, stifling the job market like a “wet blanket.”

And yet, here we are.

Politifact's take on what was said/alleged...http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-m...mcconnell-says-economic-uptick-coincides-exp/

 

[BobF]

Well just some comments about claims made in that article about who and why. Under Clinton the Republicans were in the congress working to help him lower debt and keep the country running too. Now under Bush, in his last two years for sure we had full Democrat control of the Bush Congress and with their help our economy went to pot and lots of economic problems came to surface. Best to not be so sure you can just point to Democrats or Republicans and assure of good or poor economy. In today's economy we now have the highest ever debt shown at $18.1 trillion. Nothing to be proud of at all and somewhere ahead of us it must all be addressed and paid down. Pretty sad as prior to the Democrat's taking over Bushes government debt was at about $7.5 trillion and that was because Clinton had helped bring debt down from higher numbers into mid $7 trillion range. Good for Clinton for doing that. But in the recent 10 years we have had Democrats that see no wrong with bankrupting the US with crazy spending. And mostly for real questionable justifications.

 

[SeaBreeze]

There is NO way these GOP people are going to give the President credit for anything.

I agree. I've been listening to some conservative talk shows on the radio, because all other choices have been removed from the stations. :dollar: It seems they will always find a way to discredit anything positive that happens under Obama or any democrat in office. If they have to acknowledge something, they say it's because republicans helped them. I don't expect the GOP to give the President any credit, I know better. I'm an Independent, and I don't agree with everything Obama does or wants to do, but I give credit where credit is due.

 

[SifuPhil]

No, the government doesn't lie....it just juggles the numbers so as to make people think that everything is nice and Rosy.

Being presented with data that has been "massaged" is never good for anyone who wants to determine the truth of a situation. Much better to be given raw, unedited data. But you're probably right - in a court of law they could always prove that they didn't "lie" - they just "indulged in some creative accounting".

Perhaps the MOST "telling" statistic is the Number of People on Food Stamps. At last count there were about 47 million people in the US who are receiving Food Stamps. That means that about 1 in every 6 people in this nation needs government assistance to put a decent meal on the table. Now, THAT is a statistic that should be garnering some Serious Attention from our government. What good is a job if it doesn't lift a person or family out of poverty??

I've seen that number as well. Now what that statistic doesn't take into account is, how many of those recipients REALLY need that assistance? I personally knew one "family" (5 kids, mom not married to dad but living together and not all the kids had the same father) that had a standing order for a weekly cab ride to a fancy supermarket 3 towns away. The cab ride cost $25 EACH WAY and they would return with at least a dozen bags of food.

Meanwhile, their brand-new Cadillac sat in the driveway, and their kids were left at home to watch cartoons on their 65", 1080p TV. They all, even the kids, had the latest iPhones, laptops and videogaming systems with tons of games and movies.

They had 2 dogs, 3 cats and a few reptiles (food for which is supposedly not covered by food stamps). They had the premium cable and internet services and ordered delivery food quite often.

Yes, they were milking the system. Yes, they might not be representative of the entire system. My question would be, what percentage of the system DO they represent? Too many stories being circulated of similar situations to discount ...

 

[BobF]

Interesting about those food stamps folks and what they can get. Until recently they could only get to take what was not disallowed by Clinton's rules, but know they can get most anything they want. So who have been the deciders and leaders that have now allowed no restrictions for the food stamps folks. Who have they been for the last 8 years running our congress? Democrats is who. But some want to say Republicans who have not had control in the Congress for 8 years. Until Reid is out of leadership not much of anything was allowed to be judged and voted on.

 

[WhatInThe]

The economy is vastly improved over when we hit the depths of the recession in early 2009. It's been a slow climb out, much of the delay due to the gridlock in Congress. Elected representatives did not want to legislate to improve an economy that might make political "hay" for the other Party. Through that gridlock, the employment situation has improved.

There are still those who attempt to discredit any improvement for political reasons. Some try to bring the "participation rate" into the equation. "Many have tired of looking for work so have dropped out." Many have quit looking for work because they have retired!!! We are seeing thousands of us "boomers" reach retirement age and droping out of 'participating' in the employment arena.

Certainly, many are "underemployed". We have preached the necessity to get a college degree. We have told kids not to worry about building huge piles of college debt. We have assumed they would all find high paying jobs in already saturated fields. In the meantime, we have steered kids away from the trades and from more technical work. Now, there is a shortage of construction workers, medical technicians, etc. There is a glut of history majors, graphic arts majors, etc.

Our firm won't let me retire. I'm 68 years old and they insist that I continue working 50 hours/week. There just aren't folks out there prepared to do what I do. One of our offices is looking for Engineers and would hire those with experience on the spot. They just aren't out there!!

As I've said before, on this discussion board, not one of our kids went to college out of high school and all have remained gainfully employed. Knock on wood, not one of our kids or their spouses has ever moved from one job unless they have had a better one waiting.

If you want work... If you really want work and will go where the work is and will exhibit good work ethic, you can find work in the U.S. today. If the area in which you live happens to fall into one of the higher unemployment locations and you are not willing to move... you will be unemployed or underemployed. If you can't show up on time, show up sober, show up willing to work harder and longer than anyone else there... you will be unemployed or underemployed. If you are assuming you are 'owed' employment and do not feel it necessary to learn something new every day... you will be unemployed or underemployed.

I mostly agree but unless you have such a high demand or unique skill it's tough in many areas of the country and it is cost prohibitive to move or retrain for many even if advanced certification. I've seen geographic differences in economic robustness for decades. I don't think it's just the 62 year olds or retirement age not working above board anyway.

I think a problem for many around 50ish is that they were the first generation brainwashed into believing they could have a career for life in other words it's what you do, what you are. This works against the job applicant and employer because both are thinking in terms of specialists/specialties which makes it's tough to get work out their field even though they could do it-tunnel vision. I know hard core blue collar with licenses and certifications that have trouble finding a job. Many of the good union jobs also have stipulations or non competes which prohibit retirees not at social security or pension yet from working in their field in any fashion. Many HRs profile justly or unjustly.

I will say more will have to accept that they will have to change or adapt. Doing 30 at one job or company is a rarity and will be a rarity..