What nonsense.  All the numbers prove is that more people have given up looking and there’s yet to be a net gain in new jobs created.  But that’s OK, a trillion dollar stimulus later, it’s still all Bush’s fault.

http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2009/12/if-economy-lost-jobs-why-did.html

http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2009/12/unemployment-record-number-unemployed.html

Some interesting analysis there; I am concerned still that it may be a long, hard slog.

Unemployment is down.
Number of jobs available are down.
That does add up.
I suspect that those searching for jobs are either dieing of old age or of starvation.
Don

#1 well - most of the stimulus money has not been spent as of yet.  The problem is the credit markets have not opened up. 

I’m not sure why this would be Obama’s fault.  Perhaps it wasn’t Bush’s fault, but those who thought that high financiers had the best interest of the country, and not their personal profit, at heart.

#3 - I wonder also.  Where are the churches?  Are we all fulfilling our Christian obligation or do we expect the government to hand things out to people?  Are we opening our homes and sharing work?  Are Christian Businessmen doing what they can do?

Not trying to be a downer, however, these numbers include seasonal hirings and those who unemployment benefits have expired.  We should be way more concerned about the actual unemployment number rather than those eligible for benefits.

Usually the numbers are “seasonably adjusted” to account for the temporary retail workers hired at this time of the year.

Yes, we should be concerned that some people have “fallen off” the end of the unemployment numbers because their benefits have run out or they’ve simply given up. There are probably also those who are “underemployed”—that have taken low paying jobs or part-time work and are technically no longer “unemployed”.

It should be remembered that employment is a “trailing indicator”—that is, it starts to improve after the economy starts improving.

It seems to me that some of the nay-sayers are revealing the American penchant for instant gratification. It is going to take a while to recover from this mess. It is probably going to take a lot of effort to do so, and it probably will not be totally smooth sailing.

While this recession hasn’t been as bad as the Great Depression, it is the worst that most of us alive have experienced. I was born toward the end of that era and have no real memory of it. That took over a decade to recover, and some say it was actually WWII that ended it. Let’s hope and pray that the solution to the current crisis is more beneficial than employment and production to blow things up and kill people.

The more honest number of unemployed is closer to 18% which includes those who still unemployed after their benefits have run out.

7. LeightonC wrote:

The more honest number of unemployed is closer to 18% which includes those who still unemployed after their benefits have run out.

Yes, but you would have to change the historical record as well to make any valid comparison.

Um, correct me if I’m wrong, but don’t they almost always adjust these numbers after a few weeks?  I’m pretty sure they do, because every time they do it, the stock market reacts for good or ill, and I’m almost certain that I have seen a regular pattern of these numbers being re-adjusted a few weeks after they were initially announced.

As for one commenter’s suggestion that we open our homes and share our work…lead the way.

Tell us how many folks in your area are now living with you in your home.  Tell us about how you share your pulpit with the local unemployed every week and give them a speaking honorarium.  I am eager to hear how well that works out.  After all, a person in leadership should lead by example, not just say nice things. 

I would be happy to “share” my work, but the person would need to pass a security background check, be alcohol and drug free, and have years of advanced electronics experience and education.  Also, there is the little problem of my employer not granting someone not actually employed with them, access to the areas that I work.  So, I guess “sharing my work” is out.  If only I were a physician or a clergyman, then it would be a simple thing to share my work with someone else. [/sarc]

I think #4’s comment was directed more to Christian business leaders who have the choice of eeking out as much money as possible, or sacrificing some profits for the sake of others still being able to earn a living for themselves and their families.  One would assume that churches are doing everything they can to feed, to clothe, to provide shower space, etc for all those in their area that they possibly can.

Calculated risk has another excellent post up on this—

“The bottom line is the decline in the unemployment rate this month was noise, and the unemployment rate will probably increase further. If the economy adds about 2 million payroll jobs next year, we’d expect the unemployment rate to still be at about 10% at the end of the year. “

http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2009/12/if-economy-lost-jobs-why-did.html