These 5 Facts Debunk U.S. Jobs Recovery Myth
Employment: You might want to recork that bottle of champagne that you planned to open after another big jobs report. Reality has intervened, with jobs rising a disappointing 142,000 in August. The weakness is no fluke.
Many economists and politicians treated the six-month string of 200,000-plus job gains as a major achievement. But in fact it was merely a slight pickup in the pace of what has been an unusually slow recovery in the U.S. since the recession ended in June 2009.
The August jobs report is an example. Unemployment edged down to 6.1% from 6.2% - "good" news until you realize it fell only because more Americans stopped looking for jobs. A record 92.3 million adults are now "out of the workforce."
Economists note that previous August job reports have tended to be revised upward - and that this report will be, too.
Fair enough. And, as we've said before, one month does not a trend make. But when you have 62 months, which is how long it's been since the last recession ended, you can see some clear trends:
• For all recoveries since World War II, cumulative job growth has averaged 12.5%. This time, job growth is just 6.2%, the worst on record. Based on this, we would need 8.19 million more jobs just to reach "average." That's not a real job recovery at all.
• The labor force shrank 64,000 in the most recent month, pushing the participation rate to 62.8%. The last time it was that low, Jimmy Carter was president.
• A new report says 1-in-3 workers today is a "freelance" - that means 53 million workers without a regular job to go to. This is what qualifies as "employment" in the job-barren Age of Obamanomics.
• In August, the number of hours worked - a proxy for GDP growth - and average hourly wages both rose 2.1% from last year. That only barely beats the current inflation rate of 2%. Not much growth there.
• New data from the Fed show that only the top 10% of American earners have seen their incomes rise under Obama. The rest of us have taken a pay cut.
The purpose of this exercise isn't to bash President Obama. But it's curious that someone whose policies have so clearly failed would double down on his mistakes, prolonging America's economic misery.
Despite 0% interest rates, $7 trillion in added debt, more than $1.5 trillion in stimulus, and the Fed creating more than $4.5 trillion in new money out of thin air, our economy just stumbles along.
Those hoping for a sudden burst of job-creating growth aren't likely to see it until there's a change in Washington. Until then, keep the champagne on ice.
