from My Friend, Fred Brooks July Unemployment @ 6.2% Good... Right? Wrong! Once again The Rest of the Story. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labors July News Release, (The document this unemployment rate is taken from). The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was essentially unchanged at 3.2 million in July. These individuals accounted for 32.9 percent of the unemployed. Over the past 12 months, the number of long-term unemployed has declined by 1.1 million. The civilian labor force participation rate, at 62.9 percent, changed little in July. The participation rate has been essentially unchanged since April. The employment-population ratio, at 59.0 percent, was unchanged over the month but has edged up by 0.3 percentage point over the past 12 months. The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers), at 7.5 million, was unchanged in July. These individuals were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job. The truth is this 1,1 million decline in long-term unemployment is mainly due to those no longer looking. As I have pointed out in the past the true indicator of employment/unemployment is the civilian labor force participation rate which has only dropped 1.8% over these last 3 years and only 0.3% in the last months. The Debt to GDP ratio is projected to be 112.5%. (and people though Reagans 70% was bad but are saying little about Obamas). Fred
Posted on: Mon, 04 Aug 2014 03:29:15 +0000