What’s In a Number, Anyway?

The latest job report is out and the official (U-3) unemployment figure – the one everybody pays attention to – holds steady at 8.3%. So, I guess that means 917 out of every 1000 people who would like a job have one. That doesn’t sound so bad, I guess – unless of course you are one of the unlucky 83 on the outside looking in.

 BHO and his corrupt gang of progressives, including their well-heeled information ministry (aka the corrupt and biased liberal media), because it is now an election year, will spin this as positive news – using weasel words like:

 “Let’s call it a recovery.” 
LAS: Well, OK, if you say so.

 “Unemployment Rate Holds Steady” 
LAS: Yeah, steady at SUCKS.

 “The economy added 227,000 jobs in February …”
 LAS: “…when you need a consistent rate of 400,000 or more for freakin’ ever to drive U-3 down to 4-5%”

 And on down the line of BHO’s Information Ministry, now accessible via exercising the 21st century verb ‘to Google’.

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 8.3% isn’t the only number to consider, however. To come up with this number, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) utilizes some filters.

If you count “underemployed” (those who want a full time job but are stuck with a part time job), “marginally attached” (haven’t looked recently – probably because they’re not the kind to bang their head against a wall), and “discouraged” (have stopped looking altogether, because, 40 weeks of looking – the new normal – really sucks) … the “real underemployment” number is 16.9%.

So, now it boils down to 169 of every 1000 “workers” ain’t really “working” to full capacity. If you are one of the 831 lucky ones with a full-time job, I’ll bet you run into some of them daily. They probably don’t look real happy. 

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 Then, there’s this term ... “seasonally adjusted.” I’m not sure, but I think it has something to do with the people who pick our vegetables and fruits off the vine, and those who sell us our Christmas stocking stuffers.

The Gallup organization does not consider this factor, maybe because they can’t figure just how in the hell BLS determines this filter. Anyway, if you eliminate this filter, the numbers are 9.0% official unemployed and 19.0% “underemployed.” Rounding up for macroeconomic imprecision, that means 1 in 5 people you meet on the street are not earning what they are capable of earning. I'll bet they're not real happy.

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 Then again, it also depends on which neighborhoods you habituate.

Going back to the U-3 baseline, Black male official unemployment “not seasonally adjusted” is 15.2%. God only knows what the “no-filter” rate is. I already know one thing … I don’t want to be caught walking aimlessly around a neighborhood full of those guys. I can easily imagine they are kind of pissed off.  Way too pissed off for me to bother with.

 For the love of God, I don’t know why you people keep voting for DemoHacks.



 LBJ’s ‘Great Society’ brought you nothing but misery. The Trillion Dollar Crap Sandwich (aka Stimulus) brings you nothing but misery. Until you stop banging your nappy heads against the political wall, I’m just avoiding your neighborhoods. Period. End of Sentence.