Unemployment Drops to 9.4%
- Posted on January 7, 2011 at 9:07am by
Jonathon M. Seidl
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s unemployment rate dropped to 9.4 percent last month, its lowest level in 19 months. That was because more people found jobs, but also because some people gave up on their job searches.
The Labor Department says employers added 103,000 jobs in December, an improvement from November’s revised total of 71,000 but far below most analysts’ expectations.
Private employers added a net total of 113,000 jobs last month. Government shed 10,000.
The drop in the unemployment rate was partly influenced because the government no longer counts people as unemployed when they stop looking for work.
Through all of 2010, the nation added 1.1 million jobs, or an average of 94,000 jobs a month.
Economists expect hiring will ramp up this year, with some predicting double last year’s total of jobs or more. A tax cut package enacted last month should boost consumer and business spending.
More people were hired in previous months than the government first estimated. The economy added 210,000 jobs in October, above the previous figure of 172,000. November’s total was revised up from 39,000.
Fewer people said they were out of work last month. The number of unemployed fell by more than 500,000 to just under 14.5 million.
Still, the unemployment rate has topped 9 percent for 20 months, the longest such streak on record. And even with last year’s job gains, the unemployment rate fell only from 9.7 percent to 9.4 percent.
The economy needs to generate about 125,000 jobs a month just to keep up with population growth and prevent the unemployment rate from rising. More than double that amount is needed to reduce the rate.
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Comments (91)
vennoye
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 11:36amWe all know that the “real unemployment” rates are much higher than 9.4%. Washington has been under reporting the rates for a long time. Google “unemployment numbers” and “real unemployment rates” and you will find that a lot of people have had questions for a long time about the numbers!!
Report Post »See article from DailyFinance: http://srph.it/bjW9Zv
Unemployment numbers are like inflation numbers that do not include food and energy!!
foxislyingtoallofyou
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 11:35amHeres some facts:
Boehner spent $89,000 on GOLF last year.
Obama has created more jobs in 2 years than Bush in 8 years!
Report Post »BlueknightUSA
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 11:21amWOOOWHOOO!! Happy Dayz are here again, the skys are bright and clear again! The Chosen One has come through for us! We are saved, A whole .4% …somebody pinch me cuz I must be dreaming.
Report Post »HippoNips
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 11:05amThank You Republicans and Tea Party !!!
Report Post »Now the Republicans controllng the House,,employers can exhale knowing that Obama’s left wing agenda is stifled.
Things are going to get increasingly better now.
Workforit
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 10:43amIt was Christmas seasonal hiring… You know what I want to see is a monthly count on new business license applications…. That is what I did, started my own business, a couple of them. As a former low level mortgage professional I can tell you first hand that there are some really stupid people that make more than a decent living. I know… I’ve seen their books.
Report Post »coolwalker
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 10:40amI think those that “fell of the list” just stopped looking for jobs that weren’t there. Yeah, the Stimulus really worked.
Report Post »Gunonesis
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 10:16amThey didn’t create as many Santa Claus and elf positions as expected, however, the 9.4 number is a boat-load of their commie BS.
Report Post »Stacey
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 10:09am9.4?…..9.4?………..when it gets to 4.9 let me know…….we’ll party
Report Post »eat-more-bacon-USA
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 10:07amUnrelated, but shocking and disgusting – 41% of NYC Pregnancies End in Abortion –
Report Post »http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local/new_york&id=7883827
sWampy
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 1:54pmCongress should pass a law making abortion 100% legal anytime for free, if both parents agree to be sterilized at the time of the abortion. No matter how you slice it, abortion shouldn’t be the primary method of birth control in a nation.
Report Post »arjundawg
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 9:56amIn the great depression 1 in 4 people were said to be unemployed …25%
Report Post »Today the U3 survey numbers from the BLS says 9.4%
And those numbers are heavily skewed towards a lower number
I know you can’t compare the 2 but lets entertain that idea for one moment.
Great depression = hard times for a much more independent society
There are 3 times more people here now than then
So for every 100 people then there is 300 now
Or for every 25 people unemployed then there are 28.2 unemployed today.
So even going by their numbers, there are more unemployed today.
Also take into account that women werent as common in the workforce and there was substantially more people living off the land fending for themselves which didnt count.
I can only conclude, we live in an overly dependent society with a larger problem than the Great Depression with the only difference being politicians with bandaids for votes.
The wound is bad my friends, lift the bandaid and take a look.
heavyduty
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 9:45amIt would have dropped even further if the Democrats would have lost the Senate too. Hopefully we will get it done in 2012.
Report Post »Sgt.Crust
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 9:41amummm, what kind of jobs are being added folks, not that it is not a good thing, but I bet it’s not manufacturing?? Also, we have to take that number with a grain of salt, they don’t count those that have dropped off the dole, so our gov’t basically lies to us about these figures, just like they exclude food and gas prices from the CPI, a JOKE!
Report Post »Hoosier Daddy
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 9:38amIn this regime, mythical good news always trumps real bad news. Whatever it takes to keep his nasty a$$ in the White House, is the “truth” of the day. More people see that every day, but will it be enough by 2012? I tend to agree with those who think the unemployment numbers will not affect Jug-ear’s reelection chances nearly as much as gas prices. If they are over or even close to $4.00/gallon in 2012, I think it’s all over for President Turdlicker.
Report Post »arjundawg
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 9:35amI love how they leave out the 150 thousand new people each month that enter the workforce.
Report Post »searching for the Truth
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 9:33amWhere?
Report Post »RepubliCorp
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 9:42amThe planet Charlatan
Report Post »wodiej
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 9:29amThis is so stupid. Of course employment went up in December-retailers do most of their business around Christmas which also increases manufacturing production.
Report Post »jacobstroubles
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 9:36amwodiej,
Report Post »Oh yes indeed… but hopefully all the sleeply little Americans will get sleepy again after hearing this
incredible news! It’s a soft sweet little good news lullaby of sugar plum fairies dancing in their heads..
So all the corrupt elected officials and the other players can go back to their corrupt evil ways..
They were just chomping at the bit to get back to business, and with everybody awake, that cant happen..
Well they can all rub their sleep little eyes and go back to sleep now, cause the White Horse appears to be coming into focus..and we‘ll soon see who it’s rider is.
jacobstroubles
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 9:26amjan 7th…
Good news everybody… Unemployment has miracuously dropped .4 % in less than 30 days..INCREDIBLE.. Intel CEO Oterlli, says Intel will build 4 or 5 more plants this year..with 75% of them in the USA.. Car sales are way up. Ohhhhh goood times are now just ahead for all!..
FYI: If it feels really creepy.. about a 98% chance “ IT IS REALLY CREEPY”.
Report Post »Keep your pantry stocked my friends!
buckfitz
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 9:25amReally …. My bet is on holiday hiring
Report Post »psst
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 9:22amThose numbers are all BS. Unemployment is around 16%
Report Post »They massage the numbers. These depts are controlled by Hussein. They produce any numbers he tells em to .
Like the CBO saying that putting the kibosh on O-mama care will increase the dafucit ( Like Ol Sen Sasser called it) by many more Billions.
McCain (no fan of mine) said (paraphrasing) it must take a genius to believe adding 30 Mil more people would decrease the dafucit.
myptofvu
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 9:19amI’m sure we will see BO on TV today touting his accomplishments, but will somebody please explain to me how adding just 100k+ jobs can lower the rate from 9.7 to 9.4? It just dont add up.
Report Post »jacobstroubles
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 9:37amOh yes, he loves the face time, and sound of his own voice..
Report Post »oriondma05
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 10:08amHe will say it’s because of him, a week later they‘ll adjust the numbers back up and it will be GWB’s fault.
Report Post »untameable-kate
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 11:27amI wouldn‘t be surprised to see them do something else to sabotage businesses and then start screaming about how tax cuts don’t work. That 1099 business that they smuggled into the healthcare bill was sure something.
Report Post »Beckofile
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 9:15amThis statistic is about as reliable and government manipulated as the CPI is an indication of inflation. In CPI we don’t count foof and energy when measuring the cost of goods??? In unemployment we don’t count the people without jobs since they are no longer on government assistance??? Go to shadowstats if you want the real story. This is more government propoganda so you will go out and shop today.
Report Post »AWatchman4Him
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 9:14amMonth after month about 450,000 people apply for unemployment benefits and the Rate stays the same and never goes up, now two weeks of a decline and it drops .4% of a point, what a load of garbage, they lie so much !!!
Report Post »waitin42012
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 12:57pmYeah isn’t that something? It just amazes me how they cook up the numbers. Every day I hear that the economy is getting better, I just laugh. The liberal media will say anything that the corrupt Oblahma administration wants them to say. All I can say is the job market and real estate market in AZ SUCKS. I have been unemployed for over 1 year and I have been called for 1 interview after sending hundreds and hundreds of resumes. I think the part that is the most sad is that when all of these millions of people stop getting unemployment and still don’t have a job, they just aren’t a factor any longer? I just wonder how many American citizens will be living on the street homeless and this administration will keep taking credit for the lowered unemployment rate?
Report Post »Adlu
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 9:13amI’m sure the new republican majority in the House will claim credit for numbers they once chided as minimal.
Report Post »mikem1969
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 9:32amgo ahead, bash the republicans again, that is all you have left insult and blame for what you dems, libs, and progressives caused to begin with. The rate only dropped because of the holiday jobs, temp, by the way. And also because a lot of people have stopped looking for jobs, and when you stop looking, your benefits end.
Report Post »Sgt.Crust
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 10:18amand when they are no longer on the dole, are no longer counted by our lying Gov’t
Report Post »@leftfighter
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 10:25amIn essence, that‘s exactly what’s happening.
Now that the Bush tax rates have been extended and GOP is in control of the purse strings, businesses know that they aren’t going to be raked over the tax coals.
Let me restate a slightly simpler way:
-Business owners know they‘ll have money and won’t have to lay people off next month because some tax-happy, free spending Statist won’t jack confiscatory tax rates up at the drop of a hat.
-Now that this is established, they’re somewhat free to reinvest that money into growing their business and hiring people to allow for that growth.
You want proof this is what’s happening? Remember how everyone on the Left wants to give Clinton credit for the economic boom of the ‘90’s? Who was in control of the House when it happened?
Yeah.
Report Post »TonyDarrington
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 4:23pmNO, BO will take the credit due to his “Tax Cuts”. Jonathon Seidl even fell into the trap of calling it a tax cut. The Tax rate extension will have a minimal -at best- effect on the economy. The tax rate is not changing. It would have been bad on the economy if the rates expired (increased). It would have been better to get an actual cut.
Report Post »PDfromToledo
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 9:13amThe only reason for that is because people have run out of unemployement bennies and have stopped “counting”.
Report Post »@leftfighter
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 9:12amWOO HOO! Barack Obama now has something to hang his hat on!
He dropped unemployment ONCE in TWO YEARS!
Report Post »hkyfan36
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 9:20amAnd thats only because he couldn’t get the unemployment extension signed fast enough. If he would have gotten that passed he would still be at 0.
Report Post »tobywil2
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 9:24amDoes anybody know anybody who has found a job? http://commonsense21c.com/
Report Post »wildjoker5
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 9:28amDropped during Christmas shopping, WHAT A SHOCK!!!
Report Post »slickmeister
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 9:30amShouldn’t credit go to the Republican takeover of the House?
Report Post »mikem1969
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 9:30amThe rate only dropped because of all the temp holiday jobs that are now gone, and because people have given up their benefits and stopped looking for jobs.
Report Post »wildjoker5
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 9:30am…and after the Tax cuts extention? Man, I guess Obama finally seeing the light of conservatives speak for the past 2 years mean that he is doing something right?
Report Post »Independent Tess
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 9:43amThis piece said the 9% unemployment rate for 20 months is the longest on record. Just checked and the unemployment rates for the Great Depression ranged 10% – 20% from 1930 – 1940. That’s 10 years!
Report Post »Am I misreading?
NickDeringer
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 9:50amHappy Days!!! I guess all those people who got laid off in my town just before Christmas will be thrilled to hear it.
Report Post »what4
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 9:52amMore people gave up, than actually found jobs!
Report Post »AzDebi
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 9:57ame2 MOMENT: The Bureau of Labor Statistic’s unemployment rate is a problem (surprise!)….Mostly because it counts people who want full time jobs but can only find part-time jobs as being fully employed. The BLS has a number for that too which they call U-6, which counts people who are “UNEMPLOYED.” …(Why does everything have to be twisted with this government? Why?)…The U-6 rate was at 17.4% SO that means the TRUE RATE is NOW 17.1…CONGRATULATIONS BO!
AND something that number misses is the number of people who have fallen out of the jobs market entirely. Meaning that they’ve looked for a job, couldn’t find a job, and so have given up looking despite the fact that they still NEED and WANT a job.
If you calculate those people in, the unemployment rate is closer to 22%
Report Post »oriondma05
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 10:04am@Tobywil2 – Well this is actually for anyone interested. I work in the Oilfield/Natural Gas industry. Areas like the Marcellus Shale in PA/WV/OH are booming, also the Bakken Shale in the Dakotas.
The oil industry is not just looking for people to work at rigs & well sites. They need chemists, engineers, IT personnel, HR personnel, heavy duty mechanics, electronics technicians, warehouse attendants.
In addition, the areas where the boom is going on needs people to service hotels, local mechanics, restaurants, etc.
I luckily was recruited out of Boston 5 years ago to Oklahoma and have moved since then. The oilfield is a great place to meet people and make a living if you can lift a finger, show initiative and be mobile.
Please visit http://www.gomarcellusshale.com, http://www.naturalgasmatters.com or search for an oil and gas recruiter. Even without experience, many companies are willing to train if you are willing to move.
Other companies you may look at are: Schlumberger, Halliburton, BJ Services/Baker Hughes, Weatherford Int, Superior Well Services, Frac Tech.
Chesapeake, Range Resources, Anadarko Petroleum, Chief Oil & Gas.
I have no stake in this other than getting some honest people a chance.
-Dave
Report Post »AzDebi
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 10:11am@oriondma05….I think it’s GREAT that you post this! Thank You!
Report Post »@leftfighter
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 10:11am@ tobywil2
I’ve been unemployed and reemployed within the past 12 months. Took me SIX MONTHS to find a job. I felt sick about taking unemployment. I hate taking hand-outs.
…and, you‘ll notice I wasn’t a 99-er. Just sayin’. If I can find a job, so can they.
The only times in my life that I‘ve looked longer was when I was passively searching and turning down jobs that weren’t right for me.
Report Post »@leftfighter
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 10:13am@ Independent Tess
No, you’re not misreading.
Read the Amity Schlaes book, The Forgotten Man. Unemployment was 25% for a long time there.
Report Post »M 4 Colt
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 10:19amJust wait it will go back up, with food, oil and the cost of other basic items on the way up company’s will look for ways to cut their overhead and one of the first ways they will do that is to cut manpower. We have some very bad times ahead of us folks, so i hope you have listened to Glen and have planed ahead and stocked some extra food and supply’s for your family because its going to get alot worst before it starts to get better but God willing we will make it through the dark days of the next two years with Obama in control of our White House..
Report Post »LtdGovt
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 10:20am@AZDEBI Thanks for that post! If you have a FB account you may want to post those figures there. I’d love to see those figures spread around the FB community!
Report Post »Wait till next month’s when January numbers are released. This is a shell game, nothing more. Next month the number will, in all likelyhood, be highter since, as many of you have pointed out, Holiday Hiring.
snowleopard3200 {cat folk art}
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 10:28amI have to wonder how much of this drop comes from last minute hiring for the christmas season; there is still a good chance of it hitting back upward and hard. I guess this could also just be the simple fact of Obama having gotten lucky once in awhile; a clock that is not working is right on the time twice a day after all.
Report Post »RightWrite
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 11:42amHoliday and end-of-year shopping, along with business spending, is like this every year for the season as business hires for the season. Why try to brag on these numbers?
Report Post »AzDebi
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 11:53am@LTDGOVT: Boy, do I feel stupid…what’s an FB account?
Report Post »Dandylyon
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 12:05pmYou all got to know that it’s because of the holiday hireing and January,Febuary the rate will go back up……………………don’t you?
This is a non-issue,I guess Morgan has not kicked in yet.
Report Post »thorkyl
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 12:56pmWait till next week and you will see the number adjusted back up.
If you look at the history of the unemployment numbers for the last year.
They always gave a number, then within 3 weeks they issue a corrected number.
Wagering a cup of coffee that it is adjusted to at least 9.5%
Report Post »scguitar
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 1:53pmWhat? Unemployment dropped during the holiday season and because they stopped counting people that aren’t looking for work? Who could have predicted that? If this is so great, shouldn’t stocks be up right now?
Report Post »Polwatcher
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 3:20pmThe inderemployment rate went up to %19. That is the real number to watch. The unemployment rate means as much as the cpi inflation index which exclude such trivial things as food and energy which are soaring. There is no inflation like there is no increase in unemployment.
Report Post »brotherhiram
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 3:20pmso what this article is really telling me is that the nation’s reaction to the November Elections and the take over of congress by the republicans, has pushed business owners (those who actually give jobs) to open up and start hiring because they feel better about the direction of the country….
well or maybe is just that retail stores hire seasonal workers in december…
Report Post »suttonea76
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 4:07pmFolks, the feedback of businesses rampantly hired people once they got word that the tax cuts were extended 2 years and Obamacare might be repealed completely. Think about it from the aspect of the business owner as these two things were the most influential decisions to wait on hiring and expanding your business. Most Democrats couldn’t figure this out as most Democrats know nothing about the plight of the private business owners. We just need to keep Bernanke from printing more money on his assumption we need another f’n stimulus to speed up recovery as he and other liberals have been discussing.
Report Post »vngstr
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 7:16pmHey I have a bridge to sell you in iraq!!!! PRistine for only 14 million!!!
Report Post »independentvoteril
Posted on January 7, 2011 at 9:14pmWait unitl the end of the month when RETAILERS layoff.. UP it goes.. the only thing we are doing now is buying FOOD and paying bills.. well maybe ordering a few new heritage seeds for spring planting..
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