Nothing to Rejoice Over in November 2015 Job Figures

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has released the (preliminary) employment figures for November 2015. Unemployment is stable at 5 percent after the creation of 211,000 jobs. Of course liberals and Democrats are ecstatic about their president’s “excellent” employment performance compared to George W. Bush’s.

However, we must look beyond these meaningless unemployment figures. The participation rate of the population, for example, is still around its lowest level since October 1977. In other words unemployment stays low because fewer people are looking for jobs (although the rate did increase 0.1 percent from October).

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The trend applies to nearly all ethnic groups, sexes and age groups. Overall White participation rates has decreased 0.5 percent (-0.6 percent for youth 16-19) since November 2014 while it increased 0.1 percent for African Americans (-2.8 for youth). For Hispanics overall participation rates decreased 0.4 percent (-1.7 for youth).

We can see this low participation rate in the U6 measure. It is still stable at 9.9 percent, almost twice the “official” unemployment rate, around what it was in mid-2007. So much for recovery… The figure includes discouraged people not looking for work anymore and those working part-time for economic reason.

Speaking of them, they are the main reason why employment figures still look strong. Part-time workers for economic reasons have increased over 300,000 since October, while private employment and self-employment shed nearly 150,000 jobs. However government employment is still strong, increasing by over 500,000 jobs, while the agricultural sector gained about 30,000 jobs.

In other words President Barack Obama’s destruction of the economy is still going on. So yes, one can say that Obamacare kills (productive) jobs while costing ever more in premiums. It has also created a crowding out of state spending where Medicaid was expanded. So there is less money for roads and schools.

The Dodd-Frank Act, supposedly voted to protect consumers against big banks, has actually “protected” them from having more banks. A study from the Competitive Enterprise Institute shows that a single bank has opened in America since the law was voted 5 years ago. And another study from Mercatus shows that 28 percent of small community banks have shut down since 2000.

So people have no choice but to turn to larger banks. Combined with near-null interest rates, this situation will likely create a repetition (or worse) of the 2007 crisis. Don’t forget that inflation is bound to explode one day or another. The Federal Reserve has more than quadrupled its assets since 2008.

In short, it’s time to wake up America. You are nearing the end of an 8-year nightmare. Make sure the next Congress (and president) will actually work for you and help you re-energize the economy.

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