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From Hope to Hopelessness: Obama’s Economy Has 88 Million “Not In Labor Force”

By: LaborUnionReport (Diary)  |  April 7th, 2012 at 08:30 AM  | 

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It was less than a year ago that Barack Obama’s senior adviser, David Plouffe said:

After 2½ years in office, President Obama now “owns” the economy as an issue, according to top adviser David Plouffe, who added he was confident that voters understand that recovering from a devastating recession Mr. Obama inherited takes time.

“Of course he does,” Mr. Plouffe told NBC’s “Today” show host Matt Lauer when asked point-blank if Mr. Obama owns the economy.

“But the American people understand that we — it took us a long time to get to this mess,” Mr. Plouffe said. “It’s going to take us some time to come out. We are making progress.”

Well, after Friday’s jobs numbers came out (the economy added 120,000 jobs) Labor Secretary Hilda Solis promptly proclaimed: “That’s a noteworthy achievement.”

In fact, for the man who campaigned on the message of “hope” in 2008, the 120,000 jobs added is much fewer (about half) than expected and the edging down of the unemployment to 8.2% is not from job creation but from hopelessness.

There are now 88 million American who are “Not In Labor Force,” according to Department of Labor statistics, which the St. Louis Federal Reserve put into this pretty chart:

Obviously, others are seeing past Obama’s cheerleaders.

The Wall Street Journal stated:

But mostly, the picture was disappointing at a time when all eyes are on the U.S. to help keep global growth humming. The jobless rate, which is obtained from a separate survey of households, edged down to 8.2% from 8.3%, its lowest point in three years. However, that decline was due less to new hiring than people abandoning their job searches.

“I’m nervous,” said Jared Bernstein, former chief economist* for Vice President Joe Biden.

* Although Bernstein, according to his bio, is not really a trained-economist (he just played one in Washington), he is right to be nervous.

And, so should the Obama Administration.

The hard truth for Barack Obama is:

People have given up.

They have gone from ‘Hope’ to Hopelessness.

_________________

“Truth isn’t mean. It’s truth.”
Andrew Breitbart (1969-2012)

Cross-posted on LaborUnionReport.com

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COMMENTS

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  • uncmike

    I suspect that’s the 50% who don’t pay taxes, who don’t work, who don’t want to work and are happy to live on the ever-more generous handouts made possible by taxing the heck out of those few who still do work.

    • APA Guy

      If they did, would we have swept them out of the House and whittled down their senate majority so drastically in 2010?

      Don’t let these April numbers fool you…Obama has a serious enthusiasm gap from 2008…particularly among young people on college campuses.

      Keep in mind also we haven’t even seen where gas prices are going once school is out and demand kicks up. Gas will be much higher in the summer because Obama is taking zero steps to address underlying causes. His arrogance will be his undoing…bank on it.

  • clowngirl

    Does “not in the labor force” include stay at home moms, retirees, etc. or is it only those who presumably would like to work but have given up on finding a job?

  • clowngirl

    Does “not in the labor force” include stay at home moms, retirees, etc. or is it only those who presumably would like to work but have given up on finding a job?

    Just asking so I’ll know what I’m talking about if I site this statistic. :)

  • renl57

    In 1975, the U.S. population was 210 million–and this chart says that around 60,000 were not in labor force.

    So that means that in 1975, 1 in every 3,500 were not in labor force.

    Today, the U.S. population is around 310 million, of which 88,000 were not in labor force. So that means that today, 1 in every 3,500 were not in labor force–about the same ratio as in 1975.

    It does not appear that the *percentage* of Americans not in the labor force has increased. Rather, that percentage has stayed fairly constant as the U.S. population has increased by about 50% since 1975.

    • johnt

      n/t

      • CincoSolas_del_Bronx

        Yes, he’s miscalculated based on not reading the chart as 1,000s–so his results should be “1 in every 3.5″–but he’s still correct wrt to the percentages being nearly identical.

        Can anybody reading this put up the chart as percentage of population?

        (Note–I have no knowledge of the issues or accuracy of the claimed figures: just trying to correct potential misunderstandings involving the math.)

        • johnt

          does the stats, b] more important, duration, does ’75 equal almost 4 yrs of stagnation,. I am no stats man, but I am inclined to doubt at a chart that shows nothing but a steady, almost predictable, rise in the unemployment rate. Over more than 30 years ?
          But that’s me, and a dollap of humility is in my case always advisable.

          • CincoSolas_del_Bronx

            any comment at all about the interpretation–I’m clueless about these things–just pointing out a math fact about your proper correction of renl57′s figures.

    • skorrent1

      Of course you mean 1 in every 3.5 are “not in labor force”.

      Unfortunately, the statistic and chart tell us very little. Since ’75, family size has gotten smaller (fewer kids = more working age). Also more married women have entered the labor market. On the other hand, the Boomers are near early retirement, and college enrollments are up, so the demographics are mixed. A much more meaningful statistic would be the proportion of 18 to 65 year-olds getting government handouts, which means they’re not “pulling their own weight”.

      • littlehouse18

        nt

        • mcsul

          It’s a mostly constant 27% – 28% of the population with a few blips, since 1980. The interpretation in the article isn’t ideal, since there’s no massive shifts in relative labor force participation.

          We can definitely argue that, over 31 years, it would have been nice to have an increase in labor force participation. It gets harder to say that we’re in some sort of unprecedented crisis.

          Both the Reagan and Clinton years seem to have been a bit better than both Bush terms.

  • johnt

    Somehow that part never gets mentioned.
    I would’t worry much about the Gallup poll, you might see more of this as we move closer to the election. I suspect some jiggering, & the unemployment #’s, a govt. product, will be beaten black and blue. You may need a microscope to see them come October.
    And maybe headlines screaming,”Obama By Acclaim” or some such. All stops will be pulled out for the Great Destroyer.

  • Raven

    313 Million people, including children. Supposedly, children account for 27.3% of the population for 85 million.

    That means more than a third of the adult population (38%) is no longer counted as part of the labor force.

    Add in the 8.2% “officially” unemployed, and we have nearly half (46%) the adult population actually unemployed.

    That’s sad.

  • lesliemj

    Chicago Law School Faculty Hated Obama

    According to a special report issued by

  • johnt

    and according to him Obama always showed up for the interviews & tours, etc,. rarely for the work. I tend to believe it, why should he lie & it certainly fits what we know post-Harvard. It seems his whole life is a fraud, something from Woody Allen.

  • Common_Cents

    for propping up this phony. Even the financial/economic dolts don’t even do any drilldowns on BLS numbers.

  • snowshooze

    Thanks for taking up this topic. Just minutes ago, I was trying to figure it out.
    I need a breakout on the numbers.
    88 Million not in the job market… what does that mean?
    If that includes my Parents, who are retired, and my children…
    Well, if it is a figure based on the entire population, that is one thing.
    If it is 88 million people within the confines of being eligible for employment, it is another thing.
    So, 88 million, we have in this country around 350 million to the best of my recollection.
    That would reflect about 25% of the population base not being in the workforce.
    But were 88 million applied to otherwise employable..
    Ages 0-16 years plus 65-70 = 21 years unemployable.. ( thumbnail figuring.. ) and leaving 49 years in the employment life value…follow me..
    Aw heck. You get my drift by now.
    88 million, population base, or eligible able-bodied?
    One indicates 25% unemployment.. the other requires further thought.

    • moonmad

      Has nothing to do with how to interpret the number as to how do you come to this number at all. Do they have way to count or are they creating a number sort like they wanted to way to statically project the number or minorities were in a state for the census. The latter is more likely. The statistical projection also lends it self to “adjustments’ to make it “fit” better. That is make the result match the assumptions going in to the “analysis”. In other words figures may not lie but liars figure.

  • glockg22shoots40s

    Like many, I would like to know if this statistic is of the eligible (people who want to work and/or should be working to support themselves and their family) participants who are out of work? I would also like to know what the total number of “eligible” workers there are. Then you could do the math to see the REAL unemployment number.

  • talgus

    he is creating non-workers faster than any prior president. All hail the anti-job president

  • Dave_A

    Some like to claim it’s ‘distorting’ the unemployment numbers to remove such people…

    It’s not. The reason we don’t include folks not seeking work, is because if we did it would add the unemployable (due to lack of skills), ‘professional’ welfare-cases, and various other types of people who will never be employed as ‘unemployed’.

    Further, note the trend from ~1998 to present: This isn’t a new phenomenon – the ‘not-in-labor-force’ group has been growing across 3 administrations, at almost the same rate *without* regard for good or bad economic times (remember, the Bush years were some of the best times we’d seen – at least from 03-07.5…. And it still went up…)

    Now that’s NOT to say Obama’s done a good job with the economy – he’s bungled it worse than Carter…

    But we *do* have a problem here that goes beyond Obama, and it’s something that will continue to add ‘non-workers’ even once the economy recovers… At least according to that data.

  • Dave_A

    ntxt

  • funwithknives

    regarding this very personal topic:
    10 Haven’t had a job in my trade for 4 + years.Construction inspector, roads and utilities.25 years exp.
    2) The entire heavy construction industry in my area (S/E Michigan) has
    ‘left the building’, to an extent and a rapidity, not to be believed.
    3) Virtually no developer even with a proven track record can get financing for a blessed thing.
    4) I personally know of at least three Registered Land Surveyors (in Michigan and multiple states) who cannot find employment in a 5 state area.{ surrounding me} Not so long ago, these people would had been fought over. Civil engineering concerns are slowly falling by the wayside, getting bought out for a pittance, or just folding.

    If This {somewhat biased view, addmittedly} is a model of Hope and Change, in the world of Progressivism, I’ll take the exact opposite what ever That Might Be.

    Since I can’t get any real answers to my responses for employment, I engage others whenever possible when out and about, running the household. One thing I know for sure: I am not unique nor in no-way alone. In fact, I’ve got more nodding aquaintences, than I can count.
    I want to “be of service’ to something of worth. But it’s just not happenin’.
    Does that abstraction figure into these numbers, in any way?

  • gmiller

    1. What is the criterai for inclusion in the survey All peopel who don’t work? Including infant babies? Including cripples? Including jail inmates?

    2. Itis not indexed for population growth.

    3. A ,more meaningful metric would be percentage of working age people not working, or something like that.

    4. I have heard that about 64% of working age people are working.

    I suspect that even considering all of my questions , that the true unemployment rate is very high. I have been relying upon shadowstats.com rather than bogus govt headline numbers, which do not tel the whole story. It appears that the real number is 22%+ now.

  • Patriot’s Tool Box

    I have stated we factually have a 35% unemployment rate several times with most thinking I bumped my head and with few realizing when you no longer collect unemployment they can, but choose not to count those folks. They have been migrating into the welfare camp and more recently into the disability camp. Look it up!

    If you believe the chart you will see this problem was the first of several to be generated on Clinton’s watch. Just a few others see or recognize for what is was when Clinton forced the mortgage lenders to loan to the unqualified or lose access to Fannie, Freddie, or the FHA which they did with nothing to lose as their investment was guaranteed. This factually has led to the sector-related issues we endure today calling it a bank bailout which was more along the line of a reimbursement per contractual agreements that had been in place for years regarding mortgage losses.

    Then he brought us NAFTA / GATT as a favor to Wall Street which in too many forgotten cases funded the likes of GE to relocate offshore like they needed it taking tens of thousands of jobs with them. We Factually have 50,000+ vacant industrial shops across America as a result of NAFTA that once hummed 24/7 standing stripped bare down to the door-jams and window frames sent offshore and reinstalled there. Then lets not forget the .com crash that took one trillion dollars equity out of America.

    As I see it and sorry for the bed-wetters and whiners but I do see it clearly finding there are no and will be no jobs to return to until we cancel NAFTA and put the tariffs back in place period. We have been worn down to the point we celebrate FoMoCo building a plant in Brazil to build the Focus to sell here, again to make Wall Street happy rather than boycotting the entire product line until they bring the jobs home. Wake up! This is our fault and not Washington’s.

    We load-up into rice-grinders to go to Walmart whose product line is 92% manufactured in Communist China. Have we forgotten how to spell communist with them taking the profits earned from the sheep here to build a military and as a direct result we have had to open a new base in Australia to monitor? WTF!

    Now the media has convinced America to back Willard as the nominee, a Wall Street guy who appointed several far-left judges while Governor, created the health care bill for Washington, and have we considered why the democratic media did this? Well? Has anyone considered prior to November they may have a yet to be disclosed torpedo armed and loaded with his name on it?

    How did Santorum get so far having never cast a conservative vote in his career?

    It should spawn consideration that we currently have a second Sheriff beating the same drum as Joe Arpaio in the north east certain more will step up and Obama really may not be there when the bell rings. Then what?

    Imagine the torpedo mentioned, or perhaps that not occurring but Obumbler stepping aside and that perjurer Hillary stepping in. We better get very focused on strengthening the House with real conservatives and take the Senate decisively with the same.

    This nation has been numbed and dumbed up or down to a point that should shock us. We have gone mad! Trade war some shout? With who? Communist China? Canada will be fine. This whole thing makes this clear thinker want to vomit.

    The fuse is way-short folks…

    • acat

      and I’ll even agree that we’ve got a much higher unemployment percentage than most Americans know, the rest of your post is a scattershot menu of black-helicopter-grade paranoia.

      Take some time – today – to go out and really look around, okay?

      Mew

      • Patriot’s Tool Box

        I have taken pictures of the blacked out unmarked helicopters flying through my yard at 180 knots, at 200 feet stampeding the cows on a daily basis back in the 90′s in Citrus County Florida. We all need to get over the denial and take a refresher course in math. No jobs, no tax base; no tax base, deficits.

        • acat

          tax base, and deficits, the rest of your post is just … nuts.

          Whether you call it Helter Skelter or Cloward-Piven, it’s neither inevitable nor even particularly likely.

          Mew

    • funwithknives

      are built in Wayne, Michigan approx 12 miles east of the former Ford B-24 plant( AKA: G M Hydramatic and Corvair assembly plant & also Kaiser-Frazier assembly in the 40′s and 50′s.)
      Said plant is at the intersection of M-12 /Michigan Ave. and Newburgh Road and was formerly called “Wayne Truck Assembly.” BTW I live 17 minutes by freeway,via I-275 south, and would be glad to mail you a picture or 10 illustrating hundreds of the suckers, just waiting for somewhere to go.}

      Models include all Four and 5-door models,& very shortly, C-Max, hybrid and fully electric Focus-based Vans.

      Find one in this country made in Brazil. S’not happenin’,period,E O S .

      As for Walmart, I shop there at least once a week and use the food,drug, food supplement, auto accessory & home commodity lanes and see very few, if any, items marked ‘Made in China’ and I look intensively, to dispel this nasty Tin-Foil Hat rumor.

      We are Not “building a New Base in Australia”, for your info.
      We Are rotating 200 or so marines into and out of the country in multi-month intervals for familiarization training and to further ” commonality” in Ground Forces.{ Australia IS an ALLY, Remember?}
      Getting some of your baseless info from The NewAmerican and UAW/AFL-CIO newsletters can lead ot some befuddlement, as is apparent.

  • Patriot’s Tool Box

    http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/17/world/asia/obama-and-gillard-expand-us-australia-military-ties.html?pagewanted=all

  • Patriot’s Tool Box

    You will find if you follow the link that it is planned to increase the troop level from 200 to 2,500.

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