US Employment and the Labor Participation Rate
US Employment Numbers were released this morning. They are published once a month, usually on the first Friday of the month. This morning's report showed that the economy created 204,000 jobs last month. In addition, there were upward revisions to the previous two months. Government types will be crowing about how well the economy is doing. On the other hand, the unemployment rate, ticked up to 7.3% from 7.2%. Talking heads will also say that's a good thing because it's a sign discouraged workers are starting to look for jobs again. That's because if you've stopped looking because you are discouraged the government says you are not considered unemployed.Go figure.
While these numbers are certainly encouraging it still shows that the "recovery" is going very slowly. Generally ,in a .robust recovery, the economy creates 300 - 350 thousand jobs per month. the US is still only creating 175,000 per month on average. Unemployment still stands over 7% versus a 4% "acceptable" rate. The number that truly bothers me is something the government never talks about (naturally). It's called the Labor Participation Rate and it stands now at 62.8% of the labor force. It's the lowest number since 1978. In other words greater than one-third of the US labor force is not working.
The labor force participation rate is the percentage of working-age persons in an economy who are either employed or are unemployed but looking for a job.Typically "working-age persons" is defined as people between the ages of 16-64. People in those age groups who are not counted as participating in the labor force are typically students, homemakers, and persons under the age of 64 who are retired. On the other hand, the unemployment rate only includes you if you are unemployed but actively seeking employment and willing to work.
So proceed with caution. While it's wonderful to see this good news there are still many pitfalls. I am going to start to look for some cheap stocks that pay high dividends therefore giving you a good yield even if the stock doesn't take off. It will still give you a better return than a savings account.
Recent Comments
9
Ha haah!!! I get that all the time. At restaurants, in the mall. I was in Disney World a couple of years ago and I must of had 20 people come up to me and ask me if I was Dick Cheney. I guess I should start saying yes …maybe I'll get a free meal out of it !!!!
My father always told me if you are given a short answer to a complex issue there is usually something wrong with the message. The numbers are taken out of context and presented to the American people as the real numbers. Thanks for the post.
See more comments
Hi, good article. I don't know what niche you've selected but I think you should select something on economical news and such. You seem to have more knowledge about what isn't being told to all of us. Thanks for the great information.
I chose investments for beginners. I spent 30 yrs on Wall Street helping the big guys. Now I want to help the little guys avoid mistakes and make some money
Having trouble with profitable keywords though
Hi dickens42 why don't you ask Kyle if he can give you some keyword suggestions for investments and such. I'm sure he can guide you in the right direction. Good luck.
Great idea will do thx for the advice