Unemployment Explained


COSTELLO:
I want to talk about the unemployment rate in America .

ABBOTT:
Good Subject. Terrible Times. It's 7.8%.

COSTELLO:
That many people are out of work?

ABBOTT:
No, that's 14.7%.

COSTELLO:
You just said 7.8%.

ABBOTT:
7.8% Unemployed.

COSTELLO:
Right 7.8% out of work.

ABBOTT:
No, that's 14.7%.

COSTELLO:
Okay, so it's 14.7% unemployed.

ABBOTT:
No, that's 7.8%.

COSTELLO:
WAIT A MINUTE. Is it 7.8% or 14.7%?

ABBOTT:
7.8% are unemployed. 14.7% are out of work.

COSTELLO:
If you are out of work you are unemployed.

ABBOTT:
No, Congress said you can't count the "Out of Work" as the unemployed.
You have to look for work to be unemployed.

COSTELLO:
BUT THEY ARE OUT OF WORK!!!

ABBOTT:
No, you miss the point.

COSTELLO:
What point?

ABBOTT:
Someone who doesn't look for work can't be counted with those who look for
work. It wouldn't be fair.

COSTELLO:
To whom?

ABBOTT:
The unemployed.

COSTELLO:
But ALL of them are out of work.

ABBOTT:
No, the unemployed are actively looking for work. Those who are out of
work gave up looking and if you give up, you are no longer in the ranks of
the
unemployed.

COSTELLO:
So if you're off the unemployment rolls that would count as less
unemployment?

ABBOTT:
Unemployment would go down. Absolutely!

COSTELLO:
The unemployment just goes down because you don't look for
work?

ABBOTT:
Absolutely it goes down. That's how they get it to 7.8%. Otherwise it would
be 14.7%. Our govt. doesn't want you to read about 14.7% unemployment.

COSTELLO:
That would be tough on those running for reelection.

ABBOTT:
Absolutely!

COSTELLO:
Wait, I got a question for you. That means there are two ways to bring
down the unemployment number?

ABBOTT:
Two ways is correct.

COSTELLO:
Unemployment can go down if someone gets a job?

ABBOTT:
Correct.

COSTELLO:
And unemployment can also go down if you stop looking for a job?

ABBOTT:
Bingo.

COSTELLO:
So there are two ways to bring unemployment down, and the easier of the two
is to have people stop looking for work.

ABBOTT:
Now you're thinking like an Economist.

COSTELLO:
I don't even know what the hell I just said!

ABBOTT:
Now you're thinking like Congress.

On 2/16/2015 2:53 PM, ChairMan wrote:
Unemployment Explained


COSTELLO:
I want to talk about the unemployment rate in America .

ABBOTT:
Good Subject. Terrible Times. It's 7.8%.

COSTELLO:
That many people are out of work?

ABBOTT:
No, that's 14.7%.

COSTELLO:
You just said 7.8%.

ABBOTT:
7.8% Unemployed.

COSTELLO:
Right 7.8% out of work.

ABBOTT:
No, that's 14.7%.

COSTELLO:
Okay, so it's 14.7% unemployed.

ABBOTT:
No, that's 7.8%.

COSTELLO:
WAIT A MINUTE. Is it 7.8% or 14.7%?

ABBOTT:
7.8% are unemployed. 14.7% are out of work.

COSTELLO:
If you are out of work you are unemployed.

ABBOTT:
No, Congress said you can't count the "Out of Work" as the unemployed.
You have to look for work to be unemployed.

COSTELLO:
BUT THEY ARE OUT OF WORK!!!

ABBOTT:
No, you miss the point.

COSTELLO:
What point?

ABBOTT:
Someone who doesn't look for work can't be counted with those who look for
work. It wouldn't be fair.

COSTELLO:
To whom?

ABBOTT:
The unemployed.

COSTELLO:
But ALL of them are out of work.

ABBOTT:
No, the unemployed are actively looking for work. Those who are out of
work gave up looking and if you give up, you are no longer in the ranks of
the
unemployed.

COSTELLO:
So if you're off the unemployment rolls that would count as less
unemployment?

ABBOTT:
Unemployment would go down. Absolutely!

COSTELLO:
The unemployment just goes down because you don't look for
work?

ABBOTT:
Absolutely it goes down. That's how they get it to 7.8%. Otherwise it would
be 14.7%. Our govt. doesn't want you to read about 14.7% unemployment.

COSTELLO:
That would be tough on those running for reelection.

ABBOTT:
Absolutely!

COSTELLO:
Wait, I got a question for you. That means there are two ways to bring
down the unemployment number?

ABBOTT:
Two ways is correct.

COSTELLO:
Unemployment can go down if someone gets a job?

ABBOTT:
Correct.

COSTELLO:
And unemployment can also go down if you stop looking for a job?

ABBOTT:
Bingo.

COSTELLO:
So there are two ways to bring unemployment down, and the easier of the two
is to have people stop looking for work.

ABBOTT:
Now you're thinking like an Economist.

COSTELLO:
I don't even know what the hell I just said!

ABBOTT:
Now you're thinking like Congress.

Makes sense to me.

On Mon, 16 Feb 2015 13:53:21 -0600, "ChairMan"
wrote:

Unemployment Explained

Gallup CEO: Jobless rate a 'big lie' created by White House

http://video.foxnews.com/v/4034047728001/gallup-ceo-jobless-rate-a-big-lie-created-by-white-house/?playlist_id=903354961001#sp=show-clips

https://tinyurl.com/nw68ol4

Gallup CEO: Labor Dept. numbers are misleading

http://video.foxnews.com/v/4034315814001/gallup-ceo-labor-dept-numbers-are-misleading/?playlist_id=921261890001#sp=show-clips

https://tinyurl.com/lh33hm3

Speak softly and carry a SELFIE stick

On 2/16/2015 2:12 PM, Oren wrote:
On Mon, 16 Feb 2015 13:53:21 -0600, "ChairMan"
wrote:

Unemployment Explained

Gallup CEO: Jobless rate a 'big lie' created by White House


Gallup CEO: Labor Dept. numbers are misleading


Fortune Magazine: Is the unemployment rate really just a 'Big Lie'?

Jim Clifton, CEO of the polling service Gallup, wants to expose a
conspiracy theory so vast that it will indict not just the government,
but Wall Street and the media as well. These three entities have
worked in concert to prop up the “Big Lie” that America’s unemployment
rate is a mere 5.6%, as the Labor Department claims.

First, a little explainer on why the official unemployment rate, also
called U3, is compiled the way it is. The Labor Department releases
six different measures of unemployment, using different assumptions
for each one. The U1 rate, for instance, only counts people who have
been unemployed for less than six weeks, while the broadest measure,
U6, counts as unemployed folks who are working part time but wish to
be working full time. It also marks people who don’t have a job but
have looked for one in the past year (rather than four weeks as with
U3) as unemployed.

Why doesn’t the Labor Department just count all people without a job
as unemployed? Because it wants to distinguish between the truly
unemployed and those people who are, for instance, retired, or staying
home to take care of the house or family while a spouse works.
Counting these people as not part of the labor force is more accurate
than saying that they are unemployed.

In other words, the Labor Department has to make some distinctions to
present an accurate portrayal of the labor market. If you simply want
to know what percentage of the population has a job versus those that
don’t, there is a statistic for that too. It’s called the
employment-to-population ratio. But that number tends to rise and fall
for demographic and social reasons. It rose throughout the late 20th
century, as women began to join the labor force in large numbers. And
it is now trending downward, mostly because of the aging of the
population.

But focusing on this number won’t tell us how strong the labor market
is relative to, say, five years ago. That’s why we have to designate
some people as in the labor market and others as not. Some argue that
the U6, which counts the underemployed as unemployed is a better gauge
of the the labor market’s health. And they have a leg to stand on. But
if you’re trying to understand what percentage of the labor market
doesn’t have a job, counting people with part-time jobs as unemployed
would also be misleading.

Finally, for the unemployment rate to be a “Big Lie,” you’d have to
believe that human beings have an innate understanding of what
constitutes a good unemployment rate. Why is a 5.6% unemployment rate
good, anyway? That still means that millions of Americans are out of
work. We think it’s good because we lived through a period of 10%
unemployment not that long ago. And by any measure, U6 or U3, the job
market is better today than it was in 2009.

http://fortune.com/2015/02/04/unemployment-rate-gallup/

Also, what Gallup carefully failed to mention is that the BLS has
measured unemployment this way for decades. It is nothing new.

On Mon, 16 Feb 2015 14:40:19 -0600, Moe DeLoughan
wrote:

On 2/16/2015 2:12 PM, Oren wrote:
On Mon, 16 Feb 2015 13:53:21 -0600, "ChairMan"
wrote:

Unemployment Explained

Gallup CEO: Jobless rate a 'big lie' created by White House


Gallup CEO: Labor Dept. numbers are misleading


Fortune Magazine: Is the unemployment rate really just a 'Big Lie'?

Jim Clifton, CEO of the polling service Gallup, wants to expose a
conspiracy theory so vast that it will indict not just the government,
but Wall Street and the media as well. These three entities have
worked in concert to prop up the “Big Lie” that America’s unemployment
rate is a mere 5.6%, as the Labor Department claims.

First, a little explainer on why the official unemployment rate, also
called U3, is compiled the way it is. The Labor Department releases
six different measures of unemployment, using different assumptions
for each one. The U1 rate, for instance, only counts people who have
been unemployed for less than six weeks, while the broadest measure,
U6, counts as unemployed folks who are working part time but wish to
be working full time. It also marks people who don’t have a job but
have looked for one in the past year (rather than four weeks as with
U3) as unemployed.

Why doesn’t the Labor Department just count all people without a job
as unemployed? Because it wants to distinguish between the truly
unemployed and those people who are, for instance, retired, or staying
home to take care of the house or family while a spouse works.
Counting these people as not part of the labor force is more accurate
than saying that they are unemployed.

In other words, the Labor Department has to make some distinctions to
present an accurate portrayal of the labor market. If you simply want
to know what percentage of the population has a job versus those that
don’t, there is a statistic for that too. It’s called the
employment-to-population ratio. But that number tends to rise and fall
for demographic and social reasons. It rose throughout the late 20th
century, as women began to join the labor force in large numbers. And
it is now trending downward, mostly because of the aging of the
population.

But focusing on this number won’t tell us how strong the labor market
is relative to, say, five years ago. That’s why we have to designate
some people as in the labor market and others as not. Some argue that
the U6, which counts the underemployed as unemployed is a better gauge
of the the labor market’s health. And they have a leg to stand on. But
if you’re trying to understand what percentage of the labor market
doesn’t have a job, counting people with part-time jobs as unemployed
would also be misleading.

Finally, for the unemployment rate to be a “Big Lie,” you’d have to
believe that human beings have an innate understanding of what
constitutes a good unemployment rate. Why is a 5.6% unemployment rate
good, anyway? That still means that millions of Americans are out of
work. We think it’s good because we lived through a period of 10%
unemployment not that long ago. And by any measure, U6 or U3, the job
market is better today than it was in 2009.

http://fortune.com/2015/02/04/unemployment-rate-gallup/

Also, what Gallup carefully failed to mention is that the BLS has
measured unemployment this way for decades. It is nothing new.

I'll defer to those that understand fuzzy math.

The odd thing is that when large numbers are placed on disability, say
due to anxiety or such, under the administration, they are removed
from the unemployment numbers?

Arithmetic is hard.

On Monday, February 16, 2015 at 3:12:38 PM UTC-5, Oren wrote:
On Mon, 16 Feb 2015 13:53:21 -0600, "ChairMan"
wrote:

Unemployment Explained

Gallup CEO: Jobless rate a 'big lie' created by White House

http://video.foxnews.com/v/4034047728001/gallup-ceo-jobless-rate-a-big-lie-created-by-white-house/?playlist_id=903354961001#sp=show-clips

https://tinyurl.com/nw68ol4

Gallup CEO: Labor Dept. numbers are misleading

http://video.foxnews.com/v/4034315814001/gallup-ceo-labor-dept-numbers-are-misleading/?playlist_id=921261890001#sp=show-clips

https://tinyurl.com/lh33hm3

Speak softly and carry a SELFIE stick

All you do is wear farmer jeans with the pockets cutout so you can play with your popsicle stick all day.

On Monday, February 16, 2015 at 3:04:42 PM UTC-5, Frank wrote:
On 2/16/2015 2:53 PM, ChairMan wrote:
Unemployment Explained


COSTELLO:
I want to talk about the unemployment rate in America .

ABBOTT:
Good Subject. Terrible Times. It's 7.8%.

COSTELLO:
That many people are out of work?

ABBOTT:
No, that's 14.7%.

COSTELLO:
You just said 7.8%.

ABBOTT:
7.8% Unemployed.

COSTELLO:
Right 7.8% out of work.

ABBOTT:
No, that's 14.7%.

COSTELLO:
Okay, so it's 14.7% unemployed.

ABBOTT:
No, that's 7.8%.

COSTELLO:
WAIT A MINUTE. Is it 7.8% or 14.7%?

ABBOTT:
7.8% are unemployed. 14.7% are out of work.

COSTELLO:
If you are out of work you are unemployed.

ABBOTT:
No, Congress said you can't count the "Out of Work" as the unemployed.
You have to look for work to be unemployed.

COSTELLO:
BUT THEY ARE OUT OF WORK!!!

ABBOTT:
No, you miss the point.

COSTELLO:
What point?

ABBOTT:
Someone who doesn't look for work can't be counted with those who look for
work. It wouldn't be fair.

COSTELLO:
To whom?

ABBOTT:
The unemployed.

COSTELLO:
But ALL of them are out of work.

ABBOTT:
No, the unemployed are actively looking for work. Those who are out of
work gave up looking and if you give up, you are no longer in the ranks of
the
unemployed.

COSTELLO:
So if you're off the unemployment rolls that would count as less
unemployment?

ABBOTT:
Unemployment would go down. Absolutely!

COSTELLO:
The unemployment just goes down because you don't look for
work?

ABBOTT:
Absolutely it goes down. That's how they get it to 7.8%. Otherwise it would
be 14.7%. Our govt. doesn't want you to read about 14.7% unemployment.

COSTELLO:
That would be tough on those running for reelection.

ABBOTT:
Absolutely!

COSTELLO:
Wait, I got a question for you. That means there are two ways to bring
down the unemployment number?

ABBOTT:
Two ways is correct.

COSTELLO:
Unemployment can go down if someone gets a job?

ABBOTT:
Correct.

COSTELLO:
And unemployment can also go down if you stop looking for a job?

ABBOTT:
Bingo.

COSTELLO:
So there are two ways to bring unemployment down, and the easier of the two
is to have people stop looking for work.

ABBOTT:
Now you're thinking like an Economist.

COSTELLO:
I don't even know what the hell I just said!

ABBOTT:
Now you're thinking like Congress.

Makes sense to me.

you just have to wait for a new generation of votes to be fooled for the rates to improve.