[Wildcatk23]

What say you?

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Very encouraging news this morning: Private-sector employment increased by 257,000 jobs last month. We've now added 3.7 million private-sector jobs over 23 consecutive months of job growth.

[Image: http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/2012/02/0...-2.top.gif]
January jobs report: Hiring ramps up, unemployment falls

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- American employers substantially stepped up their hiring in January, bringing the unemployment rate down for the fifth month in a row.
Employers added 243,000 jobs in January, the Labor Department reported Friday, marking a pick-up in hiring from December, when the economy added 203,000 jobs.

the unemployment rate fell to 8.3%. That is the lowest since February 2009.
Hiring was much stronger than expected, and once it was apparent the job gains were broad based across several sectors, economists and investors called it a "nice surprise," "fantastic," and even "a touchdown!" Stocks climbed at the market open.

[Stardust]

Trades are up, meaning corporate investors are growing more confident in investing long term in the market.

[RunItUpTheGut]

It's still been to inconsistent.
If the steady growth continues, ill be happy, but were so far in the hole its hard to say.

[judgementday]

Still doesn't put money in my pocket....gas is high, food prices are high, my blood pressure is high....no the economy is not improving IMO.

[LWC]

^That is always how I was taught to judge the economy.

To answer the OP's question:

The economy is not as good as the Democrats think it is, and it is not as bad as the Republicans say it is.

[Hoot Gibson]

No, the economy is not improving. There is a lot of hocus pocus that goes into the "jobs added" stats and this is an election year. The number is a "seasonably adjusted" stat. The number of people who actually have jobs is much lower than it was a few weeks ago. Who knows what kind of spin has been placed on the number.

The bottom line is, if you trust Obama, then the economy is improving. If you trust your own eyes, then it is showing little to no improvement. I am in the latter camp.

[Hoot Gibson]

This is an interesting blog that shows the number of people not in the labor force reaching a 30 year high.

Record 1.2 Million People Fall Out Of Labor Force In One Month, Labor Force Participation Rate Tumbles To Fresh 30 Year Low

Here is a graph that I created at the Bureau of Labor Statistics that shows the number of people not in the labor market from the time that Bush took office through the present. The thing to remember is that the more people that BLS determines are no longer looking for work, the lower the unemployment rate becomes. This is where a person desperate to cling to the power of the presidency might be tempted to influence the numbers in an election year.

Play particular attention to how steep the upward slope on the end ot the line is.

[Image: http://data.bls.gov/generated_files/grap...465195.gif]

Here is a close-up, showing just the past year. Does anybody else think that the trend looks suspicious in an economy that is supposedly improving by leaps and bounds?

(Actually the blogger's math was wrong. I.57 million people left the job market in the last month, according to Obama's BLS.)

[Image: http://data.bls.gov/generated_files/grap...875984.gif]

[Old School]

I was listening to a portion of the Rush Limbaugh show today and he was discussing “if the economy was getting any better”. He brought up several good points, one being that there are 2.5 million fewer jobs in January from December. The unemployment rate goes down from 8.5% to 8.3%. another was that there are 14 million new food stamp users since President Obama took office.

Rush then brought up these if the economy is getting better;
1) If the economy is getting better, then why has the number of children living in poverty in America risen for four years in a row?
2) If the economy is getting better, then why is the percentage of Americans living in 'extreme poverty' at an all-time high?
3) If the economy is getting better, then why is the Federal Housing Administration on the verge of a financial collapse?"
4) If the economy is getting better, then why do only 23 percent of American companies plan to hire more employees in 2012?"
5) If the economy is getting better, then why has the number of self-employed Americans fallen by more than 2 million since 2006?
6) If the economy is getting better, then why an all-time record low percentage of U.S. teens have a job last summer?
7) If the economy is getting better, then why then why does median household income keep declining? Overall, median household income in the United States has declined by a total of 6.8% since December 2007 once you account for inflation.
8) If the economy is getting better, then why has the number of Americans living below the poverty line increased by 10 million since 2006?
9) If the economy is getting better, then why is the average age of a vehicle in America now sitting at an all-time high?"
10) "If the economy is getting better, then why is the average age of a vehicle in America now sitting at an all-time high?
11) "If the economy is getting better, then why are 19 percent of all American men between the ages of 25 and 34 living with their parents?"
And finally "If the economy is getting better, then why does the number of 'long-term unemployed workers' stay so high? When Barack Obama first took office, the number of 'long-term unemployed workers' in the United States was approximately 2.6 million. Today, that number is sitting at 5.6 million." Three million additional long-term unemployed workers since Obama. How can that be if the economy is getting better?

[Stardust]

No, the economy is not improving. There is a lot of hocus pocus that goes into the "jobs added" stats and this is an election year. The number is a "seasonably adjusted" stat. The number of people who actually have jobs is much lower than it was a few weeks ago. Who knows what kind of spin has been placed on the number.

The bottom line is, if you trust Obama, then the economy is improving. If you trust your own eyes, then it is showing little to no improvement. I am in the latter camp.

Hoot, we certainly can tie employment statistics directly to economy, but what I am seeing directly is the increase in corporate investing. Business investment has increased for the 3rd consecutive quarter. Business investing is a sure sign that a level of confidence is beginning to show. If investing is increasing, directly tied to that is business increases. The history that I have followed is that hiring will follow, not immediately, but it will come.

[Hoot Gibson]

Hoot, we certainly can tie employment statistics directly to economy, but what I am seeing directly is the increase in corporate investing. Business investment has increased for the 3rd consecutive quarter. Business investing is a sure sign that a level of confidence is beginning to show. If investing is increasing, directly tied to that is business increases. The history that I have followed is that hiring will follow, not immediately, but it will come.

This has been the slowest recovery of my lifetime. Obama wants us to believe that the recovery has been so slow because the recession was so deep - but in the past, deep recessions were always followed by fast, robust recoveries.

I don't doubt that the economy is slowly recovering because it has nowhere to go but up. What I do doubt is that the recovery would have been so weak under any other president, including the bumbling, incompetent Jimmy Carter. Not only that, by becoming the first American president to post $ trillion+ deficit for each of his four years in office, Obama is making the job of rehabilitating America's business climate much more difficult for his successors.

[LWC]

So from what I am gathering, it is improving but improving too slowly, right?

Is it kind of like the boy that wants to get the girl back, but he has done her so wrong for so long, that it's just too late?

[Stardust]

My point is that a recovery is on the horizon. What I'm not saying is that its a result of ANY political doings. That is not the case at all. Businesses are finding the positive results of having to slash ALL TECHNOLOGY spending due to the horrible economic conditions. Companies had to "Slash" their way out of it and become smarter. That has paid off. There is money to invest in technology and the market as a result

[Wildcatk23]

So from what I am gathering, it is improving but improving too slowly, right?

Is it kind of like the boy that wants to get the girl back, but he has done her so wrong for so long, that it's just too late?

No LWC, Hoot said its not Improving. But then he Said its Slowly Improving. So i got from that he wants to refuse that its improving. For whatever reason i dont know. If this was a republican president he would be going wild. It has little or no reason to do with obama IMO. He may have slowed the recovery. But most signs are point toward a recovering Economy.

Or has the Unemployment number you guys have used against obama for years now been a total lie? since its now going in the good driection.

[Bob Seger]

No LWC, Hoot said its not Improving. But then he Said its Slowly Improving. So i got from that he wants to refuse that its improving. For whatever reason i dont know. If this was a republican president he would be going wild. It has little or no reason to do with obama IMO. He may have slowed the recovery. But most signs are point toward a recovering Economy.

Yeah boy, it's really roaring here in eastern Kentucky, aint it?:eyeroll:

[Wildcatk23]

Yeah boy, it's really roaring here in eastern Kentucky, aint it?:eyeroll:

There are plenty of jobs in Eastern Kentucky. It may not be anyones dream job or anything they want to work but there is jobs.I have a college Degree but i worked in the mines for 2 months until something better comes along. Mines hire everyday.

Just because most people in eastern kentucky would rather draw checks then work for them does not mean there are not any jobs. I Now work at a Computer Repair shop/check free pay station. You wouldnt believe the amount of perfectly healthy people that come in with there welfare money and Cashed in foodstamps Paying for direct tv, new car payments, 60$ cell phone plans, Buying new cell phones.

[Hoot Gibson]

No LWC, Hoot said its not Improving. But then he Said its Slowly Improving. So i got from that he wants to refuse that its improving. For whatever reason i dont know. If this was a republican president he would be going wild. It has little or no reason to do with obama IMO. He may have slowed the recovery. But most signs are point toward a recovering Economy.

Or has the Unemployment number you guys have used against obama for years now been a total lie? since its now going in the good driection.

Time for a history lesson, WC.

Question 1: Which US president lobbied for an $800 billion stimulus bill and warned that unless Congress passed the bill, the unemployment rate would soar above 8 percent?

Question 2: What is the current official unemployment rate in the United States?

More than three years after taking office, the official unemployment rate is still much higher than it was when Obama took office - and IMO, there is good reason to suspect that the official rate is worse than advertised.

Is this what you call a successful record? How high would the unemployment rate need to be entering his fourth year in office for you to consider Obama's economic track record to be a flop?

[Wildcatk23]

Time for a history lesson, WC.

Question 1: Which US president lobbied for an $800 billion stimulus bill and warned that unless Congress passed the bill, the unemployment rate would soar above 8 percent?

Question 2: What is the current official unemployment rate in the United States?

More than three years after taking office, the official unemployment rate is still much higher than it was when Obama took office - and IMO, there is good reason to suspect that the official rate is worse than advertised.

Is this what you call a successful record? How high would the unemployment rate need to be entering his fourth year in office for you to consider Obama's economic track record to be a flop?

What was the unemployment rate when bush left office and how fast was it dropping. Come on it was 7.2 in December which u will claim is bushes unemployment number while it raised to almost 7.8 before Obama was in office. But you guys give him those 700k job losses even tho he wasn't inaugurated until January the 20th. The ship was sinking because of bush and bad decisions by both sides. Obama could not do anything to stop that. And now that the unemployment rate is turning around you refuse to accept its doing any good.

[Bob Seger]

There are plenty of jobs in Eastern Kentucky. It may not be anyones dream job or anything they want to work but there is jobs.I have a college Degree but i worked in the mines for 2 months until something better comes along. Mines hire everyday.

You DO NOT have the first clue as to what you are talking about. If you were in business or running a business, you would know how devastated the local economy really is. If it is so good, why is just about every independent small business owner in every sector , shutting their doors. In what I do, there is no independent in the state of Kentucky that is bigger, and right now the enviroment is the worst I have seen in my almost 30 years in business. Mines are already starting to lay off too. Some may be going gung-ho for right right now, but that is soon to end when their current permits run out. Like I said, the signs are already indicating a future nose dive. Are you aware that the price of coal has dropped down into the 60's now? There comes a point that you can't keep running when it costs more to produce than what the market pays. It's all cyclical and it's not going to be long before they start shutting them down for that reason as well. Booth is one of the very few that will survive IMO, and a lot of that is due to his diversification in other associated industries. You're just kidding yourself kid, if you want to believe the propaganda that the media spews out. It's BAD kid. It's really BAD. And kid, it's going to get even worse around here.

[Bob Seger]

What was the unemployment rate when bush left office and how fast was it dropping. Come on it was 7.2 in December which u will claim is bushes unemployment number while it raised to almost 7.8 before Obama was in office. But you guys give him those 700k job losses even tho he wasn't inaugurated until January the 20th. The ship was sinking because of bush and bad decisions by both sides. Obama could not do anything to stop that. And now that the unemployment rate is turning around you refuse to accept its doing any good.

What are you a parrot or something? awk, It's Bush's fault, It's Bush's fault. Is that all you know? Truth is, you're not even old enough to remember much about Bush.

[Wildcatk23]

You DO NOT have the first clue as to what you are talking about. If you were in business or running a business, you would know how devastated the local economy really is. If it is so good, why is just about every independent small business owner , shutting the doors. In what I do, there is no independent in the state of Kentucky that is bigger, and right now the enviroment is the worst I have seen in my almost 30 years in business. Mines are already starting to lay off too. Some may be going gung-ho for right right now, but that is soon to end when their current permits run out. It's all a short lived thing. Like I said, the signs are already showing for a nose dive. Are you aware that the price of coal has dropped down into the 60's now? It's all cyclical and it's not going to be long before they start shutting them down for that reason as well. Booth is one of the very few that will survive IMO, and a lot of that is due to his diversification in associated industries. You're just kidding yourself kid, if you want to believe the propaganda that the media spews out. It's BAD. It's really BAD. And kid, it's going to get even worse around here.

Listen if i wanted to listen to a Right wing nut job preach i would listen to glenn beck.

I have not an ounce of respect or take any reason into anything you say. You guys preach stats with the unemployed rate and numbers but when there the other way there false and media corrupted.

[Wildcatk23]

What are you a parrot or something? awk, It's Bush's fault, It's Bush's fault. You're not even old enough to remember much about Bush.

I see you missed the bad decisions on both sides. Your usual tho. Read what u want to read and believe what u want to believe.

[Hoot Gibson]

What was the unemployment rate when bush left office and how fast was it dropping. Come on it was 7.2 in December which u will claim is bushes unemployment number while it raised to almost 7.8 before Obama was in office. But you guys give him those 700k job losses even tho he wasn't inaugurated until January the 20th. The ship was sinking because of bush and bad decisions by both sides. Obama could not do anything to stop that. And now that the unemployment rate is turning around you refuse to accept its doing any good.

Here is where you and President Obama disagree. Obama said that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act would prevent the unemployment rate from rising above 8 percent. You say that he could not do anything about the unemployment rate. Was he lying or has he simply been incompetent?

Again, more than three years after he took office, the unemployment rate is 8.3%. In February 2009, the rate was 8.1%. Do you call that progress?

I will not be surprised to see the official unemployment rate drop to around 8 percent in time for the election. I will be surprised if the rate is not later revised upward after the votes have been cast, especially if Obama loses the election.

[Wildcatk23]

Here is where you and President Obama disagree. Obama said that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act would prevent the unemployment rate from rising above 8 percent. You say that he could not do anything about the unemployment rate. Was he lying or has he simply been incompetent?

Again, more than three years after he took office, the unemployment rate is 8.3%. In February 2009, the rate was 8.1%. Do you call that progress?

I will not be surprised to see the official unemployment rate drop to around 8 percent in time for the election. I will be surprised if the rate is not later revised upward after the votes have been cast, especially if Obama loses the election.

SO what will happen to the unemployment rate if Obama wins the election?

From how fast unemployment was raising its not awful.

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[Bob Seger]

Listen if i wanted to listen to a Right wing nut job preach i would listen to glenn beck.

I have not an ounce of respect or take any reason into anything you say. You guys preach stats with the unemployed rate and numbers but when there the other way there false and media corrupted.

You are too wet behind the ears to even begin to know anything that you're rattling on about. Just how long have you been a tax paying citizen kid?

[Bob Seger]

I see you missed the bad decisions on both sides. Your usual tho. Read what u want to read and believe what u want to believe.

Like you've really been there and done that in anything. :lmao:

[vundy33]

Natural gas prices have went down a shitload, as well as coal. Chesapeake and other natural gas companies have laid off a quite a bit of people, especially in Eastern KY.

Let's hope our economy doesn't have to get any worse before it gets better. This is definitely one of the slowest recoveries in our history, and the government, both sides, really haven't done all they could have done to speed up the recovery. That's just a fact...

[RunItUpTheGut]

Theres a difference in Wall street and Main Street and its a BIG one.
Just because stocks and corporaate investments are on the rise, doesnt mean that hard working middle class people, especially small business owners are, because there not.
The middle class keep this country moving, and its where were hit the hardest right now.

I for one work in the Coal Industry.
As most of you know, Obama and his EPA lovers are killing companies abilities to get permits and keep doing the things that support so many EKY families.

As far as the economy goes in the Coal industry, its up and down ALL of the time. For example, simple things like the weather can really hurt coal companies. Take right now for example, I know of three different EKY coal companies who have laid people off due to the fact that the weather has been unusually comfortable the last couple of months. People are using less energy, meaning no need for heat and no need for air, means less coal. People are all too often mistaken when they think the winter time is great for the coal industry because of heating houses. Well, actually, summer time is the best time for coal companies, because of the use of air conditioners, its something thats hard to explain but the coal industry booms a lot more during the summer.
Its just the simple ups and downs. 2008 was an awful year, but take last year for example, it was a GREAT year for profits, but on the flip side while the economy is supposively "growing" our industry is expected to have a bad year this year.

[TheRealVille]

Here is where you and President Obama disagree. Obama said that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act would prevent the unemployment rate from rising above 8 percent. You say that he could not do anything about the unemployment rate. Was he lying or has he simply been incompetent?

Again, more than three years after he took office, the unemployment rate is 8.3%. In February 2009, the rate was 8.1%. Do you call that progress?

I will not be surprised to see the official unemployment rate drop to around 8 percent in time for the election. I will be surprised if the rate is not later revised upward after the votes have been cast, especially if Obama loses the election.

Are the republicans in Washington trying to help him, or blocking him at every turn from doing anything he tries. With Boner and Bitch and the boys, we are lucky that it is improving as fast as it is, which isn't very fast. But, it is getting better.

[Hoot Gibson]

Are the republicans in Washington trying to help him, or blocking him at every turn from doing anything he tries. With Boner and Bitch and the boys, we are lucky that it is improving as fast as it is, which isn't very fast. But, it is getting better.

Help him do what? Where has Obama made any genuine effort to compromise with Republicans in the Senate? When you vote for liberals in Congress, do you expect them to rubberstamp a right wing legislative agenda when there is a Republican in the White House?

Republicans were able to find common ground with Bill Clinton even as they worked on impeaching him for lying under oath to a federal judge. George W. Bush was even able to work with Congressional Democrats to pass legislation such as the No Child Left Behind act, despite substantial opposition from conservatives in his party.

Obama is a hard core socialist who has done nothing but antagonize his political opponents in Congress. To expect Republicans to toss their core prinicples to the wind so that Obama can undermine our capitalist economy and grow the federal government at breakneck speed is a liberal pipe dream.

[vector]

This is the main reason republicans will not compromise

http://s3.amazonaws.com/atrfiles/files/f...igners.pdf

They will not get another term if they raise tax's