AP - The unemployment rate dropped to a five-year low of 4.4 percent in October as employers added 92,000 new jobs — flashing a picture of a strong labor market as the midterm elections draw near. The latest report, released Friday by the Labor Department, showed that the civilian unemployment ...
11-03-2006, 09:50 AM
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| Stay classy!  Independent  
| Unemployment rate falls, payrolls grow AP - The unemployment rate dropped to a five-year low of 4.4 percent in October as employers added 92,000 new jobs — flashing a picture of a strong labor market as the midterm elections draw near. The latest report, released Friday by the Labor Department, showed that the civilian unemployment rate fell 0.2 percentage point from 4.6 percent in September. It marked the third month in a row that the politically prominent jobless rate declined. The tally of new jobs added to the economy in October fell short of economists expectations for an increase of around 125,000 positions, however. Nonetheless, job gains in both August and September turned out to be much stronger than previously estimated — and that took much of the sting out of October's less-than-expected payroll performance. Friday's report provided the last snapshot of the nation's employment scene before next week's elections. President Bush was quick to seize upon the figures as evidence that his economic policies are working. "Tax cuts have led to a strong and growing economy and this morning we got more proof of that," the president said at Republican rally in Springfield, Mo. Bush also expressed confidence that Republicans would keep control of Congress. Of the Democrats, he said: " ... now they're forecasting they're going to win the election. If their elections forecasts are as good as their economic forecasts, we are going to have a great day on November the seventh." How voters view job availability, wage growth and other economic conditions is likely to play a role in the balloting nationwide on Tuesday. Republicans say Americans are mostly better off, while Democrat rivals disagree, saying low- and middle-income workers are struggling. Bush's approval rating on the economy is at 40 percent, among all adults surveyed in an AP-Ipsos poll. That remains near his lowest ratings. Those surveyed trusted Democrats more than Republicans to handle the economy. On Wall Street, the employment news helped push stocks higher. Workers saw solid wages gains last month. Workers' average hourly earnings climbed to $16.91 in October, a sizable 0.4 percent increase from September. That increase was bigger than the 0.3 percent rise economists were expecting. Over the last 12 months, wages grew by 3.9 percent. Growth in wages is good for workers, but a rapid and sustained advance makes economists fret about inflation flaring up. That's not good for the economy or workers' pocketbooks, ultimately, because inflation can eat into everybody's buying power. The hunt for a job got shorter. The average time that the unemployed spent in their search for work in October was 16.5 weeks, an improvement from the average 17.4 weeks registered in September. On the payroll front, job losses in manufacturing, construction and retail offset gains in professional and business services, education and health, government and elsewhere. Factories shed 39,000 jobs in October, marking the fourth straight month of employment cuts. Construction companies got rid of 26,000 jobs, while retailers trimmed 3,500 positions. Professional and businesses services, meanwhile, added 43,000 jobs. Education and health expanded employment by 28,000, and the government payroll swelled by 34,000. "The job market is healthy even though the economy has been slowing. This report tells us the economy is holding its own, not spiraling downward," said Stuart Schweitzer, global market strategist for JPMorgan Asset and Wealth Management. All told the 92,000 total net jobs added in October were the fewest in a year, when the economy was suffering the blow of the Gulf Coast hurricanes. That disappointment, however, was offset by much better job gains in the previous two months. Employers added 148,000 jobs in September, versus the 51,000 first reported. Payrolls grew by a robust 230,000 in August, stronger than the 188,000 slots previously recorded. The 4.4 percent unemployment rate was the lowest since the spring of 2001. The jobless rate for blacks fell to 8.6 percent last month, from 9.2 percent in September. The unemployment rate for Hispanics dropped to 4.7 percent, from 5.4 percent. The jobless rate for teenagers declined to 15.4 percent from 16.4 percent. The drop in the overall unemployment rate surprised economists who were expecting the unemployment rate to hold steady in October or possibly edge up a notch. The employment gains come against a backdrop of a slowing national economy. Given these circumstances, the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady last week for the third meeting in a row but made clear that policymakers will keep a close eye out for inflation. To fend off inflation, the central bank since June 2004 had hoisted rates 17 times, the longest string of increases in Fed history. The Fed's goal is to slow the economy sufficiently to thwart inflation but not so much as to push it into recession. Economic growth slowed to a 1.6 percent annual rate in the late summer, the most sluggish pace in more than three years. The housing slump was a major factor in the slowdown. Economists believe growth in the current October-to-December quarter will turn out better. Last edited by motivez; 11-03-2006 at 07:28 PM.. | ||||
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11-03-2006, 07:29 PM
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| ipsa Scientia Potestas est  Pragmatist North Carolina
| Just think, if Bush had never gotten us into Iraq, and we had focused on and finished the job in Afghanistan, and of course, he hadn't started torturing people, crapping on the constitution, etc.. he'd probably be remembered as a great President who overcame the events of 9/11 to unite the country and helped promote the economy. | ||||
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11-03-2006, 10:09 PM
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| Here's to you...  Liberal
| Originally Posted by motivez Seconded. After 9/11 the world was his oyster, but he used it as his toilet. 
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11-04-2006, 04:50 AM
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| One American Family at a Time.  Idealist The OC, California
| Originally Posted by thatguyoverthere What was it he said after 9/11? Wasn't it something like....doing your patriotic duty in a nations time of need, go shopping?
We had a moment in this country where we had the chance to be led into a great path. And we totally would have followed him. And look at where he led us instead... | ||||
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11-04-2006, 05:33 PM
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| Here's to you... Liberal
| Originally Posted by IminWonderland True dat. I consider Bush's failure to issue a national call to service one of his biggest failures as president. Instead he says go shopping. What did the government say to do during the next attack? Something about plastic sheeting and duct tape? I never got my mailer, did you?
BTW, (a question I've been asking for some time) where was the Emergency Broadcast System on 9/11? | ||||
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11-05-2006, 12:22 AM
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| Administrator  libertarian Oklahoma
| Originally Posted by motivez Iraq looks grim but designating it a failure in the halls of history seems premature. The truth is we wont know for another 10 or 15 years if this policy was indeed as flawed as we seem to think now.
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11-05-2006, 12:43 AM
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| Ron Paul '08  Republican Queens, NY
| Originally Posted by thatguyoverthere 3 layers of plastic sheeting and 2 layers of duct tape.
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11-05-2006, 01:51 AM
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| One American Family at a Time. Idealist The OC, California
| Originally Posted by 6SpeedTA95 Isn't that a little bit insane to say? I keep hearing about "History" telling the TRUTH about our success in Iraq, and I have to wonder, will people 50 years from now, look back on this War and think to themselves "Gee, I'm glad those people made those sacrifices so that I can vote." Are they going to say that in 10 years? 25 years? 100 years? Because things have a way of changing over time. People *USED* to consider the Civil War the most wonderful thing ever is that the North won, now some people are starting to say that it ruined several things with government, and now 200 years later, we see a difference of effect on the populace than the opinion was 10 years after the war actually ended. And the people who had to be alive at that time, people who had to fight in that war, people who lost whole families in that war, the slaves, the women losing their husbands, and everyone else who was affected by it, what were their opinions at the time? Because from many, the War is HELL on the people who are living through it. History's opinion can change daily.
To use the arguement that waiting for History to tell us that Iraq was a "good" idea, is insane. Because History's opinion has never stayed the same about one thing. Let's hypothesize that in 20 years, that country seems to be going on a great path, and everyone in Iraq can buy McDonald's, and can go to DisneyIraq, and they all have front yards with daisies and tulips, and it rains chocolate, and it's the most fabulous country ever........in 60 years from that, the country could look like they paint houses with poop, all the children are prostituted, and people cook babies for food in that time. So, which version and period are we going to say is the true judge of what we've done, and what we've sacrificed. I think the best people to ask that question are the people who are living NOW and the people that are dying over there. We are here, and we see what's happening, and I think the best people to ask if they like the situation we are in, I think the best people to ask are the people going through it. | ||||
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11-05-2006, 12:37 PM
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| Administrator libertarian Oklahoma
| On a sidenote, this good news that unemployment continues to fall. | ||||
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11-05-2006, 01:29 PM
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| Never, never, never give up  Conservative Party High Point, NC
| Originally Posted by 6SpeedTA95 Are you expecting someone above to agree with you on that? Right!
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11-05-2006, 03:27 PM
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| Administrator libertarian Oklahoma
| Originally Posted by Stylerod It is good news, which is ironically this thread is about unemployment but it has turned into an Iraq thread...
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11-05-2006, 03:39 PM
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| helluo librorum The Lab Moderator  Humanist Chicago Suburbs
| Originally Posted by 6SpeedTA95 Yes, if we put blinders on and only look at a few certain things, everything is going great.
I'm watching my house burn, but at least I won't have to worry about using all that firewood I left next to the fireplace! | ||||
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11-05-2006, 03:42 PM
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| ipsa Scientia Potestas est Pragmatist North Carolina
| I just thought that it was interesting how the other events have come to so drastically overshadow what really does appear to be a fairly strong economy, at least for members of the 'investor class' | ||||
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11-05-2006, 03:54 PM
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| Administrator libertarian Oklahoma
| Originally Posted by Scrumtralecent
 yes because EVERY SINGLE thread should be about Iraq NO ONE mentioned blinders except for you. You dont like bush thats ok, but living through Iraq is also living with blinders on. | ||||
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11-05-2006, 03:55 PM
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| Administrator libertarian Oklahoma
| Originally Posted by motivez Yeah you're right, one mistake has overshadowed a lot of the administrations successes but as we both agree it has been a SIGNIFICANT mistake and in politics thats how it goes sometimes
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11-05-2006, 04:13 PM
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| helluo librorum The Lab Moderator Humanist Chicago Suburbs
| Originally Posted by 6SpeedTA95 Hey, the president can hold citizens at will with no trial, tap your phone without a warrant, and we have spent billions of dollars and lost thousands of lives on a mistake but hey look at those unemployment numbers!
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11-05-2006, 04:51 PM
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| Noob Erie, Pennsylvania
| Originally Posted by 6SpeedTA95 Just a quick side note on this, After your Unemployment benifets run out you are considered not unemployed anymore.
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11-05-2006, 05:06 PM
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| Administrator libertarian Oklahoma
| Originally Posted by Commoner Uhh yes you are. You're considered unemployed if you're out of work and actively seeking a job regardless of whether or not you have benefits.
edit: even if that were the case its still irrelevant because unemployment is at a VERY low point historically. Also, welcome to the board. | ||||
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11-05-2006, 05:11 PM
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| Never, never, never give up Conservative Party High Point, NC
| Originally Posted by 6SpeedTA95
 I think there are 2 or 3 different ways the government looks at unemployment. And one of the ways is by counting people that are actually looking for jobs EVEN if they are already employed. I don't know if this was one of those though. | ||||
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