re numbers
hi doma,
for sure the numbers have blurred edges. for instance, how many of the folks who are dropping out of the work force are retiring - we're talking about boomer retirements amongst other things - how many are folks choosing to improve their education and how many are folks simply giving up on finding a job? these numbers are not so easy to discover. the 8.1% number is a calculation based on folks who meet a particular definition of unemployment.
but all the same, this blurring doesn't make the numbers useless. so long as they are calculated on a consistent basis, then they are comparable from one period to the next. 8.1% now compares with - say - 9% a little while ago, or 5% further back.
so we know that the same measure which saw 6-800k (or so) job losses in a month between late 2008 and early 2009 when Obama started out is now running at a consistently positive rate. a great improvement, even if it would be a lot better if the average jobs growth rate was 300k/month or more.
but if i were to accept your concern with government figures and i were to look for alternatives, adp (a large private payroll company) reported much stronger job growth during the last month. so take your pick: if you want to reject the government account, the numbers look better.
on inflation, again one hears folks saying prices are rising and that the government is producing poor quality numbers. but pretty much everyone has noticed house prices declining during much of the last five years. so ... the biggest ticket item most folks purchase in their life is cheaper now than it was five years ago. by a considerable amount. the problems we have been facing centre on this as much as anything else.
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