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September 29, 2002
The Unemployment Rate Lie
Today, the real level of unemployment for men probably approaches the level of the recession-mired early 80's. * From Sunday's New York TimesForget the official unemployment rate. It's a lie.
All it counts is people actively looking for work. But many people, especially older men without the skills for the new economy, have quietly dropped out. Since 1990, the number of people receiving disability pay has nearly doubled, to 5.4 million, and the government now spends far more on the program than it does for food stamps or unemployment insurance.
Add about 2 million people in jails and prisons today, up from 1.1 million in 1990 and 500,000 in 1980-- and you find that the miracle job economy of the US is really a disability welfare state and a prison-industrial system both taking unskilled workers out of the labor pool to make the numbers look good.
As the above article notes, if jobs were so plentiful, supply and demand would have pushed wages up. Instead wages have been stagnant for decades.
Sweden looks better all the time.
Posted by Nathan at September 29, 2002 10:47 PM
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Comments
The Bureau of Labor Statistics finally admitted that at least 4 million are missing from any unemployment reports which they describe as discouraged workers who gave up looking for work. The number is most likely much higher than this.
Everyone should study how the unemployment data is gathered. The Bureau admits too that the unemployment insurance offices are no longer a good source to collect accurate data since only about 40% of all workers qualify for unemployment insurance. In the past when this was not the case, the unemployment office reports on unemployed was taken into consideration. The Bureau has 6 ways they come up with the unemployment rate but only the report showing the lowest amount of unemployed is passed on. The Burea reports unemployment by polling about 50,000 households a month. A Canadian forum says that Canada would have only a 1% unemployment rate if they counted unemployment the same way. See more on this at http://yestapart.bizland.com/tapartnews or http://tapartnews.filetap.com Read other commentaries and view the editorial art by Ray Tapajna, Chuck Harder, Paul Donovan, Elizabeth Sullivan and more. See also http://tapsnewstory.filetap.com
Posted by: Tapart News Editor at November 10, 2003 03:58 PM
Don't forget about security. Secureroot.org
Posted by: Wombell at July 6, 2004 08:41 AM
THANKS FOR SAYING THE TRUTH ABOUT BUSH ECONOMIC FAILURE, CHINA IS HIRING ENGINEERS AND US IN THE USA WHEN THERE IS 1 JOB OPENING FOR AN ENGINEER OR ANYTHING ELSE 60 PEOPLE ARE APPLYING IT IS A SHAME!!!! MOREOVER THIS BASTARDS OF CORPORATE PREFER GIVING A VISA TO AN INDIAN THAN GIVING EDUCATIONS AND WORK EXPERIENCE TO SOMEONE IN THE USA THEY MUST BE SUED FOR THAT.
Posted by: THOMPSON'S at December 27, 2005 02:26 PM
