Submitted by robo (not verified) on Fri, 12/02/2011 - 7:11pm.
Most articles confirm that the reason for the drop in unemployment rate was that the number of those counted in the work force has dropped, resulting in a somewhat misleading calculation. In addition, the number of jobs added was at least 100,000 below what was projected for the month. Furthermore, the number of unemployment claims actually rose again, which certainly does not support a major drop in real unemployment.
Things do seem to be getting slowly better, but we should not get carried away by media influenced conclusions about the job market. Plus, there are seasonal employment effects to be taken into consideration this time of year. Maybe we should wait until the January results before starting the celebration.
Unemployment Rate Drop
Most articles confirm that the reason for the drop in unemployment rate was that the number of those counted in the work force has dropped, resulting in a somewhat misleading calculation. In addition, the number of jobs added was at least 100,000 below what was projected for the month. Furthermore, the number of unemployment claims actually rose again, which certainly does not support a major drop in real unemployment.
Things do seem to be getting slowly better, but we should not get carried away by media influenced conclusions about the job market. Plus, there are seasonal employment effects to be taken into consideration this time of year. Maybe we should wait until the January results before starting the celebration.