Tag Archives: Part-time

The New Jobs Report

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On Friday, The Epoch Times posted an article about the latest jobs report. The economy is cooling down, which will probably provide the Federal Reserve with an excuse to lower interest rates in the hope of providing a Democrat election victory.

The article reports:

The U.S. economy created fewer jobs than the market projected in August as the overheated labor market of the past few years continues to show signs of cooling off.

Last month, payrolls increased by 142,000, falling short of the consensus estimate of 160,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

The unemployment rate eased to 4.2 percent, down from 4.3 percent in July. This was in line with economists’ expectations.

Average hourly wages surged at a higher-than-expected pace of 0.7 percent, up from a 0.1 percent drop in July—this was revised from the initial report of 0.2 percent growth. Average hourly earnings also climbed to a better-than-expected year-over-year rate of 3.8 percent, up from 3.6 percent.

The labor force participation rate was unchanged at 62.7 percent. Average weekly hours ticked up to 34.3 from 34.2.

Much of the job creation was concentrated in construction (34,000), health care (31,000), government (24,000), and social assistance (13,000).

There were some other interesting numbers in the report:

So far this year, the total number of downward job revisions equals 372,000.

The number of people working two or more jobs increased by 65,000 to 8.538 million.

In August, full-time jobs plummeted by more than 400,000, and part-time employment increased by 527,000.

Inflation is hurting all Americans, and until the government stops its runaway spending, inflation will continue to be a problem.

 

 

Vote for Biden:  Get Harris

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Author:  R. Alan Harrop, Ph.D   harropcrew1@gmail.com

It is very clear to every honest person, that Joe Biden is in serious cognitive decline (i.e. dementia).  As expected, the fake news is oblivious to what we see with our own eyes. As a clinical psychologist, I have some familiarity with dementia, which affects approximately one third of people 80 years or older. The most likely cause of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease, an irreversible brain deterioration. While being sympathetic to someone with dementia is humane, electing that person to be president is a different matter entirely.

There are seven defined stages of dementia. Each stage represents a definable set of symptoms of cognitive decline. It should be noted that progression through each stage accelerates as a person reaches the later stages. Based on observations, it appears that Biden is in stage three or four. It would be easier to determine the correct stage if the Biden regime was honest with the American people, which they are not. Their refusal to release the audio tapes of Biden’s interview with special prosecutor Hurr is a prime example of hiding the truth. He is too old and bumbling to be prosecuted, but he is fine to be president. Rather absurd, wouldn’t you say?

Symptoms of stage three and four include such things as being disoriented, getting lost when walking, forgetting the names of people they should be very familiar with, difficulty remembering important details from the past, and lack of knowledge of current events. Some examples from observing Biden:  total reliance on scripted teleprompter recordings, having to be led off the stage and being brought back to the group after wandering off,  appearing to blank out for seconds at a time, not remembering details of his son’s death, and making up absurdities like his uncle having been eaten by cannibals. His handlers are hiding him with a part-time schedule and excessive vacation time.   It is reported that Biden has been on vacation 40% of the days he has been in office and that his daily schedule starts at 11 AM and ends at 3 PM.  Not exactly what one would expect leading a country in the midst of foreign and domestic crises.

Here is what we can expect if Biden is re-elected. The next stage of dementia includes:  trouble organizing or planning; confusion concerning day, month or year; difficulty staying on task; inability to make decisions; and fatigue. Now, what do we expect a fully functioning president to be able to do? To start off with, he should have the energy and stamina to deal with the demands of the presidency. This is a full-time job, or actually a more than full- time job. The President must be able to absorb facts, weigh the advice from others, and make prompt decisions. This is especially true during times of crises. He must be able to communicate clearly and openly with others, especially to the American people. He must be able to project an image of strength and competence to other world leaders.

Now you have to ask yourself, “What is the likelihood that Biden will be able to meet these expectations in a second term when he cannot do it now?” Outcome? If re-elected, count on having Kamala Harris as your president.  A scary thought to most people.

Looking Behind The Obvious Numbers

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The jobs report came out today. John Hinderaker at Power Line posted an article about the numbers reminding us that what we read in the media may not be the whole story.

Some of the facts he points out:

* The number of people aged 16 years and above who are not in the labor force increased by 111,000 this past month. While a somewhat lower increase than in months past, it still outpaces forecasted retirements.

* The number of people taking part-time jobs because they cannot find full-time work increased by 275,000 this past month.

* In fact, the number of people employed full-time (according to the household survey that also counts self-employed) declined by 523,000 while the number of part-time workers increased by 799,000 (which includes those who wanted part-time and those who wanted full-time but could only find part-time). These estimates are seasonally adjusted to account for the normal increase in June part-time work.

* The U-6 unemployment rate (the broadest measure of unemployment) remains virtually unchanged at 12.1 percent. U-6 includes those people who are discouraged, only occasionally trying to find work, and those employed part-time for economic reasons.

The article also reminds us that both incomes and economic growth remain flat. It seems as if the only thing growing in this economy is the Stock Market (which the government is currently propping up).

The Real Jobs Numbers

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PJ Media posted a story yesterday about some of the less-heralded numbers in the just-released jobs report. The article quotes a website called zerohedge.com which contains the following chart.

This is the jobs picture for 2013:

Source: Part-Time and Full-Time and BLS

Some of the numbers at PJ Media:

In July, there were 176,000 part time jobs created while only 92,000 full time jobs.

– Of the 953,000 jobs “created” so far in 2013, only 23%, or 222,000, were full-time. 731,000 were part time.

– 8.5 million workers are working part-time despite wanting full time employment. That number is unchanged from last month.

– The average hourly workweek slipped to 34.7 hours. 35 hours is considered full time.

Under ObamaCare, 30 hours is considered full-time–that is the point at which an employer will be required to provide health insurance for an employee. Unfortunately, if ObamaCare stays in place, we will see more part-time workers in the future and less full-time workers. Americans will become poorer under ObamaCare in addition to having health care that is not as good as it is now. There will be less economic equity under ObamaCare than there is now–there will be a serious earnings gap between those employees that are working full time and those who are working part time. It is quite possible that ObamaCare will ultimately eliminate the American middle class.

 

 

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Underneath The Jobs Numbers

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Yahoo Finance posted an article today that included the Labor Force Participation Rate in the latest jobs numbers.

According to the article:

The civilian labor force decreased by 37,000 to 155.80 million in July, while those not in the labor force rose by 240,000 to 89.96 million.

The decrease in the percentage of Americans in the labor force–63.4% last month from 63.5% the month before–is one of the main reasons for the drop in the unemployment rate–to 7.4% in July from 7.6% in June.

Many of the jobs added were part time jobs and many jobs changed from full time to part time. ObamaCare has created some serious problems for the American economy (ObamaCare is responsible for the growth of part time jobs) and will continue to do so until it is defunded and stopped. I am not sure if the Republicans in the House of Representatives are going to get anywhere with their attempts at defunding it, but I give them credit for trying.

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The Jobs Numbers In Perspective

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Mort Zuckerman posted an article at the Wall Street Journal yesterday analyzing the latest jobs report. Mort Zuckerman is chairman and editor in chief of U.S. News & World Report. In the article Mr. Zuckerman points out that the longest and worst recession since the end of World War II has been followed by the weakest recovery from a recession in that period.

The article points out that the jobless rate is actually increasing–not decreasing:

The jobless nature of the recovery is particularly unsettling. In June, the government’s Household Survey reported that since the start of the year, the number of people with jobs increased by 753,000—but there are jobs and then there are “jobs.” No fewer than 557,000 of these positions were only part-time. The survey also reported that in June full-time jobs declined by 240,000, while part-time jobs soared by 360,000 and have now reached an all-time high of 28,059,000—three million more part-time positions than when the recession began at the end of 2007.

That’s just for starters. The survey includes part-time workers who want full-time work but can’t get it, as well as those who want to work but have stopped looking. That puts the real unemployment rate for June at 14.3%, up from 13.8% in May.

That is not a recovery.

The article also points out:

That brings us to a stunning fact about the jobless recovery: The measure of those adults who can work and have jobs, known as the civilian workforce-participation rate, is currently 63.5%—a drop of 2.2% since the recession ended. Such a decline amid a supposedly expanding economy has never happened after previous recessions. Another statistic that underscores why this is such a dysfunctional labor market is that the number of people leaving the workforce during this economic recovery has actually outpaced the number of people finding a new job by a factor of nearly three.

We need a serious change of economic policy to turn this around. ObamaCare is a major part of the problem, but over regulation and over taxation also play a part in this problem. Unemployment numbers of above 7 percent should not be allowed to become the norm.

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Last Week’s Job Numbers

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This is a chart from this past weekend’s Wall Street Journal:

image

There was good news and bad news for the American economy in the jobs report released last week.

One positive note:

One positive development is that the number of “long-time” unemployed, those out of work for six months or more, fell again and is down by one million workers over the past year. The dismally low labor participation rate ticked up to 63.5% from 63.4% in May as 177,000 more Americans entered the workforce, though the rate is still below the 63.8% from last June. Average hourly wages climbed a welcome 10 cents and for the first time hit $24.

But there were a few negative notes:

…a big jump of 247,000 in the number of “discouraged workers,” those who have stopped looking for a job

…big jump in the number of Americans who want to work full time but could only find part-time work. That number leapt to 8.23 million, a 322,000 one-month increase. Total part-time employment rose by 432,000, more than double the total number of net new jobs.

…those who can’t find a full-time job for economic reasons—still totals more than 20 million Americans and the rate unexpectedly rose in June to 14.3% from 13.8%

The article in the Wall Street Journal concluded:

On Tuesday the Obama Treasury announced it is postponing this employer mandate until 2015, and perhaps this will encourage more full-time hiring. But thousands of businesses, especially in retail and fast-food, have already started to cap employment for many workers at 30 hours and they know their reprieve is only for a year. If President Obama really wants to spur hiring, he’d let Congress delay the employer mandate forever.

ObamaCare is bad for American business and bad for the healthcare Americans now have available. If Congress and President Obama truly cared about the health of Americans, they would scrap ObamaCare completely and rewrite it to allow free market forces to control the cost of healthcare.

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