Bitcoin Forum

Washington can’t stop lying. Don’t be convinced by last Thursday’s job report that it is your fault if you don’t have a job. Those 288,000 jobs and 6.1% unemployment rate are more fiction than reality.

In his analysis of the June Labor Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, John Williams (www.ShadowStats.com) wrote that the 288,000 June jobs and 6.1% unemployment rate are “far removed from common experience and underlying reality.” Payrolls were overstated by “massive, hidden shifts in seasonal adjustments,” and the Birth-Death model added the usual phantom jobs.

Williams reports that “the seasonal factors are changed each and every month as part of the concurrent seasonal-adjustment process, which is tantamount to a fraud,” as the changes in the seasonal factors can inflate the jobs number.

The monthly unemployment rates are not comparable, so one doesn’t know whether the official U.3 rate (the headline rate that the financial press reports) went up or down. Moreover, the rate does not count discouraged workers who, unable to find a job, cease looking. To be counted among the U.3 unemployed, the person must have actively looked for work during the four weeks prior to the survey. The U.3 rate automatically declines as people who have been unable to find jobs cease trying to find one and thereby cease to be counted as unemployed.

There is a second official measure of unemployment that includes people who have been discouraged for less than one year. That rate, known as U.6, is seldom reported and is double the 6.1% rate.

Since 1994 there has been no official measure than includes discouraged people who have not looked for a job for more than a year. Including all discouraged workers produces an unemployment rate that currently stands at 23.1%, almost four times the rate that the financial press reports.

It's curious.  The first time the TV lied, it should prompt a person to be wary.  The second, third, and 30th time should prompt the person stop believing them.  Yet, they keep believing.  It's bizarre.

It's the same in my country. Statistical meassurments indicate 11% unemployment, while they don't include those that are not active seekers (so if you refused to take one offer,  you are not active seeker anymore). Reality stands way higher at 20+%.

More...http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/07/07/370266/virtual-economys-phantom-job-gains-based-on-statistical-fraud/ (http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/07/07/370266/virtual-economys-phantom-job-gains-based-on-statistical-fraud/)

The biggest illusion in these job numbers is that they're actually meaningful and upwardly mobile positions. Most of these jobs are minimum wage plus they're low skilled and offer no beneficial future moves to them outside of one proving they can show up to work everyday. So, college grads are taking these positions and there's almost no chance they can pay their monthly student loan bills especially if they don't live at their parent's house. Even former middles class workers who've been laid off for a certain amount of time are taking these low wage positions and it must be devastating to their lifestyles since there's very little room to save to enhance what's left of their retirement savings.

Spot on. The student loan will keep the economic depress for at least 2-3 generations.

It is simple rule really. A lie told often enough becomes the truth. TV and other media knows this and they are simply following it. Don't trust them.

There is nothing strange in this. Most people believe what they want to believe. If facts don't comply, all the worse for the facts. This has been known since ancient times.

"Panem et circenses"

I just happened to be in my local Meijer last night doing some brief food and drink shopping and it really dawned on me as I looked around how most of the patrons looked kind of lack luster. Of course, I don't live in an affluent area by any means but I would fully say the area is representative of what would call the normal American boobeoisie. All of the people I saw with kids clearly looked like they were on the dole somewhat and those that weren't looked like they were keeping purchases to a minimum. Then, I'm also noticing the workers doing their duties occasionally and I kinda felt bad for them knowing they were making likely minimum wage w/ little hope of much else, especially those that were in retirement age and beyond. My takeaway value was that even though some of these people drive new cares, there's not a whole lot of pep in their steps by and large. I often wonder as I see large groups of people if I'm the only one that currently has Bitcoin or knows anything about it. And then, I realize how hard life will be for these people and they may not have a clue how things are shaping. But hey, at least they have their smart phone. :)

The biggest illusion in these job numbers is that they're actually meaningful and upwardly mobile positions. Most of these jobs are minimum wage plus they're low skilled and offer no beneficial future moves to them outside of one proving they can show up to work everyday. So, college grads are taking these positions and there's almost no chance they can pay their monthly student loan bills especially if they don't live at their parent's house. Even former middles class workers who've been laid off for a certain amount of time are taking these low wage positions and it must be devastating to their lifestyles since there's very little room to save to enhance what's left of their retirement savings.