Labor Secretary celebrates jobless rate increase by … trick-or-treating?

posted at 11:21 am on November 2, 2012 by Ed Morrissey

How does the Obama administration react to an increase in the jobless rate? Party on, dudes!  Scott MacFarlane of Cox Media tweeted a picture of Labor Secretary Hilda Solis’ entry into an interview this morning after the October jobs report, dishing out candy and proclaiming that Americans will now get behind Obamanomics in a big way come January:

Well, far be it from me to be the party pooper, but this seems rather inappropriate even without the increase in the jobless rate.  Solis seems to think that this jobs report is objectively fabulous, but it’s only marginally positive at best, as I explained in an earlier Green Room post.  In order to make up the eight million jobs lost in this economy — which we haven’t even begun doing yet — it would take more than 20 years at the rate of jobs growth shown for this year on average.  At the rate of growth in October alone, it would take more than 14 years.

With the increase in the jobless rate?  The celebration looks more like a Chip Diller moment than anything connected to reality.

Here are two charts that show exactly how the chronic unemployment situations looks, both from Solis’ own Bureau of Labor Statistics, put in the context of population size — updated for today’s report.  First, we have the civilian population participation rate, which shows those who are working at all or actively searching for work as a percentage of working age adults in the general population, starting from 2006:

And this chart shows the employment-population ratio, which gives the percentage of working-age adults in the population who are currently employed:

Note that in both cases, we have failed to even get back to the levels at the start of the recovery in June 2009.  We’re bouncing along generational bottoms in employment as related to population size, and we’re not moving in a direction that suggests in any way, shape, or form that our economy and job markets are “healing.”

Jim Pethokoukis calls this news a pathetic New Normal, and scolds anyone celebrating it:

4. In October, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls edged down by 1 cent to $23.58. Over the past 12 months, average hourly earnings have risen by 1.6%. Yet inflation is up 2% over the past year. That means worker take-home pay is declining.

5. As economist Doug Holtz-Eakin notes: “Average weekly hours of work declined. Average hourly earnings declined. The average weekly earnings and index of weekly hours showed sharp declines.” Not good.

6.  The shrunken workforce remains shrunken, although the labor force participation rate did nudge up last month, a good sign. But if the labor force participation rate was the same as when President Obama took office, the unemployment rate would be 10.6%.

7. If the participation rate had just stayed steady all year, the unemployment rate would be 8.2%. …

Bottom line: Anemic economic growth of around 2% not only puts the U.S. economy at heightened risk of recession, but is also too slow to a) generate enough jobs to quickly close the jobs gap, and b) boost take-home pay. Anyone satisfied with or hyping this report does a great disservice to the America worker.

Instead of offering up the obligatory Chip Diller video, let’s get into the Solis celebratory mindset, shall we?

Update: I swear, I never watch this show:

https://twitter.com/kunzy/status/264391122229526528

I’ve fixed it above, and my apologies to Scott. And Seth.

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I wonder if Obama is envious?

pat on May 15, 2013 at 9:25 PM

Obama can offer some tips on how to jump start a country..

No..
Seriously..

Electrongod on May 15, 2013 at 9:25 PM

Maybe it is time to look at the Socialist Ideology behind their economic policies…?

Seven Percent Solution on May 15, 2013 at 9:26 PM

Guess I’d better get rid of those euros that I have left from my trip to Ireland in March, eh?

Bob's Kid on May 15, 2013 at 9:26 PM

BREAKING:

Other People’s money runs out; EU in decline.

BobMbx on May 15, 2013 at 9:27 PM

I wonder if Obama is envious?

pat on May 15, 2013 at 9:25 P

I wonder if Obama knows.

Well, it is on the news so there’s a chance.

BobMbx on May 15, 2013 at 9:28 PM

“The misery continues,” said Carsten Brzeski, a senior economist at ING in Brussels. “Almost all core countries bar Germany are in recession and so far nothing has helped in stopping this downward spiral.

Huh, maybe someone should’ve warned them or something.

squint on May 15, 2013 at 9:33 PM

As Maggie Thatcher was wont to say, “Sooner or later they run out of other peoples money.”

Screw the EU…

Scrumpy on May 15, 2013 at 9:36 PM

I wonder if Obama is envious?

pat on May 15, 2013 at 9:25 P

I wonder if Obama knows.

Well, it is on the news so there’s a chance.

BobMbx on May 15, 2013 at 9:28 PM

…JugEars:like everything else…”I first learned about this…from news reports…like everybody else!”

KOOLAID2 on May 15, 2013 at 9:41 PM

Once upon a time, America had an economy strong enough to lead the world out of recessions.

Then, Progressives came along and America changed.

MTF on May 15, 2013 at 9:46 PM

Hmmmm…..seems all that “free stuff” in the EU wasn’t “free” after all.

Is Barry taking notes?

GarandFan on May 15, 2013 at 9:48 PM

You know it is time for personal intervention when you are reading about economics and politics on HA while the tornado sirens are blaring outside.

Limerick on May 15, 2013 at 9:49 PM

This isn’t good for North America, either.

rickv404 on May 15, 2013 at 9:50 PM

They need a real federal system like we have in the US. That way, the left can screw around until Mercedes looks like GM and Germany goes the way of Michigan.

Then they blame the Swiss or British investors and bankers.

They don’t have our racism but with a little imagination they can whip up a decent copy in reliving wars or soccer games which didn’t work out like they wanted. Ok, it is lame but their version of a Harley sounds like a sewing machine, anyway.

IlikedAUH2O on May 15, 2013 at 9:59 PM

The only way for the Euroweenies to get out of these awful economic doldrums is to raise taxes.

SparkPlug on May 15, 2013 at 9:59 PM

Downward spiral? Wait till they hit Barock bottom.

SparkPlug on May 15, 2013 at 10:00 PM

Womp: Eurozone dragging into its sixth straight quarter of recession

Green shoots!!

ThePrimordialOrderedPair on May 15, 2013 at 10:02 PM

According to polling data just released from Pew, support for the European Union and the common currency is quickly souring across much of Europe;

I find this bit of “news” interesting because there was never much popular support for the EU. They had to stop holding referenda for their retarded Constitution because it went down in flames the few times it was tried (so they then snuck it in by calling it the Lisbon TREATY, instead … and as a TREATY it didn’t need a plebiscite … yup).

Maybe support has dipped even further but the EU was never able to withstand any popular vote. Heck, in Britain they made a sport of intentionally not letting anyone vote on anything about it.

All that said, Eurotrash is just doing what Eurotrash does … killing themselves and destroying everything within arm’s length of them. They’ve been pulling this destructive suicidal junk for almost a century, now.

Let us not forget that Barky was always a bigger hit in Europe than he ever was, here. Heck, the biggest political rally (possibly in history) was Barky’s illegal, un-Constitutional, un-American and offensive Berlin rally for Germans. Barky never should have been allowed to return to the US after that. The Eurotrash loved him … they should have been forced to keep the retard.

ThePrimordialOrderedPair on May 15, 2013 at 10:07 PM

Can I buy Spain yet on Ebay?

Capitalist Hog on May 15, 2013 at 10:11 PM

How long before they change the EU to eewwww?

socalcon on May 15, 2013 at 11:00 PM

Just as a technical reminder – European GDP estimates are not annualized, so if one wants to compare it to what the BEA puts out there, multiply by 4 to get a close-enough-for-government-work approximation. That makes the overall rate -0.8%, and Germany’s rate +0.4%, on an annualized basis.

As for the continued German support for the pEU, they must be thinking that Brussels is once again in Greater Germany.

Steve Eggleston on May 15, 2013 at 11:26 PM

Can I buy Spain yet on Ebay?

Capitalist Hog on May 15, 2013 at 10:11 PM

S&H is going to kill you.

trigon on May 15, 2013 at 11:47 PM

As Maggie Thatcher was wont to say, “Sooner or later they run out of other peoples money.”

Screw the EU…

Scrumpy on May 15, 2013 at 9:36 PM

Totally agreed!!

jimver on May 16, 2013 at 2:10 AM

This isn’t good for North America, either.

rickv404 on May 15, 2013 at 9:50 PM

If we had accurate data, instead of politically massaged propaganda, we would see Europe is not alone.

dogsoldier on May 16, 2013 at 8:02 AM

Can I buy Spain yet on Ebay?

Capitalist Hog on May 15, 2013 at 10:11 PM

Not yet. But I wouldn’t say it’s impossible that we’ll see such a thing in our lifetimes.

We’re getting a front-row seat at the final stages of what happens to nations that subscribe to some moronic liberal sing-around-the-campfire version of international unity, with a generous dose of economic socialism used in the recipe.

MelonCollie on May 16, 2013 at 8:14 AM