Unemployment jumps to 5.5%
The unemployment rate jumped to 5.5% this month:
Pink slips piled up and jobs disappeared into thin air in May as the nation's unemployment rate zoomed to 5.5 percent in the biggest one-month jump in decades. Wall Street swooned, and the White House said President Bush was considering new proposals to revive the economy.The article states that is the biggest jump in unemployment since 1986.Help-wanted signs are vanishing along with jobs, so the unemployment rate is likely to keep climbing, a government report indicated, underscoring the toll the housing and credit crises are taking on jobseekers, employers and the economy as a whole.
Friday's Labor Department report was filled with sobering numbers:
-- Employers eliminated 49,000 jobs in May, the fifth straight month of nationwide losses.
-- The number of unemployed people grew by 861,000 -- to 8.5 million.
-- Job losses for the year reached 324,000.
Comments
The unemployment rate of 5.5% is not accurate because that percentage does not include the people who collected unemployment for six months and are not allowed to file for extension benefits yet they still have not found work..so for the many people who lost their jobs, could only collect unemployment for six months but still have not found work they are NOT accounted in to that 5.5% figure. I believe the % for unemployment is much higher the 5.5%,,,A % of possibly 15%+ sounds more accurate to me. How can it be said that the unemployment rate is 5.5% when thousands upon thousands of people are no longer allowed to collect yet still have not found work?? What is the true unemmployment %..I do not think it is 5.5% that is for sure.
Posted by: numbersand%areNotaccurate | June 7, 2008 10:58 AM
I believe the % for unemployment is much higher the 5.5%,,,A % of possibly 15%+ sounds more accurate to me.
You're right that the government doesn't keep the best of statistics on unemployment, GDP, inflation rate, etc. They tend to exclude information that would be helpful in determining the true numbers.
Kevin Phillips, the former Nixon aide who turned leftward (and is kind of a hack), nevertheless wrote an interesting story in Harper's Magazine a few months back that explained a lot of this.
Here's a link to the story.
The true unemployment number appears to usually be off by 3-4 percent, so it's probably at 8.5 to 9.5 percent right now. Not good, but historically, not that bad.
Posted by: Doug | June 7, 2008 01:09 PM
Also, with the unemployment rising from people losing their jobs is adding to the other critical problems our nation is facing. This is adding to the foreclosure rates, crime rates, and suicide rates. Many people who have lost everything will do extreme things either to get what they need to feed their family or they will take the cowards way out. Many high paying jobs are being eleminated and the people can not live on the lower paying jobs even if they are working two jobs due to the increase in fuel, utiilities, insurance, medical charges,food, or basically the things people need to have to live in this society. Times are not easy for many but I hope it changes because I have a feeling things may get worse.
The Doctor
Posted by: The Doctor | June 7, 2008 02:00 PM
I have a BA degree, I am a military veteran and lost my job over one year ago. I have applied for work every where, would accept any job that I can get to just pay the bills, not lose my vehicle due to not being able to pay for it any longer etc. My resume is on many job websites and veteran websites yet no interviews. I have put in numerous positions all over Henry and have networked with many people and groups, yet nothing. My wide range of education and 20+ years of experience in a variety of fields and I still have not found work.
The rejection letters keep coming in on jobs I have applied for or the employer states you are 'over qualified' for this job OR others have more education and experince then you so we hired that person.
So, my family is going belly up financially, my once perfect credit score is sinking fast and I am not able to pay basic monthly bills, food and fuel,,
Gov Perdue I suppose thinks things are not that bad and refuses to allow unemployment extensions of any kind,,yet he keeps saying unemployment is holding steady,,what a bunch of B.S..there are thousands like me who collected for six months and still can not find work.
Do any of our politicians care what is happening to the American family?
Posted by: numbersand%areNotaccurate | June 7, 2008 02:45 PM
Numbers, you are among the folks who reside in the political Twilight Zone. It is not good for families or the country.
This is an election year. Whatever percentages exist are manipulated. It is grossly inaccurate to report unemployment, for example, based soley on the number of applicants for benefits. That is like stating illegal immigration numbers based on meaningless data like traffic stops.
I have become ill listening to talking heads criticize everyone who disagrees. The government's press reports cannot be trusted when families are going belly-up.
How many folks are staying in jobs they hate because they fear unemployment.
How many very bright people truly fear an entrepreneurial spirit, and suppress any personal drive.
The facts are very clear. Point to a steel manufacturing plant the US. Point to an auto manufacturer in Georgia that actually uses US labor. Point to a retail chain that is