Unemployment in May was at 7.6% according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. There were 175,000 new non-farm jobs during the month, although the numbers for the previous two months were revised down by 12,000. The best description of these figures is that they are just more of the same. In other words, the supposed speeding up of economic growth just is not there. Of course, there is no real slowing down either.
To me, the most disappointing part of the BLS report was the spin it contained. Unemployment of 7.6% is up a tenth of a percent from the April figure. The BLS officially reported this rise in the unemployment rate as "the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged in May". The same group had no trouble in reporting a similarly sized drop last month as a lowering of the rate. It is as if there are only two directions that unemployment can go in Obama's America: down and "essentially unchanged" (which means up).
To me, the most disappointing part of the BLS report was the spin it contained. Unemployment of 7.6% is up a tenth of a percent from the April figure. The BLS officially reported this rise in the unemployment rate as "the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged in May". The same group had no trouble in reporting a similarly sized drop last month as a lowering of the rate. It is as if there are only two directions that unemployment can go in Obama's America: down and "essentially unchanged" (which means up).
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