The Unemployment Numbers

The BLS released the employment report for December this morning.  The figures were good, but there was still an air of unreality about them.  The reported unemployment rate is 5.6% according to the government.  That surely sounds great.  The reality, however, is that the labor participation rate dropped by .2% in December; in other words, the percentage of people working or seeking work during the month dropped by nearly a quarter of a percent.  That's a staggering number. 

The real question (which today's figures do not answer) is how many people across the country would come back to work if there were good jobs available.  Without question there are millions of people in that category.  When the government statistics are compiled, however, none of these millions of sidelined/unemployed people are counted or even considered.

I do not wish to indicate that today's report was bad.  Indeed, the worst statistic given was that the average hourly wage of the American worker declined by five cents.  That comes on the heels of a six cent increase in November, however, so it is hardly earth shaking news.  No, the problem is not bad news today; it is incomplete and misleading news.