July Delivers Another Underwhelming Jobs Report
As Americans Prepare For Another Obama “Pivot” To JobsANOTHER MONTH AND ANOTHER JOBS REPORT THAT HIGHLIGHTS THE PAIN CAUSED BY THE OBAMA ECONOMY The Washington Post’s Ezra Klein: “Better Than Expected Is Not Good Enough.” (MSNBC’s, “Morning Joe,” 8/5/11)
• Ezra Klein: “This Is Terrible – It’s A Terrible Jobs Number After A Terrible Three Years.” (MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” 8/5/11)
CNN’s Christine Romans: “[I] don't mean to throw the cold water on the whole thing but we’ve got to have like 130,000 to 150,000 jobs created just to absorb new people into the economy. It's not good enough.” (CNN’s “American Morning,” 8/5/11)
CNBC’s Steve Liesman: “Definitely Weak, These Numbers Are Not Good…” (CNBC’s, “Squawk Box,” 8/5/11)
The Wall Street Journal: The Unemployment Rate “Still Leaves Almost 14 Million Americans Who Would Like To Work Without A Job.”
“The unemployment rate, which is obtained from a separate household survey, dropped to 9.1% last month from 9.2% in June.
That still leaves almost 14 million Americans who would like to work without a job.” (Luca di Leo and Jeffrey Sparshott, “Payrolls Grow As Unemployment Ticks Down,” The Wall Street Journal, 8/5/11)
• WSJ: “[T]he Labor Market Remains Weak (Luca di Leo and Jeffrey Sparshott, “Payrolls Grow As Unemployment Ticks Down,” The Wall Street Journal, 8/5/11) The Associated Press: “The Economy Needs Twice As Many Net Jobs Per Month To Rapidly Reduce Unemployment.” “Still, the economy needs twice as many net jobs per month to rapidly reduce unemployment. The rate has topped 9 percent in every month except two since the recession officially ended in June 2009.” (“Unemployment rate dips to 9.1% as U.S. economy adds 117,000 jobs in July,” The Associated Press, 8/5/11) • AP: “The Unemployment Rate Fell Partly Because Some Unemployed Workers Stopped Looking For Work. That Means They Are No Longer Counted As Unemployed.” (“Unemployment rate dips to 9.1% as U.S. economy adds 117,000 jobs in July,” The Associated Press, 8/5/11)
• AP: “The Report Follows A String Of Gloomy Data That Shows The Economy Has Weakened.” (“Unemployment rate dips to 9.1% as U.S. economy adds 117,000 jobs in July,” The Associated Press, 8/5/11)
14 MILLION AMERICANS REMAIN OUT OF WORK AS THEY WAIT FOR OBAMA’S RECOVERY
Since President Obama Took Office The Nation Has Lost 2.4 Million Jobs And The Unemployment Rate Has Increased From 7.8 Percent To 9.1 Percent. (Bureau Of Labor Statistics, BLS.gov, Accessed 8/5/11)
Obama’s Economic Advisors Predicted That The Stimulus Would Keep The Unemployment Rate Below 8 Percent With Stimulus. (Christina Romer and Jared Bernstein,"The Job Impact Of The American Recovery And Reinvestment Plan,"1/9/09)
• “The Jobless Rate Has Stayed Above 8% For 30 Straight Months, The Longest Stretch Of High Unemployment Since The Great Depression In The 1930s.” (Jeffry Bartash, “U.S. Economy Gains 117, 000 Jobs In July,” Market Watch, 8/5/11) “The Jobs Report Friday Showed 44.4% Of Unemployed Americans, Or 6.2 Million People, Were Out Of Work For More Than Six Months In July.” (Luca di Leo and Jeffrey Sparshott, “Payrolls Grow As Unemployment Ticks Down,”
The Wall Street Journal, 8/5/11) Labor Force Participation Is At Its Lowest Levels In A Generation After 193,000 Workers Dropped Out Of Labor Force In July.
“The jobless rate declined as 193,000 people left the labor force and the number of unemployed dropped by 156,000. The share of the eligible population holding a job declined to 58.1 percent, the lowest since July 1983.” (Bob Willis, “U.S. Payrolls Rose In July,” Bloomberg, 8/5/11)
Americans Are Still Waiting For Obama’s Long-Promised Pivot To Jobs NOW – AUGUST 2011: Politico’s Playbook: “DEMS PLAN PIVOT TO JOBS.” (Mike Allen, “DEMS PLAN PIVOT TO JOBS: Transportation, Infrastructure, Tax Breaks On Fall Agenda,” Politico’s “Playbook”, 12/23/09) THEN – DECEMBER 2009: Politico’s Playbook: “SIREN: White House Plans 'Very Hard Pivot To Jobs' Next Month.” (Mike Allen, “SIREN: White House Plans 'Very Hard Pivot To Jobs' Next Month -- Will Be 'Prescriptive',” Politico’s “Playbook”, 12/23/09)
MSNBC’s Chuck Todd: “I Feel Like My Head Is Spinning How Many Times, ‘This Is The Time The White House Was Gonna To Pivot To Jobs.’ “How many times, though – I feel like my head is spinning how many times, ‘this is the time the White House was gonna to pivot to jobs.’ I mean it is it is sort of a recurring thing. What is it that he can do?” (MSNBC’s “Daily Rundown,” 8/3/11)
ABC’s Jake Tapper: “It Feels Like Every Couple Of Months I Am Reporting That The White House Is Announcing That They Are Pivoting To A Jobs Agenda …”"For the last two and a half years here as the White House correspondent for ABC News, it feels like every couple of months I am reporting that the White House is announcing that they are pivoting to a jobs agenda, and something else happens. ... But here we are again saying it. And, of course, unemployment is staggeringly high -- much higher than anybody thought it would be at this point." (Michael Falcone, “Testing The Fragile Front-Runner Theory: Mitt Romeny’s Opponents Take Aim,” ABC’s “The Note”, 8/3/11)
• Tapper Asked The White House What Exactly Obama Was Doing Different To Address The Jobs And Economy.
TAPPER: “But what is the President doing? What is -- we know that he went to a -- he went to fundraisers last night. What is he doing today? … What is he doing -- … He stood up there and hectored Congress about all the stuff that needs to be done to help create jobs, and this needs to take place --and then he flew off to Chicago. What’s he doing today? … So the same stuff he was doing a couple of months ago, calling on Congress to pass things? … Has he called Mitch McConnell? Has he called John Boehner? Has he -- is he working on things that they can do? If every -- … You’re the one that’s always saying the President can walk and chew gum at the same time. … What is he doing? … Other than calling on Congress to pass things that you’ve been calling on Congress to pass for months -- what is he doing to help the economy?” (White House Press Briefing, 8/4/11)
TODAY’S EMPLOYMENT REPORT CAPS OFF A DISMAL WEEK FOR THE ECONOMY AND POINTS TO THE COST AMERICANS BEAR FOR OBAMA’S FAILED POLICIES The New York Times: “The Unrelenting Negative Economic News Of The Past Two Weeks Has Painted A Picture Of A United States Economy That Fell Further And Recovered Less Than We Had Thought.” (Floyd Norris, “Double-Dip Recession May Be Returning,” The New York Times, 8/4/11)
• NYT: “In June, More American Manufacturers Said New Orders Fell Than Rose, According To A Survey By The Institute For Supply Management.” (Floyd Norris, “Double-Dip Recession May Be Returning,” The New York Times, 8/4/11) With Manufacturing Numbers, “The Economic Signs Have Turned Increasingly Grim.” “Indeed, the economic signs have turned increasingly grim. A report on manufacturing Monday noted that growth in that sector had dropped back to the rate of two years ago, just at the point the U.S. was technically exiting the recession.” (Editorial, “A Still Sick Economy Needs More Than Debt Ceiling Deal,” Detroit Free Press, 8/2/11)
“Household Finances Remain Stressed By Lackluster Hiring And High Unemployment.” “Consumer spending—which accounts for 70% of economic activity —decreased 0.2% in June, compared with a 0.1% increase in May, the biggest drop since September 2009, the Commerce Department said Tuesday in a report that showed household finances remain stressed by lackluster hiring and high unemployment.” (Conor Dougherty and Jeff Bater, “Data Reinforce Economic Malaise,” The Wall Street Journal, 8/2/11)
The Stock Market Has Declined For Nine Straight Sessions For The First Time Since The Carter Administration. “The stock market is poised today to do something it has not done in over 33 years: decline for nine straight sessions. The last time the Dow Jones Industrial did that, in fact, was Feb. 22, 1978, when Jimmy Carter was president and the country was struggling to come to grips with a period of anemic economic growth and high inflation.” (Mark Hulbert, “Dow’s Losing Streak Now In Ninth Day,” MarketWatch, 8/4/11)
The Associated Press: “The Economy Slowed In The First Six Months Of 2011 To Its Weakest Pace Since The Recession Ended.” (“U.S. Economy Slowed Sharply In First Half Of 2011,”
The Associated Press, 7/29/11)
The Wall Street Journal: First Quarter GDP Revision “Showed The Slowdown Since The Beginning Of The Year Was Much More Drastic Than Previously Thought.” “The U.S. economy expanded at a slower pace than expected in the spring as consumers cut back on spending, while revisions showed the slowdown since the beginning of the year was much more drastic than previously thought.” (Tom Barkley and Jeff Bater, “U.S. GDP Grows Just 1.3%,” The Wall Street Journal, 7/29/11)
