That’s Some Fish Tale

"Unbelievable jobs numbers...these Chicago guys will do anything...can't debate so change numbers," tweeted Welch, the former CEO of General Electric.

Welch wasn't alone in raising questions about the jobs numbers. Americans for Limited Government, a conservative group that has been a steady critic of the Obama administration, issued a statement that said the numbers the Bureau of Labor Statistics "used to calculate the unemployment rate are wrong, or worse manipulated. Given that these numbers conveniently meet Obama's campaign promises one month before the election, the conclusions are obvious...Anyone who takes this unemployment report serious is either naive or a paid Obama campaign adviser."

Conn Carroll, a senior writer at the conservative Washington Examiner suggested a slightly less nefarious form of manipulation of the data.

"I don't think BLS cooked numbers. I think a bunch of Dems lied about getting jobs. That would have same effect," he tweeted. "Would love to see the partisan breakdown of the 873,000 Americans who say they got new jobs."

BLS denied there was any manipulation of the data or anything out of the ordinary about the unemployment rate calculation.

"This must be an anomaly," former Congressional Budget Office director Doug Holtz-Eakin said in a snap analysis of the numbers. "It is out of line with any of the other data...” 

Holtz-Eakin noted the household survey is smaller, suggesting it is not as reliable. He called estimate of 873,000 new jobs "implausible." 

He said the report was otherwise "solid," but reflected "the economy is merely moving sideways." 

Convincing millions more adults they don’t need or want a job has been the Obama administration’s most effective jobs program, despite trillions in new stimulus spending, industrial policies, targeted tax cuts, and social programs intended to boost demand. 

Headwinds: Sky-High Taxation, Regulation And Scofflaw Executive Orders Aren’t Helping America’s Anemic Economy

Once upon a time, in a country now barely recognizable, a certain errand boy sent by grocery clerks uttered the words, "This was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal …"

In that same lofty speech, a warning was given that 52% of the electorate unwisely ignored at their peril:  “We are five days away from fundamentally transforming the United States of America.”

Those five days passed and in early 2009, the regime of the errand boy boldly predicted that if Congress passed his $800 billion stimulus plan that by this time the nation’s unemployment rate would be around 5.6%.

Fast forward three-and-a-half years.  Today’s weak job market is affected by things such as the threat of higher taxes in 2013 (when the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts are scheduled to expire), the costly impact of Obamacare, and the harsh regulatory environment.

This country’s jobless rate has remained perched at above 8% for 41 straight months.  The average length of unemployment rose to 39.9 weeks in June.  Companies continue to be cautious in their hiring making it harder for those without jobs to find work.

It will take 219,000 net new jobs a month for the unemployment rate to be below 8% on Election Day if the current participation rate holds steady.

James Pethokoukis, writing for American Enterprise Institute, reminds us that, “Job growth during the three-year Obama recovery has averaged just 75,000 a month for a total of 2.7 million. During the first three years of the Reagan Recovery, job growth averaged 273,000 a month for a total of 9.8 million. If you adjust for the larger U.S. population today, the Reagan Recovery averaged 360,000 jobs a month for a three-year total of 13 million jobs.”

Hmmmm…it is reasonable to conclude that the sooner the errand boy sent by grocery clerks is removed from the levers of power the better.  Hurry up November.

The State Of Our Disunion

Linked at The Frugal Café and The Other McCain.  Thanks so very much.
Also linked at The Lonely Conservative.  Thanks Mrs. B
UPDATE 1:  Linked at The Pirate's Cove and Maggie's Notebook.  Thanks.
UPDATE 2:  Linked at Proof Positive and Say Anything.   I appreciate the linky-love.
UPDATE 3:  Linked at Mind Numbed Robot.  Thanks, 'Bot.