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Ben Bernanke stated last week that the lack of jobs is a “grave concern”:
The stagnation of the labor market in particular is a grave concern not only because of the enormous suffering and waste of human talent it entails, but also because persistently high levels of unemployment will wreak structural damage on our economy that could last for many years.
It appears that the “perception is reality” approach of the government to paint a rosy picture is no longer working. Welcome to “facts are reality” Ben.
The government’s bureau of labor statistics currently shows an U3 unemployment rate of 8.3%. The real unemployment rate is the U6 which is 15%. Is 15% an accurate assessment of our unemployed? According to Shadowstats.com, the real unemployment rate is 22.9%. Reducing the US workforce by over 1.5 million jobs since 2008 has lowered the unemployment rate also but this manipulation of reality has now been exposed. Add in the number of families on food stamps and welfare and our economic conditions can only be classified as a depression.
Will Ben initiate quantitative easing III? Ask yourself how many votes this will buy in the election and you have your answer.
David DeGerolamo
Hiring Probably Limited By Cooling Demand: U.S. Economy Preview
Payrolls probably grew at a slower pace in August and unemployment exceeded 8 percent for a 43rd month, highlighting why Ben S. Bernanke said the lack of jobs is a “grave concern” for U.S. policy makers, economists said before a report this week.
The employment tally of 125,000 would follow a 163,000 gain in July, according to the median forecast of 71 economists surveyed by Bloomberg ahead of Labor Department figures Sept. 7. The jobless rate likely held at 8.3 percent. A separate report may show manufacturing teetered between growing and shrinking.
“Payroll growth is pretty lackluster,” said Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at Maria Fiorini Ramirez Inc. in New York. “It’s going to be hard to bring down the unemployment rate quickly. Demand is soggy and on top of that we have weakening exports and fiscal policy uncertainty.”
The stagnant labor market is one reason why more action on the monetary policy front remains an option, Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke said last week. A cycle of below-average gains in employment and consumer spending is now being reinforced by a global slowdown and concern over the so-called U.S. fiscal cliff, making a rebound more daunting to achieve.
