"US economy adds 146K jobs, rate falls to 7.7 pct."
And for their sub heading:
"US economy adds 146K jobs; jobless rate falls to 4-year low of 7.7 percent; Sandy minor factor"
Well isn't that awesome? Well it WOULD be if these headlines really meant what they said. The truth is all over the body of the article and for at least that little bit of honesty, I give Rugaber a little bit of credit.
He points out:
1.) "the unemployment rate fell to a four-year low in November from 7.9 percent in October mostly because more people stopped looking for work and weren't counted as unemployed."
OUCH.
2.) "The government noted that as long as employees worked at least one day during a pay period — two weeks for most people — its survey would have counted them as employed."
This is ridiculous. So an employer told me to come in twice last month to sweep up the floor and I am counted as employed?
3.) "Still, there were signs that the storm [Sandy] disrupted economic activity. Construction employment dropped 20,000. And weather prevented 369,000 people from getting to work — the most for any month in nearly two years. These workers were still counted as employed."
Besides the fact that this is more cooking of the books, am I the only one that finds it odd that a storm that destroys property would cause construction employment to drop? I digress...
4.) "In November, retailers added 53,000 positions. Temporary help companies added 18,000."
So of the 146K jobs added, HALF of them are seasonal or temporary. This happens every year, so this cannot be unexpected. Yet the over-hyped headline seems to beg you to believe that these numbers are somehow great news.
5.) "...overall manufacturing jobs fell 7,000. That was pushed down by a loss of 12,000 jobs in food manufacturing that likely reflects the layoff of workers at Hostess."
Thank you, Organized Labor Unions.
So you can see that the FACTS in the article end up contradicting the tone of the headline, which is exactly what the propagandists on the left want you to believe. But on the outside chance the Kool-Aid drinkers actually read and understood the facts of the article, the author made sure to end it with not one but TWO excuses for Obama:
Excuse #1: Sandy - "The storm held back consumer spending and income, which drive economic growth. Consumer spending declined in October and work interruptions caused by Sandy reduced wages and salaries that month by about $18 billion at an annual rate, the government said."
Excuse #2: Republicans not caving on Democrat demands to raise taxes, leading to what Obama propagandists call, The Fiscal Cliff - "Still, many say economic growth could accelerate next year if the fiscal cliff is avoided."
