Reply #4

In the discussion thread: Employment is flatlining. [View all]

Fri May 4, 2012, 11:45 AM

JoePhilly (16,303 posts)

4. UE is now at 8.1%, down almost 2% from its high of 10.0%.

In addition, UE is now below where it was during Obama's first full month in office, Feb 2009, when it was 8.3%. In Jan 2009, it was 7.8%.

You point out that Reagan got credit "because the unemployment rate had been dropping steadily for months". But you ignore the tend I just described above. UE has been dropping since Oct of 2009.

But Obama has to get UE under 7.2% because apparently, the trend lines don't matter for Obama.

Bottom line: Obama stopped the collapse, reversed it, and now the economy and the job numbers are improving.

Yet Obama isn't cleaning up the GOP's mess fast enough.

Nice chart and table of the historical data here.
http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000

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81 replies	Author	Time	Post
Employment is flatlining. [View all]	MadHound	May 2012	OP
The economy created 115,000 jobs in April and unemployment dropped to 8.1% - boo hoo hoo	jpak	May 2012	#1
115,000 jobs created vs 342,000 discouraged workers dropping out of the labor force	MadHound	May 2012	#2
You have a point...	KansDem	May 2012	#5
Why do you give Reagan credit for a downward UE trend, and yet ignore the same trend for Obama?	JoePhilly	May 2012	#6
obama bad obama bad obama bad obama bad obama bad obama bad obama bad obama bad obama bad obama bad	dionysus	May 2012	#59
Exactly! We Democrats are our own worse enemy! Always a fucking Debbie Downer! It depresses the vote	Liberal_Stalwart71	May 2012	#74
Obama 2012	jpak	May 2012	#7
Congratulations!	Hawkowl	May 2012	#24
Congratulations	jpak	May 2012	#55
Where does this figure 342,000	cliffordu	May 2012	#60
Well, unlike some folks,	MadHound	May 2012	#61
Soooooo you have absolutely no proof whatsoever...	cliffordu	May 2012	#62
No, I have basic math	MadHound	May 2012	#63
I think the goal is to bring the level of discussion down..	girl gone mad	May 2012	#70
No, the economy lost jobs.	Yo_Mama	May 2012	#65
So all those people who died had jobs and those who were just born need one? That doesnt make sense	stevenleser	May 2012	#66
People who have died or who are very young are not counted.	Yo_Mama	May 2012	#73
150,000 new jobs a month are needed just to keep up with population growth.	Odin2005	May 2012	#79
'Learned his lesson'? I believe he's getting what he wants and fought for.	Edweird	May 2012	#3
UE is now at 8.1%, down almost 2% from its high of 10.0%.	JoePhilly	May 2012	#4
Peak UE was 10.2% - so we are down over 2 points...	jpak	May 2012	#8
I also find it interesting that no matter which way UE moves ... its bad news for Obama.	JoePhilly	May 2012	#31
Hard facts don't matter for the average voter.	Odin2005	May 2012	#80
No, trend lines don't matter in real world politics	MadHound	May 2012	#14
If they don't matter, then why did you mention the trend for Reagan?	JoePhilly	May 2012	#29
Pfft. The unemployment trend matters more than the number.	AtomicKitten	May 2012	#64
Consider	ProSense	May 2012	#9
And yet the pool of discouraged workers is expanding	MadHound	May 2012	#12
That was	ProSense	May 2012	#15
Still not addressing discouraged workers, eh?	MadHound	May 2012	#17
Funny, but I remember when this came up in 2009..	girl gone mad	May 2012	#68
Obama was an inexperienced rookie and it showed	paulk	May 2012	#10
Really?	ProSense	May 2012	#11
yes, really	paulk	May 2012	#16
Yeah,	ProSense	May 2012	#21
you, as usual, resort to ad hominums	paulk	May 2012	#33
It's what she's got. n/t	Egalitarian Thug	May 2012	#39
No, unlike you	ProSense	May 2012	#40
Funny you should try that tack.	Egalitarian Thug	May 2012	#45
My gut	ProSense	May 2012	#48
Point made. n/t	Egalitarian Thug	May 2012	#49
Wait	ProSense	May 2012	#50
My apologies then. The laughing guy made me think it was sarcasm.	Egalitarian Thug	May 2012	#53
Aw	ProSense	May 2012	#41
again, the attempt to demean, belittle, ridicule, etc	paulk	May 2012	#44
Again, whining. n/t	ProSense	May 2012	#47
wait	paulk	May 2012	#54
Thanks, and	ProSense	May 2012	#57
Ad Homs is all she has.	Odin2005	May 2012	#81
Yes, yes he was.	MadHound	May 2012	#13
How do we know all those workers are 'discouraged'?	rox63	May 2012	#18
When the number raises that much, it ain't a bunch of retirees	MadHound	May 2012	#20
The BLS runs a survey of households from which it derives its numbers. Consider	coalition_unwilling	May 2012	#23
Actually I blame Rahm Emmanuel (Obama's first Chief of Staff) as much as	coalition_unwilling	May 2012	#19
I don't disagree with you about Rahm's role	MadHound	May 2012	#22
The economy now is doing exactly what Krugman and Stiglitz predicted would	coalition_unwilling	May 2012	#25
Krugman:	ProSense	May 2012	#27
Good points, ProSense, and important that Obama not be saddled	coalition_unwilling	May 2012	#46
It was the BLUE DOGS in Congress who pressed the president to reduce the stimulus, adding in tax cut	Liberal_Stalwart71	May 2012	#75
Thank you for that refresher. I had forgotten Biden's interview. And	coalition_unwilling	May 2012	#76
Obama still wins despite your bloviating soliloquy	MjolnirTime	May 2012	#26
Really?	MadHound	May 2012	#30
I hope he does win..	girl gone mad	May 2012	#71
as long as Repubs nationwide are cutting state govt jobs, and Repub private employers concur	librechik	May 2012	#28
Please show me.	sendero	May 2012	#32
Good Point--Governors of both parties are driven to balance state budgets by mandate	librechik	May 2012	#35
I will agree..	sendero	May 2012	#67
Which is why Obama should have listened to progressives from day one..	girl gone mad	May 2012	#72
yes indeed--as it turns out he would have lost nothing by treading a more liberal path	librechik	May 2012	#78
democrats are also cutting state jobs.	HiPointDem	May 2012	#38
You're wrong about discouraged workers as well as why people left the labor force	mathematic	May 2012	#34
Like most purposely obscured indications of what is happening,	Egalitarian Thug	May 2012	#42
Thanks for the facts	rox63	May 2012	#43
And baby boomers will retire	treestar	May 2012	#51
You're parroting Mitt RMoney's talking points this a.m.	AtomicKitten	May 2012	#36
Good call.	FSogol	May 2012	#37
And you're using semi-racist terminology	MadHound	May 2012	#56
Thanks for keeping things upbeat in an Election Year	Proud Liberal Dem	May 2012	#52
LOL, what a load of bullshit.	dionysus	May 2012	#58
!!!	Tarheel_Dem	May 2012	#69
That isn't what I'm seeing.	sofa king	May 2012	#77

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