Florida loses 78,000 jobs -- worst in U.S.

[babylonsister]

Florida loses 78,000 jobs -- worst in U.S.
Florida led the nation in job losses over the past year. But the unemployment rate actually fell slightly from May to June.
Posted on Sat, Jul. 19, 2008

BY SCOTT ANDRON


It wasn't long ago that Sun Belt states like Florida and Texas attracted a steady stream of newcomers from up north, pushing their economies ever forward and creating new jobs.

Now, it would seem, the Sunshine State and the Lone Star State have parted ways.

Florida led the nation in lost jobs over the past year, with 78,100, according to figures released Friday by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Texas, on the other hand, had a job-creation bonanza, adding a whopping 245,000.

Florida's rising cost of living has slowed the state's growth. And the recent housing boom has left South Florida with a large inventory of empty homes and condos -- and little call for construction workers to build more.

Florida right now is even worse off than Michigan, that quintessential Rust Belt state, which lost only 48,600.

more...

http://www.miamiherald.com/457/story/610181.html

[graywarrior]

1. One of the main reasons I fled from that state

[babylonsister]

2. Hey, graywarrior...

how's it going in NH? Are you staying there or heading back to FL for the winter? My stepson works for a contractor based in FL; this doesn't sound too good for him.

You are smart; it's stinking hot in this part of the country; always is, but I'm not as able to weather it so well anymore. We're hitting the road the end of August to visit sunny Maine; I hope we find some relief!

[graywarrior]

5. We're staying here.

I got so many things going on with my art and writing, I can't leave. The collaboration available here to get things done is way more stimulating than it was in Florida.

Thanks for asking. I pity anyone having to deal with the summers in the soutn.

[Lasher]

3. "The good news is that the unemployment rate actually went down a little,

to 5.5 from a revised May figure of 5.6. The June 2007 rate was 4 percent."

:wtf:

Bizzaro world unemployment reporting. Lose 78K jobs and your unemployment rate improves.

The popularly followed unemployment rate was 5.5% in July 2004, seasonally adjusted. That is known as U-3, one of six unemployment rates published by the BLS. The broadest U-6 measure was 9.5%, including discouraged and marginally attached workers.

Up until the Clinton administration, a discouraged worker was one who was willing, able and ready to work but had given up looking because there were no jobs to be had. The Clinton administration dismissed to the non-reporting netherworld about five million discouraged workers who had been so categorized for more than a year. As of July 2004, the less-than-a-year discouraged workers total 504,000. Adding in the netherworld takes the unemployment rate up to about 12.5%.

http://www.shadowstats.com/article/54

[babylonsister]

4. If it's any comfort, that made no sense to me either. Why

isn't that questioned or explained?

[Lasher]

6. The books are being cooked.

And you ask a good question, "Why isn't that questioned or explained?" The Shadow Government statistics website that I linked is a good place to see all this exposed. You might wonder, for example, why it is that you can buy much less now with your money than you could in the recent past, even though government statistics indicate inflation is at historical lows. It's all a pack of lies and the corporate media is in on it.

[Edweird]

7. Yeah it's tough here. I lost my ass in construction and went back to infrastructure.

But even FPL isn't releasing work. It's a little spooky right now.