There was (on the surface) good news from the BLS Employment Situation Report today — jobs fell by only 11,000 and the unemployment rate decreased from 10.2% to 10% from October to November. That’s good news right?
Here is something that you won’t get from the news reports ….
A closer look at the unemployment rate shows that nearly 300,000 workers left the job market (gave up or retired). If you put them back in into the calculation, the unemployment rate was unchanged at 10.2%. So, I don’t want to squash the good news, but this is just another sign of a slow and uneven recovery. Also, keep in mind that these potential workers could re-enter the job market as hiring resumes later this year, which would serve to keep the unemployment stuck on high over the next year.