The jobs story is worse than it looks

[idlewind]

The most telling part of this story is the revelation that the "growth" of 54,000 jobs in May was based on some inventive accounting and the true numbers are that the economy actually lost jobs.

http://www.usnews.com/opinion/mzuck...obs-situation-is-worse-than-it-looks?PageNr=3

 

[30ashopper]

The FED today lowered growth and upped unemployment and inflation forcasts for the second time this year. GDP growth went from 3.65 in January to 3.2 in April to today's 2.8, and by the end of the year they'll likely revise it down some more.

 

[AndrewG]

We have a President who has no clue how to fix our economy. The folks that voted him in are getting hit the hardest. And things are only going to get worse...

 

[Beach Runner]

The job story is worse than it looks.

I know college graduates who didn't apply for unemployment benefits because they weren't willing to take any job (like flipping burgers) which is required if you apply for unemployment benefits.

I know highly-paid executives 55 and over who were given "voluntary" retirement packages which meant if you didn't take the offer, you could be terminated with no notice and no benefits. Many of these executives became unemployed, but weren't officially unemployed because they too weren't willing to apply for unemployment benefits due to not being willing to flip burgers. They were also required by the company to sign a two-year non-compete agreement which meant they couldn't work in their areas of expertise for two years. Eff that.

So the unemployment figures are a joke because they don't include highly-trained college graduates and executives who were forced to sign a non-compete agreements and are not willing to flip burgers.

Yes, the job story is worse than it looks.

 

[AndrewG]

But Obama keeps praising his job creation skills.

 

[idlewind]

But Obama keeps praising his job creation skills.

He loves those McDonalds hamburger flipper jobs that he is replacing manufacturing jobs with.

 

[scooterbug44]

Unemployment is funded by employers paying for their employees, you earn it by working and accruing benefits - up to 50% of your former pay. Of course recent grads can't get unemployment benefits - they haven't earned any!

And they don't force you to take a job flipping burgers if you file a claim if that is not what you are trained to do.

You really need a paycheck, you will flip burgers. Or clean toilets. Noone is "too good" for any job and it doesn't kill you to get your hands dirty - the sooner the princesses and princes realize that, the better our country will be.

 

[idlewind]

Unemployment is funded by employers paying for their employees, you earn it by working and accruing benefits - up to 50% of your former pay. Of course recent grads can't get unemployment benefits - they haven't earned any!

And they don't force you to take a job flipping burgers if you file a claim if that is not what you are trained to do.

You really need a paycheck, you will flip burgers. Or clean toilets. Noone is "too good" for any job and it doesn't kill you to get your hands dirty - the sooner the princesses and princes realize that, the better our country will be.

I agree that if you are hungry you will do what you have to do. But unemployment "insurance" is way in the red and the states owe the feds billions on the programs. So someone is not paying what they owe apparently. And I see no cause to brag about an increase in jobs that primarily consists of hamburger flippers. Ever tried to raise a family on that pay?

 

[scooterbug44]

It's in the red because once again we did not plan for a rainy day, let alone a downpour. They were underfunded and once again small businesses will bear the brunt of correcting those mistakes.

I'm not saying that the job market is not bleak for recent grads, or that "burger flipping" jobs are the kind we need - I'm just tired of the whining.

But you really can do much worse than a burger flipping job if you're desperate - at McDonald's that means you get medical, paid vacation, free or discounted food, uniforms provided, and get rapidly promoted. Stock options, life insurance, and 401K as you advance too.

Entry level burger flipping won't provide as the sole means of support for a large family, but why should it? Not working is a luxury and 2 income households are the norm.

 

[Beach Runner]

Unemployment is funded by employers paying for their employees, you earn it by working and accruing benefits - up to 50% of your former pay. Of course recent grads can't get unemployment benefits - they haven't earned any!

And they don't force you to take a job flipping burgers if you file a claim if that is not what you are trained to do.

You really need a paycheck, you will flip burgers. Or clean toilets. Noone is "too good" for any job and it doesn't kill you to get your hands dirty - the sooner the princesses and princes realize that, the better our country will be.

Please document your responses.

When we researched unemployment benefits for our daughter when she graduated last year, we were told that she had to accept any job. She started her own business which has become very lucrative.

A large corporation in our town offered "voluntary" retirement packages for executives 55 and older. None of these executives that we know even applied for unemployment benefits because of the reason above. Do you really think that someone who makes a half-million a year and is 55 or over and has been forced to sign a non-compete can get a job or get benefits up to 50% of their former pay? I think not.

Oh, yeah, the answer is that these 55-yo executives should have planned for retirement. Well, they planned for retirement -- but at 65 at which time their kids' college expenses would be paid for, their mortgages and car payments would have been paid off, etc.