The Editorial Board
September 6, 2013
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/07/opinion/when-jobs-are-not-plentiful.html?_r=0&adxnnl=1&ref=unemployment&adxnnlx=1379642522-uU7SuGxDhBMqBM2ILwx44g
Summary:
According to the August unemployment report, last month the economy was able to produce roughly 169,000 jobs throughout the country. However, this was less than the previous months of June and July. The August unemployment rate dropped from 7.4 percent in July to 7.3 percent. Information shows that this was due to a shrinking labor force rather than folks being laid off. In the August report, results showed that out of all the people who are of working age, only 63.2 percent were working or looking for work. This stunning result was the lowest percentage since the year 1978. In August, many of the private-sector jobs created were low-paying retail and food service jobs, in addition to some government jobs here and there. The sign of a bad labor market is horrible wage growth. In the past year, the average wages have been horrible. For the economy to grow, consumers need to spend, but spending won’t pick up without wage growth, and wages won’t rise without stronger job growth.
Opinion:
I believe that regardless of the .1 percent decline in the unemployment rate, the big picture remains the same. There are more people out of work than ever before since the late 1970's. The statistic seems crazy if you think about it. If you take a look at some poorer cities (Chicago for example), where 1 in 10 people don't have jobs, it is easy to understand where this statistic comes from. We are all fortunate to live in an area where there are no signs of massive unemployment and suffering compared to other largely populated cities.
