The U.S. job market turned weaker last month, dashing hopes for an economic rebound.
A report from the Labor Department on Friday shows employers cut 92,000 jobs in February, when economists had expected the U.S. would continue adding jobs, albeit at a sluggish pace. The unemployment rate inched up to 4.4%.
Job gains for December and January were also revised downward, with December now showing a net loss 17,000 jobs.
The weaker than expected jobs report comes as Americans are already anxious about the high cost of living. Those affordability concerns will likely be amplified as the war in Iran has triggered a sharp rise in energy prices. AAA reports the average price of gasoline jumped another 7 cents overnight, to $3.32 a gallon. That’s 21 cents higher than this time last year.
Yes, their methodology. Exclusion of discouraged workers, part-time workers wanting full-time work, and strict “actively seeking work” definitions ensure the numbers don’t actually reflect the reality. But rather the more rosy fiction those in power wish to push.
So no resources that I can read?
Well, if someone points out the official methodology is designed to undercount. One might want to read said methodology. Apart from that, the Internet is your oyster, as well as cable news. Pick a source you find reputable. Fox and NBC point it out any time its advantageous to their chosen candidate. Even trump remarked on it himself in 2023 to attack biden. There are clips from Maddow from 15 years ago talking about it under Obama too. It’s a chestnut old as time used to attack those in power, but never with intent to fix the systemic problem.
Ah, i was hoping you had some specific research or papers that calls out the methodology being questionable, but another poster provided some links. Hopefully they are reliable.
Specifically, look into U-3 vs. U-6 unemployment numbers.