Jubilee on Earth
June 6th, 2008, 09:12 AM
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN0634326520080606
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. employers shed jobs for a fifth straight month in May and the unemployment rate jumped to its highest in more than 3-1/2 years, partly because more people were trying to come back into the workforce, a Labor Department report on Friday showed.
KEY POINTS: * The unemployment rate rose to 5.5 percent last month from 5 percent, its highest level since October 2004.
But here's what gets me. In that Reuters article, it states this:
DAVID KELLY, CHIEF MARKET STRATEGIST, JPMORGAN ASSET
MANAGEMENT, NEW YORK:
"The spike in the unemployment rate is a little shocking to people and that certainly will be the headline.
"It's not quite as bad as that looks because this is a volatile number and the government said that almost 600,000 more people were looking for a job in May than in April. If the labor force grows by almost 600,000, then you would expect to see some increase in the unemployment rate."
:thinking
Okay, and that makes sense how??? To me, unemployment rate means the number of jobless claims of people who filed for unemployment, right? Do I have that right? And so, for one to claim unemployment benefits, one would've had to been working in a job already, and then get let go. So how does this person who is quoting that statement think that simply because 600,000 are looking for a job that they'll all get one?
"If the labor force grows by almost 600,000, then you would expect to see some increase in the unemployment rate."
That just doesn't make sense to me. Are these people trying to give Americans a false sense of security via subliminal messages or something? Or am I just not understanding that statement right???? If people are hurting and some stay-at-home moms, college students or seniors are coming back into the workforce, how does that correlate to companies shedding jobs and letting people go?
Comments appreciated!
NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. employers shed jobs for a fifth straight month in May and the unemployment rate jumped to its highest in more than 3-1/2 years, partly because more people were trying to come back into the workforce, a Labor Department report on Friday showed.
KEY POINTS: * The unemployment rate rose to 5.5 percent last month from 5 percent, its highest level since October 2004.
But here's what gets me. In that Reuters article, it states this:
DAVID KELLY, CHIEF MARKET STRATEGIST, JPMORGAN ASSET
MANAGEMENT, NEW YORK:
"The spike in the unemployment rate is a little shocking to people and that certainly will be the headline.
"It's not quite as bad as that looks because this is a volatile number and the government said that almost 600,000 more people were looking for a job in May than in April. If the labor force grows by almost 600,000, then you would expect to see some increase in the unemployment rate."
:thinking
Okay, and that makes sense how??? To me, unemployment rate means the number of jobless claims of people who filed for unemployment, right? Do I have that right? And so, for one to claim unemployment benefits, one would've had to been working in a job already, and then get let go. So how does this person who is quoting that statement think that simply because 600,000 are looking for a job that they'll all get one?
"If the labor force grows by almost 600,000, then you would expect to see some increase in the unemployment rate."
That just doesn't make sense to me. Are these people trying to give Americans a false sense of security via subliminal messages or something? Or am I just not understanding that statement right???? If people are hurting and some stay-at-home moms, college students or seniors are coming back into the workforce, how does that correlate to companies shedding jobs and letting people go?
Comments appreciated!