Category Archives: Economy

July unemployment rate August 2, 2013, ADP jobs report in sync with BLS, Initial claims reflect labor force dropouts, NFIB Trimtabs SurePayroll reports minimal or decreased July hiring

July unemployment rate August 2, 2013, ADP jobs report in sync with BLS, Initial claims reflect labor force dropouts, NFIB Trimtabs SurePayroll reports minimal or decreased July hiring

“North Carolina’s unemployment rate fell for the fourth consecutive month in May to 8.8 percent, but the slight drop was largely due to a shrinking labor force rather than the creation of new jobs, economists said.”…Raleigh News Observer June 21, 2013

“11.4%: What the U.S. unemployment rate would be if labor force participation were back to January 2008 levels.” …James Pethokoukis, American Enterprise Institute, June 2013

“the Times of the nineteenth of December had published the official forecasts of the output of various classes of consumption goods in the fourth quarter of 1983, which was also the sixth quarter of the Ninth Three-Year Plan. Today’s issue contained a statement of the actual output, from which it appeared that the forecasts were in every instance grossly wrong. Winston’s job was to rectify the original figures by making them agree with the later ones.”…George Orwell, “1984″

You are being lied to.

*** Update 8:30 AM ***

July unemployment rate 7.4 %

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 162,000.

***  Attention: Once again, the labor force dropped .1 % !!!  ***

Labor Force Participation Rate 63.4 %.

The US Labor Department will release the July 2013 unemployment rate in a few minutes.

Regardless of what the rate is, it will be misleading due to the record drop in the Labor Force Participation Rate and increase in part time workers.

This comes on the heels of two jobs reports this week.

Yesterday, the BLS reported initial claims of 321,000, the lowest in 5 years. This number is a reflection of a smaller labor force and a smaller number of full time workers.

The biggest suspect report came from ADP.

“ADP NATIONAL EMPLOYMENT REPORT: PRIVATE SECTOR EMPLOYMENT INCREASED BY 200,000 JOBS IN JULY

ROSELAND, N.J. – July 31, 2013 – Private-sector employment increased by 200,000 jobs from June to July, according to the July ADP National Employment Report®. Broadly distributed to the public each month, free of charge, the ADP National Employment Report is produced by ADP®, a leading provider of human capital management solutions, in collaboration with Moody’s Analytics. The report is derived from ADP’s actual payroll data and measures the change in total nonfarm private employment each month on a seasonally-adjusted basis. June’s job gain was revised upward from 188,000 to 198,000.
July 2013 Report Highlights*

View the ADP National Employment Report Infograph at http://www.adpemploymentreport.com.

Total U.S. Nonfarm Private Employment: 200,000

 By Company Size
 Small businesses: 82,000
o 1-19 employees 51,000
o 20-49 employees 31,000
 Medium businesses: 60,000
o 50-499 employees 60,000
 Large businesses: 57,000
o 500-999 employees 7,000
o 1,000+ employees 50,000”

Read more:

http://www.adpemploymentreport.com/2013/July/NER/NER-July-2013.aspx

There are several problems with the ADP report.

From the ADP methodology:

“Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP) has joined with Moody’s Analytics in order to use ADP’s large payroll data set to predict private-sector employment prior to the release of the CES report.”

Read it for yourself.

SWAG may be too kind a word for this.

From NFIB, National Federation of Independent Business, July 31, 2013.
“NFIB Jobs Statement: Few Jobs and Poor Prospects”
“Chief economist for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) William C. Dunkelberg, issued the following statement on July’s job numbers, based on NFIB’s monthly economic survey that will be released on Tuesday, August 13th. The survey was conducted in July and reflects the responses of 1,615 sampled NFIB members: graph

“July was another slow month for jobs among NFIB’s 350,000 owners, with the average increase in employment coming in at a negative 0.11 workers per firm, the third negative monthly reading in a row.”

http://www.nfib.com/press-media/press-media-item?cmsid=63483

From CNBC July 31, 2013.

“Big jobs number coming? Data firm TrimTabs says just 23,000”

“Before anyone gets too excited about job prospects for July, a data firm is reporting that payroll growth was much slower than expected.

TrimTabs estimated Wednesday that employment slowed to a trickle, with just 23,000 positions added for the month.”

“In June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said the economy added 195,000, while TrimTabs put the number at a relatively close 182,000. In May, though, the disparity was far greater, with the government asserting 195,000 while TrimTabs estimated 135,000.”

“TrimTabs isn’t the only outfit with a dim view of July jobs, though.

Small-business payroll firm SurePayroll said hiring actually decreased 0.1 percent for the month.”

Read more:

http://www.cnbc.com/id/100928017

In case you have forgotten.

From the BLS, Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 22, 2013.
“Mass Layoffs Data Discontinued |
On March 1, 2013, President Obama ordered into effect the across-the-board spending cuts (commonly referred to as sequestration) required by the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act, as amended. Under the order, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) must cut its current budget by more than $30 million, 5 percent of the current 2013 appropriation, by September 30, 2013. In order to help achieve these savings and protect core programs, the BLS will eliminate two programs, including Mass Layoff Statistics, and all “measuring green jobs” products. The final release of Mass Layoffs Statistics data will occur on June 21st, with publication of the May 2013 data.”

Welcome to the age of Big Brother.

Greensboro NC metro unemployment rate 9.7 percent and better?, Berkshire Hathaway owned News Record article, Labor force dropped .7 percent from 2012

Greensboro NC metro unemployment rate 9.7 percent and better?, Berkshire Hathaway owned News Record article, Labor force dropped .7 percent from 2012

“North Carolina’s unemployment rate fell for the fourth consecutive month in May to 8.8 percent, but the slight drop was largely due to a shrinking labor force rather than the creation of new jobs, economists said.”…Raleigh News Observer June 21, 2013

“The NC Labor Force Participation Rate plummeted 1.2 percent from Jan to June 2013.”...Citizen Wells

“the Times of the nineteenth of December had published the official forecasts of the output of various classes of consumption goods in the fourth quarter of 1983, which was also the sixth quarter of the Ninth Three-Year Plan. Today’s issue contained a statement of the actual output, from which it appeared that the forecasts were in every instance grossly wrong. Winston’s job was to rectify the original figures by making them agree with the later ones.”…George Orwell, “1984″

You are being lied to.

Before I chastise and correct the national media and the misleading ADP jobs report from yesterday and misleading BLS initial claims report from this morning, I am compelled to address the jobs reporting in NC first.

From the Greensboro News Record July 31, 2013.

“Area unemployment rate shows some improvement”

“The unemployment rate in the Greensboro-High Point metro area continued to improve steadily in June to 9.7 percent compared with 10.4 percent in June 2012, according to state figures.

But 0.7 percentage points is only a moderate improvement in the employment picture and not a dramatic step towards full recovery, said economist Andrew Brod, a senior research fellow at UNCG.

“Given how weak this recovery is, that’s great, but it’s sort of damning with faint praise,” Brod said.”

“Continuing claims for unemployment spiked 52 percent from 84,699 for the week ending June 29 to 128,739 for the week ending July 6.

The increase of 44,040 continuing claims is the largest in North Carolina in more than a decade, said David C. Ribar, an economics professor at UNCG.

The figure represents the number of people who have not dropped out of the system because they are still eligible for benefits or they haven’t found jobs.

But the spike had a simple explanation, said Larry Parker, a spokesman for the state division: Thousands of people who lost their benefits on July 1 continued to file for them out of habit.”

Read more:

http://www.news-record.com/news/article_8e9c55fc-f927-11e2-ae70-001a4bcf6878.html

In fairness to the News Record, they did not paint a completely rosy picture.

And 9.7 % unemployment is nothing to shout about.

But the article stated that unemployment had dropped .7 percent from 2012.

What the article did not mention is the fact that the Labor Force Participation Rate in NC dropped .7 percent as well.

Look it up.

http://esesc23.esc.state.nc.us/d4/LausSelection.aspx

Obama speech lies at Knox College July 24, 2013, Obama et al have harmed families with job losses part time jobs rising health care costs higher gas and heating oil

Obama speech lies at Knox College July 24, 2013, Obama et al have harmed families with job losses part time jobs rising health care costs higher gas and heating oil

“The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)[1] imposes numerous tax hikes that transfer more than $500 billion over 10 years—and more in the future—from hardworking American families and businesses to Congress for spending on new entitlements and subsidies. In addition, higher tax rates on working and investing will discourage economic growth both now and in the future, further lowering the standard of living.”…Heritage Foundation

“However … health insurance rates and benefit coverage plan costs have continued to increase. As a result of those increases, county employees have experienced a pay decrease that has grown larger each year.”…Guilford County Interim Manager Sharisse Fuller

“Can we stop calling ObamaCare the Affordable Care Act now?”…Guilford College student

Barack Obama gave a speech at Knox College in Galesburg, IL today July 24, 2013.

How do we know that he was lying?

His lips were moving.

Here are a few of those lies.

“Add it all up, and over the past 40 months, our businesses have created 7.2 million new jobs.  This year, we are off to our strongest private-sector job growth since 1999.”

“We’re about to produce more of our own oil than we buy from abroad for the first time in nearly 20 years.  The cost of health care is growing at its slowest rate in 50 years.  And our deficits are falling at the fastest rate in 60 years.”

“Health care costs are slowing, but many working families haven’t seen the savings yet.”

“Or they’ll bring up Obamacare, despite the fact that our businesses have created nearly twice as many jobs in this recovery as they had at the same point in the last recovery, when there was no Obamacare.”

“We’ll also keep pushing new efforts to train workers for changing jobs. Here in Galesburg, many of the workers laid off at Maytag chose to enroll in retraining programs like the ones at Carl Sandburg College.  And while it didn’t pay off for everyone, many who retrained found jobs that suited them even better and paid even more.”

“Just last week, New York announced that premiums for consumers who buy their insurance in these online marketplaces will be at least 50% less than what they pay today.  That’s right – folks’ premiums in the individual market will drop by 50%. ”

Read more:

http://www.businessinsider.com/obama-speech-economy-knox-college-full-text-2013-7#ixzz2Zzl6bSOM

Platitudes, lies and class warfare.

No surprises.

Let’s begin with jobs and the real story.

Even though we know that the US labor Dept., BLS, has been using voodoo equations to arrive at their unemployment data, the data that has been provided and mostly not reported is scary enough.

From the BLS.

“Commissioners
Keith Hall
January 2008–January 2012″
“Dr. Keith Hall received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Virginia and M.S. and Ph.D. in Economics from Purdue University. Prior to his government service, Dr. Hall was a full time-faculty member in the economics departments at the Universities of Arkansas and Missouri. He published a number of papers on international trade.
Dr. Hall had over 20 years of federal service with the Department of the Treasury, the International Trade Commission, the Department of Commerce, the Executive Office of the President, and BLS. Prior to becoming BLS Commissioner, he served as Chief Economist for the White House Council of Economic Advisers, where he analyzed a broad range of fiscal, regulatory and macroeconomic policies and directed a team that monitored the state of the economy and developed economic forecasts.”

http://www.bls.gov/bls/history/commissioners/hall.htm

From the NY Post July 18, 2013.

“Keith Hall believes the US economy is a lot sicker than the 7.6 percent unemployment rate would lead you to believe.
And he should know.
Hall was, from 2008 until last year, the guy in charge of Washington’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, the agency that compiles that rate.
“Right now [it’s] misleadingly low,” says Hall, who believes a truer reading of those now wanting a job but without one to be more than 10 percent.
The fly in the ointment is the BLS employment-to-population ratio, which is currently at 58.7 percent. “It’s lower than it was when the recession ended. I think that’s a remarkable statistic,” says Hall, a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.
That level tells Hall the real unemployment rate is actually about 3 percentage points higher than the BLS number. If the jobless rate is unacceptable at 7.6 percent, it’d be shockingly bad if he is right and the true rate is 10.6 percent.”

“Hall reckons there are millions of U-6 people on top of the 4.5 million long-term unemployed.”

““This has been a very slow, very bad recovery,” he says. “And I think the numbers have really struggled as a result. In fact, I’ve been very disappointed in the coverage of the numbers.””

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/bls_number_is_bs_jaKS2Nc8Yu2TrnETK2bXEM

The NY Times reported on the 13.8 % U6 number on April 19, 2013.

Wanting More Work

About 7.6 million Americans working part-time jobs are doing so reluctantly, and would rather have a full-time job. People stuck in such positions are one reason a broader measure of unemployment — which includes reluctant part-timers as well as people without a job who have looked for work in the past year, but not in the last four weeks — is so much higher than the standard jobless rate, which stands at 7.6 percent. Related Article »

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2013/04/19/business/Wanting-More-Work.html?ref=unemployment&_r=1&

The June 2013 U6 number from the BLS is 14.3 %.

The unemployment rate for blacks, which was 7.9 % when the Democrats took control of both houses of congress in January 2007, has risen 1 percent since Obama took the White House and is currently 13.7 percent.

The unemployment rate in Illinois in June was 9.2 percent, the second highest in the US.

Obamacare, far from reducing health care costs, has significantly impacted the cost of family and student health care and impacted jobs.

From Citizen Wells September 26, 2012.

“A Young America’s Foundation activist forwarded an email from the Vice President for Finance at his school, Guilford College (Greensboro, NC), informing him that, “For the 2012-13 academic year, the annual cost of the student health insurance is increasing from $668 to $1,179. This insurance premium has been charged to your student account.”

Why the increase? “Our student health insurance policy premium has been substantially increased due to changes required by federal regulations issued on March 16, 2012 under the Affordable Care Act.”

“Guilford joins a long list of colleges raising their premiums. Virtually all current student insurance plans do not meet ObamaCare’s mandates, and Forbes reports colleges have been forced to drop their plans or raise their premiums rates as much as 1,112% (and no, that’s not a typo).”

“Lenoir-Rhyne University (Hickory, NC) raised theirs from $245 to $2,507″

“During his first run for president, Barack Obama made one very specific promise to voters: He would cut health insurance premiums for families by $2,500, and do so in his first term.

But it turns out that family premiums have increased by more than $3,000 since Obama’s vow, according to the latest annual Kaiser Family Foundation employee health benefits survey.

Premiums for employer-provided family coverage rose $3,065 — 24% — from 2008 to 2012, the Kaiser survey found. Even if you start counting in 2009, premiums have climbed $2,370.

What’s more, premiums climbed faster in Obama’s four years than they did in the previous four under President Bush, the survey data show.”

https://citizenwells.wordpress.com/2012/09/26/health-premiums-up-3000-obama-promised-2500-cut-student-health-care-doubles-triples-and-more-obamacare-another-obama-lie-kaiser-survey/

 

Obama Trayvon Martin speech, Race not issue, Accountability lacking, Obama and Democrats destroy blacks jobs, Gun policies, Liberal impact on family structure, ACORN exploited poor

Obama Trayvon Martin speech, Race not issue, Accountability lacking, Obama and Democrats destroy blacks jobs, Gun policies, Liberal impact on family structure, ACORN exploited poor

“The unemployment rate for blacks has risen almost 6 percent since the Democrats took control of congress in January 2007.”…Citizen Wells

 
“The Employment to Population Ratio for blacks has dropped 6.4 percent since the Democrats took control of congress in January 2007.”…Citizen Wells

“79.6 percent of Chicago homicide victims to date in 2013 were black”…Citizen Wells July 20, 2013 

 

Accountability

It is lacking in black communities as well as all stratas of modern US society.

Beginning with the great society and continuing to today, the Democrat Party has used Blacks for their own political agenda. Obama included.
This has led to further breakdowns in the family structure.

Obama and the left are quick to blame others for their failures.

So are many in the black community as well as the demogogues who use them.

The Sandy Hook tragedy was a good recent example.

Guns and the right were blamed for the failure to plan to protect the children and take adequate measures.

The Trayvon Martin targedy is another. Obama and the left are quick to blame this on racism when they are a huge part of the problem.

Obama recently spoke on the  Trayvon Martin tragedy.

“I know that Eric Holder is reviewing what happened down there, but I think it’s important for people to have some clear expectations here. Traditionally, these are issues of state and local government, the criminal code. And law enforcement is traditionally done at the state and local levels, not at the federal levels.

That doesn’t mean, though, that as a nation we can’t do some things that I think would be productive. So let me just give a couple of specifics that I’m still bouncing around with my staff, so we’re not rolling out some five-point plan, but some areas where I think all of us could potentially focus.

Number one, precisely because law enforcement is often determined at the state and local level, I think it would be productive for the Justice Department, governors, mayors to work with law enforcement about training at the state and local levels in order to reduce the kind of mistrust in the system that sometimes currently exists.

When I was in Illinois, I passed racial profiling legislation, and it actually did just two simple things. One, it collected data on traffic stops and the race of the person who was stopped. But the other thing was it resourced us training police departments across the state on how to think about potential racial bias and ways to further professionalize what they were doing.

And initially, the police departments across the state were resistant, but actually they came to recognize that if it was done in a fair, straightforward way that it would allow them to do their jobs better and communities would have more confidence in them and, in turn, be more helpful in applying the law. And obviously, law enforcement has got a very tough job.

So that’s one area where I think there are a lot of resources and best practices that could be brought to bear if state and local governments are receptive. And I think a lot of them would be. And let’s figure out are there ways for us to push out that kind of training.

Along the same lines, I think it would be useful for us to examine some state and local laws to see if it — if they are designed in such a way that they may encourage the kinds of altercations and confrontations and tragedies that we saw in the Florida case, rather than diffuse potential altercations.

I know that there’s been commentary about the fact that the “stand your ground” laws in Florida were not used as a defense in the case. On the other hand, if we’re sending a message as a society in our communities that someone who is armed potentially has the right to use those firearms even if there’s a way for them to exit from a situation, is that really going to be contributing to the kind of peace and security and order that we’d like to see?

And for those who resist that idea that we should think about something like these “stand your ground” laws, I’d just ask people to consider, if Trayvon Martin was of age and armed, could he have stood his ground on that sidewalk? And do we actually think that he would have been justified in shooting Mr. Zimmerman who had followed him in a car because he felt threatened? And if the answer to that question is at least ambiguous, then it seems to me that we might want to examine those kinds of laws.

Number three — and this is a long-term project — we need to spend some time in thinking about how do we bolster and reinforce our African American boys. And this is something that Michelle and I talk a lot about. There are a lot of kids out there who need help who are getting a lot of negative reinforcement. And is there more that we can do to give them the sense that their country cares about them and values them and is willing to invest in them?”

http://blogs.marketwatch.com/capitolreport/2013/07/19/transcript-of-president-obamas-remarks-on-trayvon-martin-case/?mod=MW_home_latest_news

There were actually parts of the speech that resonated with me.

However, If Obama is sincere, he must break from his radical, anti family, anti jobs past and take concrete measures to strengthen all families in this country.

This includes taking a stand against pop culture and the many bad influences it presents.

One of Obama’s strongest ties in the past was to ACORN and associated ideologies.

From Citizen Wells September 15, 2009.

“The following report was prepared for the Catholic Bishops in 1997 and covers the period of time close to when Obama was a community organizer and involved directly with ACORN”

“1. ACORN received approximately 5% of the national CHD annual budget between 1992-1995. Between the years of 1992-1995, ACORN received $1,493,000 in national CHD grants.”

“This commentary does not oppose CHD funding of genuine, grassroots community organizations, run and supported by individual members of a parish or diocese. There is potential value and virtue in the collective voice. However, when the CHD funds Alinsky-style, church-based community organizations as in the best interest of the poor and supports organizations which advance other agendas, it divests the poor of their right to an authentic voice. This process tends to treat the poor as exploited units of human capital, rather than as human beings created in the dignity of God’s image.”

https://citizenwells.wordpress.com/2009/09/15/acorn-catholics-cut-funding-in-2008-catholic-bishops-report-chd-funding-acorn-fraud-voter-fraud-community-organizers-obama-democratic-socialists-of-america-dsa-new-party-socialists-endorsed/

Obama, the Democrats and the left have impacted blacks in a manner that is more easily quantified and certainly underreported.

Jobs.

Remember, Democrats took control of both houses of congress starting in January of 2007. Obama took the White House in January 2009.

The following stats for blacks tell the tale.

                                                                                                  2007     2009     2013
Labor Force Participation rate   64.6     63.3     61.4
Employment Population Ratio      59.4     55.2     53.0
Unemployment rate                 7.9     12.7     13.7

NC unemployment rate 8.8 percent?, Unchanged?, Labor Force Participation and percent of population drop .2 percent!!, Labor force and percent of population employed plummet from Jan to June

NC unemployment rate 8.8 percent?, Unchanged?, Labor Force Participation and percent of population drop .2 percent!!, Labor force and percent of population employed plummet from Jan to June

“North Carolina’s unemployment rate fell for the fourth consecutive month in May to 8.8 percent, but the slight drop was largely due to a shrinking labor force rather than the creation of new jobs, economists said.”…Raleigh News Observer June 21, 2013

“11.4%: What the U.S. unemployment rate would be if labor force participation were back to January 2008 levels.” …James Pethokoukis, American Enterprise Institute, June 2013

“The NC Labor Force Participation Rate plummeted 1.2 percent from Jan to June 2013.”...Citizen Wells

 

 

You are being lied to.

The media headlines state that the NC unemployment rate remained unchanged in June 2013.

They omit the fact that both the Labor Force Participation Rate and Employment to Population Rates both dropped .2 percent in June.

From the NC Employment Security Commission June 19, 2013.

“The state’s seasonally adjusted June unemployment rate was 8.8 percent, remaining unchanged from May’s revised rate. The national rate also remained unchanged at 7.6 percent.
North Carolina’s June 2013 unemployment rate was 0.8 of a percentage point lower than a year ago. The number of people employed decreased 10,958 over the month to 4,292,497, and increased 29,341 over the year. The number
of people unemployed increased 596 over the month to 416,767, and declined 33,782 over the year.”

The labor force and unemployment estimates are based on the same concepts and definitions as those used for the official national estimates obtained from the Current Population Survey (CPS), a sample survey of households that is conducted for the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) by the U.S. Census Bureau. The LAUS program measures employment and unemployment on a place-of-residence basis. The universe for each is the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years of age and over. Employed persons are those who did any work at all for pay or profit in the reference week (the week including the 12th of the month) or worked 15 hours or more without pay in a family business or farm, plus those not working who had a job from which they were temporarily absent,
whether or not paid, for such reasons as bad weather, labor-management dispute, illness, or vacation. Unemployed persons are those who were not employed during the reference week (based on the definition above), had actively looked for a job sometime in the 4-week period ending with the reference week, and were currently available for work; persons on lay-off expecting recall need not be looking for work to be counted as unemployed. The labor force is the sum of employed and unemployed persons. The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed as a percent of the labor force.”

Read more:

http://www.ncesc1.com/PMI/Rates/PressReleases/State/NR_June_2013_StRate_M.pdf

Here is the real story.

Not included in the above report which presents a favorable employment picture over 2012.

From Jan 2013 to June 2013.

The Labor Force Participation rate plummeted 1.2 percent!

The Employment to Population Rate plummeted .7 percent!

Don’t take my word for it. Look it up here.

http://esesc23.esc.state.nc.us/d4/LausSelection.aspx

 

 

 

Gas prices up again, Obama energy policies kill jobs hurt Americans already hurting from economy, Part time job economy, Higher gas prices raise other prices

Gas prices up again, Obama energy policies kill jobs hurt Americans already hurting from economy, Part time job economy, Higher gas prices raise other prices

“Because I’m capping greenhouse gases, coal power plants, you know, natural gas, you name it — whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, uh, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to consumers.”…Barack Obama 

“Canada has outperformed the U.S. since then. In 2010, according to the International Monetary Fund, Canada grew at 3.2% versus 2.9% in the U.S. In 2011, the IMF estimates Canada will grow at 2.9%; unemployment is now 7.3%. The IMF’s U.S. growth forecast is 2.5% this year, and U.S. unemployment is 9.1%.

One explanation for Canada’s more robust growth is its strong commitment to energy, which has become more valuable in U.S. dollar terms under Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s inflationary policies. Alberta is now producing two million barrels per day but expects that number will grow to four to five million within a decade.”…Wall Street Journal Sept. 12, 2011

“For the first time in recent history, the average Canadian is richer than the average American, according to a report cited in Toronto’s Globe and Mail.

And not just by a little. Currently, the average Canadian household is more than $40,000 richer than the average American household. The net worth of the average Canadian household in 2011 was $363,202, compared to around $320,000 for Americans.”…US News  July 18, 2012

 

 

Gas prices are rising again in a hurting economy, with high unemployment, more part time jobs and many folks who have lost unemployment benefits.

GasPriceJuly2013

From The Washington Times July 9, 2013.

“New U.S. economy: Part-time and temp job markets explode”

“The new economic reality in the United States is this: The workforce has shifted from full-timers to part-timers.

On top of that, more Americans receive food stamps than work full time, Fox News reported.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that an estimated 28 million peolpe in America now work at part-time jobs. And as the Washington Examiner noted, a record level of workers in the nation now hold temporary positions — about 2.7 million — that are obtained through a job placement service.

The American Staffing Association reported that in the first quarter of 2013 staffing agencies employed about 2 percent of non-farm workers in the nation. That’s up by 2.9 percent from the similar quarter in 2012. And comparing June 2013 with June 2012, the number of Americans working at positions obtained through temp agencies jumped 6.7 percent.

“Nearly one-fifth of all jobs gained since the recession ended have been temporary,” said Ashe Schow in the Examiner report.

At the same time, full-time jobs decreased by 240,000 positions.”

Read more:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jul/9/new-us-economy-part-time-and-temp-job-markets-expl/

From Market Watch July 12, 2013.

“More pain at the pump coming up, AAA says”

“Gasoline prices have jumped the most in one day in five months, with the average retail price up nearly 10 cents in a week.

Prices spiked 3.2 cents overnight, the most since mid-February, travel and leisure group AAA said.

There’s no relief is in sight. A spokesman for AAA said average prices could increase another 10 cents to 15 cents a gallon as rising gasoline futures prices catch up with consumers at the pump.

Several incidents at refineries across the nation, at a time crude-oil prices are on the rise, plus continued summer driving demand have pushed gasoline retail prices higher, AAA said.”

Read more:

http://blogs.marketwatch.com/energy-ticker/2013/07/12/more-pain-at-the-pump-coming-up-aaa-says/?mod=MW_home_latest_news

June unemployment rate 7.6 percent?, Labor force participation rate down .3 percent past year, Part time workers up 322K, Discouraged workers up 206K over year, Employment up 195K in June???

June unemployment rate 7.6 percent?, Labor force participation rate down  .3 percent past year, Part time workers up 322K, Discouraged workers up 206K over year, Employment up 195K in June???

“North Carolina’s unemployment rate fell for the fourth consecutive month in May to 8.8 percent, but the slight drop was largely due to a shrinking labor force rather than the creation of new jobs, economists said.”…Raleigh News Observer June 21, 2013

“11.4%: What the U.S. unemployment rate would be if labor force participation were back to January 2008 levels.” …James Pethokoukis, American Enterprise Institute, June 2013

“the Times of the nineteenth of December had published the official forecasts of the output of various classes of consumption goods in the fourth quarter of 1983, which was also the sixth quarter of the Ninth Three-Year Plan. Today’s issue contained a statement of the actual output, from which it appeared that the forecasts were in every instance grossly wrong. Winston’s job was to rectify the original figures by making them agree with the later ones.”…George Orwell, “1984″

 

From the US Labor Department July 5, 2013.

“THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION — JUNE 2013
Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 195,000 in June, and the
unemployment rate was unchanged at 7.6 percent, the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics reported today. Employment rose in leisure and
hospitality, professional and business services, retail trade, health
care, and financial activities.

Household Survey Data

The number of unemployed persons, at 11.8 million, and the unemployment
rate, at 7.6 percent, were unchanged in June. Both measures have shown
little change since February. (See table A-1.)

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for adult women
(6.8 percent) edged up in June, while the rates for adult men (7.0
percent), teenagers (24.0 percent), whites (6.6 percent), blacks (13.7
percent), and Hispanics (9.1 percent) showed little or no change. The
jobless rate for Asians was 5.0 percent (not seasonally adjusted), down
from 6.3 percent a year earlier. (See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

In June, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks
or more) was essentially unchanged at 4.3 million. These individuals
accounted for 36.7 percent of the unemployed. Over the past 12 months,
the number of long-term unemployed has declined by 1.0 million. (See
table A-12.)

The civilian labor force participation rate, at 63.5 percent, and the
employment-population ratio, at 58.7 percent, changed little in June.
Over the year, the labor force participation rate is down by 0.3
percentage point. (See table A-1.)

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes
referred to as involuntary part-time workers) increased by 322,000 to 8.2
million in June. These individuals were working part time because their
hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time
job. (See table A-8.)

In June, 2.6 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force,
essentially unchanged from a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally
adjusted.) These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and
were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior
12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not
searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. (See table A-16.)

Among the marginally attached, there were 1.0 million discouraged
workers in June, an increase of 206,000 from a year earlier. (The data
are not seasonally adjusted.) Discouraged workers are persons not
currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available
for them. The remaining 1.6 million persons marginally attached to the
labor force in June had not searched for work for reasons such as
school attendance or family responsibilities.”

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm

You are being lied to and misled by the Obama Administration and mainstream media. Examine the numbers for yourself.

From Citizen Wells July 3, 2013.

Here is the report from the NC ESC, Employment Security Commission.

“Unemployment rates (not seasonally adjusted) increased in 87 of North Carolina’s counties in May, decreased in 12 and remained the same in one. All 14 of the State’s metro areas experienced rate increases.”

http://www.ncesc1.com/PMI/Rates/PressReleases/County/NR_May2013_County_M.pdf

Compare the ESC report to the News Record article.

It appears to me and another well informed gentleman that I know, that since Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway purchased the News Record,  the reporting on jobs and the economy has been watered down.

From Citizen Wells June 29, 2013.

“The labor force participation rate in NC fell .1 percent in May. That fully accounted for the .1 percent drop in the unemployment rate.

It gets worse.

The NC Labor Force Participation Rate dropped 1 percent from January to May 2013.

It gets worse.

The NC Labor Force Participation Rate dropped 3.7 percent since the Democrats took control of both US houses of congress in 2007.

It gets worse.

The NC Employment to population rate dropped 6.1 percent since the Democrats took control of both US houses of congress in 2007.”

https://citizenwells.wordpress.com/2013/07/03/nc-unemployment-rates-increase-in-87-counties-all-14-nc-metro-areas-increased-unemployment-july-2-2013-greensboro-high-point-metro-unemployment-rate-9-4-percent-in-may/

NC unemployment rates increase in 87 counties, All 14 NC metro areas increased unemployment, July 2, 2013, Greensboro High Point metro unemployment rate 9.4 percent in May

NC unemployment rates increase in 87 counties, All 14 NC metro areas increased unemployment, July 2, 2013, Greensboro High Point metro unemployment rate 9.4 percent in May

“If I had my choice I would kill every reporter in the world but I am sure we would be getting reports from hell before breakfast.”… William Tecumseh Sherman

“The function of the press is very high. It is almost Holy.
It ought to serve as a forum for the people, through which
the people may know freely what is going on. To misstate or
suppress the news is a breach of trust.”…. Louis D. Brandeis

“North Carolina’s unemployment rate fell for the fourth consecutive month in May to 8.8 percent, but the slight drop was largely due to a shrinking labor force rather than the creation of new jobs, economists said.”…Raleigh News Observer June 21, 2013

From the Greensboro News Record July 2, 2013.

“Unemployment in the Greensboro-High Point metro improved only slightly in May, continuing a painfully slow climb out of the recession.

Unemployment dropped 0.3 percentage point to 9.5 percent, compared with May 2012, the N.C. Department of Commerce, Division of Employment Security reported Tuesday. The rates are not adjusted for seasonal patterns.

The state’s rate for May was 8.9 percent.

North Carolina has pockets of strong employment, including the Asheville, Durham-Chapel Hill and Raleigh-Cary metros.

But 41 rural counties still have unemployment rates above 10 percent.”

“Unemployment improved in all three counties in the Greensboro-High Point metro:

* In Guilford County, the rate dropped by 0.2 percentage points to 9.4 percent in May compared with May, 2012.

* In Rockingham County, the rate dropped by 0.9 percentage points to 10.1 percent.

* In Randolph County, the rate dropped by 0.5 percentage points to 9.3 percent.

Unadjusted month-to-month numbers in May compared with April appear to show a dramatic increase in unemployment for the Greensboro-High Point metro: 8.9 percent in April to 9.5 percent.

But adjusted month-to-month numbers show a modest decrease from 9.5 percent in April to 9.4 percent in May.”

Read more:

http://www.news-record.com/news/article_eda10cce-e328-11e2-bfb2-001a4bcf6878.html

The article seems to be attempting to paint an improved employment picture compared to 2012.

But wait a minute.

Here is the report from the NC ESC, Employment Security Commission.

“Unemployment rates (not seasonally adjusted) increased in 87 of North Carolina’s counties in May, decreased in 12 and remained the same in one. All 14 of the State’s metro areas experienced rate increases.”

http://www.ncesc1.com/PMI/Rates/PressReleases/County/NR_May2013_County_M.pdf

Compare the ESC report to the News Record article.

It appears to me and another well informed gentleman that I know, that since Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway purchased the News Record,  the reporting on jobs and the economy has been watered down.

From Citizen Wells June 29, 2013.

“The labor force participation rate in NC fell .1 percent in May. That fully accounted for the .1 percent drop in the unemployment rate.

It gets worse.

The NC Labor Force Participation Rate dropped 1 percent from January to May 2013.

It gets worse.

The NC Labor Force Participation Rate dropped 3.7 percent since the Democrats took control of both US houses of congress in 2007.

It gets worse.

The NC Employment to population rate dropped 6.1 percent since the Democrats took control of both US houses of congress in 2007.”

Obama hurts Coal production Americans and jobs, Climate change nonsense appeals to Obama’s core support from left, Jobs be damned, Obama et al agenda justifies means

Obama hurts Coal production Americans and jobs, Climate change nonsense appeals to Obama’s core support from left, Jobs be damned, Obama et al agenda justifies means

“if they want to build [coal plants], they can, but it will bankrupt them”…Barack Obama

 “Because I’m capping greenhouse gases, coal power plants, you know, natural gas, you name it — whatever the plants were, whatever the industry was, uh, they would have to retrofit their operations. That will cost money. They will pass that money on to consumers.”…Barack Obama 

“The end justifies the means, the template of the left.”…Citizen Wells

The common belief is that states like Wyoming and North Dakota have weathered the left wing socialist onslaught of Obama and the Democrats. Obama et al have done their best to negatively impact our oil and coal economies and therefore the overall economy and jobs.

North Dakota has the lowest unemployment rate at 3.2 percent and Wyoming, the top coal producing state, has an unemployment rate of 4.6 percent.

Obama, in an attempt to keep his core support, the left, has renewed his attempts to stifle coal production and use in this country, which will subsequently further cost Americans jobs.

From Fox News June 29, 2013.

“Coal-state Dems chisel away at Obama climate plan”

President Obama, in his weekly radio address, beseeched voters to get behind his climate change plan and punish politicians who don’t.

He may want to be careful what he asks for. Several of those lawmakers come from the president’s own party.

Coal-state Democrats have been as scathing as any Republican in reaction to the president’s plan, unveiled Tuesday in a speech at Georgetown University. The pushback was almost immediate, and a glaring signal of the trouble Obama may encounter as he charges ahead with new restrictions on coal-fired power plants.

Though Obama technically is going around Congress by having the Environmental Protection Agency impose the rules, moderate Democrats made clear they will pressure the administration from inside the party to scale back. They carry a simple message: The regulations will kill jobs, but working with the coal industry to improve its own clean-coal technology won’t.

West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, calling the president’s plan a “war on America,” delivered one of the most forceful rebuttals in an interview with Fox News.

“It’s just ridiculous. … I should not have to be sitting here as a U.S. senator, fighting my own president and fighting my own government,” he told Fox News. “I will continue to reach out, but I need a partner here. I don’t need an adversary.”

Manchin argued that the coal industry has the technology to reduce emissions. But he said the government, rather than work with the industry, is setting unattainable standards.

The cornerstone of Obama’s plan was a call for the first-ever regulations on emissions for existing power plants.

“Why is this economy going to be taking this hit? Why are jobs going to be lost, and they will be lost,” Manchin said. ”

Read more:

 http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/06/29/coal-state-dems-gird-for-battle-with-obama-over-climate-plan/#ixzz2XnU2NubX

Our problems with the economy and jobs did not start when Obama took office in January of 2009. The Democrats took control of both houses of congress in January 0f 2007.

Citizen Wells reported yesterday that the NC Employment to population rate dropped 6.1 percent since the Democrats took control of both US houses of congress in 2007.

Here are the Employment to population rates for the top 10 coal producing states for the same time period. This information may surprise you. It is definitely under reported.

Top 10 coal states    Drop in employment        Current
                      to population rate        Rate

Wyoming                5.2                      65 
West Virginia          3.1                      50.7
Kentucky               2.5                      56.8 
Pennsylvania           2.8                      59.1 
Texas                  2.2                      61
Montana                4.5                      60.4
Illinois               5.4                      59.7
Indiana                7.1                      57.2
North Dakota           2.2                      69.7
Ohio                   4.4                      59.1

These are scary numbers!

Is anyone in the mainstream media covering this?

NC unemployment rate 9.8 percent or higher, Labor force dropped 1 percent in 4 months, Since Democrats took congress in 2007 labor force dropped 3.7 percent, Employment to population rate dropped 6.1 percent

NC unemployment rate 9.8 percent or higher, Labor force dropped 1 percent in 4 months, Since Democrats took congress in 2007 labor force dropped 3.7 percent, Employment to population rate dropped 6.1 percent

“If I had my choice I would kill every reporter in the world but I am sure we would be getting reports from hell before breakfast.”… William Tecumseh Sherman

“The function of the press is very high. It is almost Holy.
It ought to serve as a forum for the people, through which
the people may know freely what is going on. To misstate or
suppress the news is a breach of trust.”…. Louis D. Brandeis

“North Carolina’s unemployment rate fell for the fourth consecutive month in May to 8.8 percent, but the slight drop was largely due to a shrinking labor force rather than the creation of new jobs, economists said.”…Raleigh News Observer June 21, 2013

 

We celebrated the birthday of George Orwell last week.

How fitting.

Even though the unemployment data was accurately reported at Citizen Wells this past week it is important to reveal how bad the employment situation is in NC.

The stated unemployment rate was announced as 8.8 percent.

The Raleigh News Observer reported in the first paragraph.

“North Carolina’s unemployment rate fell for the fourth consecutive month in May to 8.8 percent, but the slight drop was largely due to a shrinking labor force rather than the creation of new jobs, economists said.”

http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/06/21/2979886/nc-jobless-rate-falls-slightly.html

The Raleigh News Observer was the only major Newspaper in NC that I found reported the truth.

The labor force participation rate in NC fell .1 percent in May. That fully accounted for the .1 percent drop in the unemployment rate.

It gets worse.

The NC Labor Force Participation Rate dropped 1 percent from January to May 2013.

It gets worse.

The NC Labor Force Participation Rate dropped 3.7 percent since the Democrats took control of both US houses of congress in 2007.

It gets worse.

The NC Employment to population rate dropped 6.1 percent since the Democrats took control of both US houses of congress in 2007.

“Due to the federal sequester legislation, the Mass Layoff Statistics program, funded by the US Department of Labor, has been eliminated. In addition, North Carolina’s Department of Commerce will no longer support the collection and publication of Announced Business Closings and Layoffs effective May 1, 2013. For questions please contact the Labor and Economic Analysis Division at 919-707-1500.”

How convenient!

http://esesc23.esc.state.nc.us/d4/AnnounceSelection.aspx