Reply #12: this story is brutal on the pugs [View All]

[buycitgo]

http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/story/8428479p-9357809c.html

The unemployment rate held steady at 5.6 percent in February, economists explained, only because nearly 400,000 people stopped looking for work and were not counted as part of the national job pool.

The data showed that since November, 716,000 people have become sufficiently discouraged that they have stopped looking for work. In addition, the average length of unemployment rose to 20 weeks in February, the highest rate in two decades.

The numbers were doubly damaging because a survey of Wall Street analysts had projected a gain of 125,000 jobs last month, six times more than were actually produced.

"This is a terrible number," said Sung Won Sohn, chief economist with Wells Fargo in Minneapolis. "The economic recovery is almost three years old, and the economy should be producing 200,000 to 300,000 jobs per month."

Sung was among a number of economists who worried that the continuing failure of the expanding economy to add significant numbers of jobs could, before long, stop the economic growth itself.

"The risk of an economic slowdown later this year has increased, persuading businesses to be extra cautious about hiring people. The sluggish growth in jobs is a big concern," Sung said. "Unless the labor market gains some steam and momentum, both real income and confidence of consumers would be hurt."

dems better pick these numbers apart and have them at their fingertips whenever the pugsters begin whistling past the graveyard

I read elsewhere that when you combine all these factors, the REAL number of unemployed is close to FIFTEEN MILLION, not nine.

anybody got that link? saw it here

and just WAIT til the three dollar/gal gasoline starts kicking in!