10 Eye-Popping Labor Day Stats

[marmar]

from Mother Jones:




.....(snip).....


25.3 million Americans: The true size of the unemployment crisis. This figure includes people who are out of work, forced to work part-time, or unable to find a full-time job, as well as those who want to work but have given up searching for a job in the past month, most likely out of frustration.

6.9 million jobs: How many fewer jobs there are today than in December 2007.

0.22 jobs: The number of jobs out there for every person looking for work. (In other words, there's 1 job for every 4.5 job seekers.) This stat underlies all those stories of fruitless job searches as well as the historic long-term unemployment level. Speaking of which...

25: The number of times since January 2009 that monthly job growth failed to keep up with basic population growth (roughly 150,000 jobs a month). All those headlines saying job growth has stalled are wrong; it's not even doing that. ...........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/09/10-labor-day-statistics

[baldguy]

1. And the GOP sez: "This is why we need more tax cuts for the rich!"

:puke:

[DCBob]

3. and cut government spending.

which will of course only make matters worse.

[Owlet]

2. Karl Marx..remember him?

Pretty much nailed it.

"According to Karl Marx, unemployment is inherent within the unstable capitalist system and periodic crises of mass unemployment are to be expected. The function of the proletariat within the capitalist system is to provide a "reserve army of labour" that creates downward pressure on wages. This is accomplished by dividing the proletariat into surplus labour (employees) and under-employment (unemployed). This reserve army of labour fight among themselves for scarce jobs at lower and lower wages. At first glance, unemployment seems inefficient since unemployed workers do not increase profits. However, unemployment is profitable within the global capitalist system because unemployment lowers wages which are costs from the perspective of the owners. From this perspective low wages benefit the system by reducing economic rents. Yet, it does not benefit workers. Capitalist systems unfairly manipulate the market for labour by perpetuating unemployment which lowers laborers' demands for fair wages. Workers are pitted against one another at the service of increasing profits for owners." link here

[Creideiki]

4. According to Greenspan, a 5% unemployment rate is ideal

as it provides stability of labor costs. Of course, the problem is that the State needs to subsidize the 5% to ensure that it only stays 5%--which it stopped doing.

And so we have gradually rising unemployment, stagnating or deflating wages, and the current economic malaise.

[TBF]

5. Ideal for whom?

"Stability of labor costs" Again, stable for whom?

[Creideiki]

11. *shrug* Greenspan's friends, I guess.

Mostly sucks for those of us in the lower 98%.

[w8liftinglady]

7. ah- Greenspan. ..A Randian Objectivist of the highest order

http://www.noblesoul.com/orc/bio/turbulence.html

[baldguy]

6. More and more, I see socialism as the only path out of the mess we're in.

If America is to survive as a nation - let alone prosper - the people have to realize that the needs and objectives of the richest 3-5% are not the needs and objectives of the great majority of the population, and in fact are antithetical to them. If the middle class can't figure out that they have more in common with the poor than the rich, we're done for.

[TBF]

8. And not only do we have a mess in terms of income gap between

rich and poor. We are also killing our planet. It is imperative that we rid this world of capitalism if we are to survive.

[Broderick]

9. It's all coming back in a resounding way

The economy is still humming along and jobs are coming back. I saw a graph today that told me so.

[w0nderer]

10. k&r n/t