Why the August Jobs Report Is No Labor Day Present

Reader Comments
Back to article

Have you noticed that the unemployment stats only cover for a small segment of time and NOT the people who's unemployment has run out and still can't find work? Don't you wonder: what is he motive behind this? I have to believe it is political and they don't want to start a panic or ruin their chances for re-election! Many of the information we receive is filtered to prevent a negative political response. When will we get the unvarnished facts and be allowed to make our own choices?

Lee hansen of MI 3:18AM September 20, 2009

According to the economist wonks, job growth is always the last to occur.
Best bet is to help small businesses that intend to employ others get off the ground. Healthcare benefits are not easy to provide for small businesses, but then again, they have trouble attracting good people if they cannot provide any benefits.
Hope the healthcare debates take this into account. Not being able to afford to insure one's staff can make for a rough start-up.

AK of IL 11:03PM September 19, 2009

While not exactly unemployed, I thought it was wise to have something that's all yours and not be solely dependent upon an outside employer (this recession has taught everyone that nothing is a sure thing anymore--even the law grads are being asked to defer their start dates, because there's less work even for well-educated attorneys).
So, whether it's an e-commerce website, or doing freelance corporate writing, or other types of things that one can do while holding a "day" job (or full-time if out of work), free or inexpensive small business tools are great to learn about until they (arrrgh) change their policies.
Initially, the Microsoft Office Live Small Business tool was fantastic. A custom domain website for very little cost, and easy to use web design tools that even a total non-techie can use (WYSIWYG, not HTML coding based).
Now, they are going to charge to renew on a regular basis:
http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/software/0,39044164,62056772,00.htm
It's still a decent tool that doesn't cost a lot (good for low overhead start-ups), but you can easily get better web-hosting with phone support, which MS Office Live lacks, with a different service. For free hosting, you understand that you're going to be limited in terms of services, but for a fee-based service with renewals to look forward to, it is more wise to shop around.
Not to knock the tool, because site design was just amazingly easy for those without web design training, but for an annual fee, the no phone support issue just doesn't seem fair (add phone support, and minds may change).
So, just a heads-up if anyone is looking at the jobs situation and thinking about going to entrepreneurial path instead of twiddling thumbs and waiting for the labor market to come out of the recession induced coma that it's been in.
If MS Live offers support by phone at some point, this package would be a fantastic low-overhead package for start-ups, depending on what features are needed to just get a basic site up and running fast.
Hope it helps someone.

Angie Koutrotsios of IL 6:03PM September 04, 2009

Chances are that we have more of the people who are losing their jobs being Obama voters, and more of the people who are benefiting with the stock market rebound (from GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION and quarterly "profits" driven by cost-cutting layoffs) being McCain voters.
Oddly, the latter group are suddenly the town hall screamers, blaming the former group for "ruining their country" with too much government.
The politics of the right this summer are enough to make us all puke.

Muser of NM 3:51PM September 04, 2009