[QUOTE]NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The November jobs report contains some undeniably good news for President Obama, but the White House should keep the champagne on ice for now.
The Labor Department reported Friday that the unemployment rate dropped to 8.6% in November, the lowest since March 2009 and a sharp improvement from 9.0% in October.
That part of the report is great news for the White House. The unemployment rate plays an important role in campaign rhetoric, and the closer the rate drops to 7.8% -- that was the rate when Obama took office -- the better it is for the White House.
[b]And even that might not be enough to save the president's job. Just consider this stat: No president since Franklin D. Roosevelt has won re-election with an unemployment rate over 7.2%.[/b]
But it would be a mistake to put too much emphasis on the unemployment rate. A more useful predictor of electoral success is the actual number of jobs created, and beyond that, how Americans feel about he economy.
And there, the news isn't so good for the White House.
The labor market still has a long way to go to recover from the financial crisis. [b]Less than a third of all the 8.8 million jobs shed have since been recovered.[/b] A whopping 13.3 million people remain unemployed and 43% of those have been out of work for more than six months.
And there are some important caveats to note when looking at Friday's report.
[b]For example, about half of the rate decrease is attributable to discouraged workers giving up entirely on their job search -- not new job creation.[/b]
And employers added only 120,000 jobs in October -- well off the number that economists say is needed just to keep pace with population growth.
Ryan McConaghy, director of economic program at centrist think tank Third Way, said the report was a "mixed bag."
It would be a mistake, he said, to put too much emphasis on any one month's report. Instead, the White House should focus on stringing together several months worth of solid reports.
And then, Americans might start feeling better about the economy. Right now, that's not happening.
According to a CNN/ORC International poll released last week, only 15% say economic conditions are good, while six out of seven say conditions are poor, with a majority saying they are "very poor."
The economy garners similarly dour results in the all-important swing states. Voters in those states slightly favor a Republican on unemployment, and Republicans also have a double digit lead on who would better handle the federal budget deficit and debt.
[b]The bottom line: Job growth is still relatively anemic, the housing market is a mess and the festering European debt crisis threatens to drag down economic growth worldwide.[/b]
Considering those factors, Obama will likely enter the heart of the campaign season with unemployment near 8% -- a real challenge for the White House.
[img]http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/2011/12/02/news/economy/unemployment_rate_obama_election/chart-unemployment-rate-120211.top.gif[/img][/QUOTE]
Source: [url]http://money.cnn.com/2011/12/02/news/economy/unemployment_rate_obama_election/index.htm?hpt=hp_bn3[/url]
Meant to tag this as "Politics" not "Rant" but...I guess it still kind of fits.
Truth is there aren't that many middle-class jobs anymore.
It certainly won't help his chances, but it's hard to say. Despite the nonsensical rantings of some idiots, a single president is not responsible for the mess we're currently in. Hell, a single person is not responsible for the mess we're in.
Don't blame Obama/Bush/etc alone, blame the self-centered crooks in the government.
[QUOTE=JeanLuc761;33560295]It certainly won't help his chances, but it's hard to say. Despite the nonsensical rantings of some idiots, a single president is not responsible for the mess we're currently in. Hell, a single person is not responsible for the mess we're in.
Don't blame Obama/Bush/etc alone, blame the self-centered crooks in the government.[/QUOTE]
Another thing is that plenty of people know it was largely the fault of the banks and others that caused the recession. I don't think it will hurt him as much as they think, but it is certainly not beneficial.
Wow, I never realized that the unemployment rate jumped so high.
[QUOTE=butters757;33560414]Wow, I never realized that the unemployment rate jumped so high.[/QUOTE]
The national rate is pretty low right now, but there for a while back in 2009 when I got laid off from a job the national unemployment rate was 9%, but the unemployment rate for the town I lived in was a staggering 24% at the time. And that's just counting people claiming benefits, too.
Hes trying. Restoring this country to anything even close to average is going to take another three Presidents to accomplish, if that.
Fuck the economy we need to outlaw abortions
Back in the olden days republicans respected the democrats in office. They actually tried helping the country rather then competing like it's some kind of dumb ass sport.
i had a dream where Obama won because Mitt was the republican candidate
[QUOTE=Lambeth;33562622]Fuck the economy we need to outlaw abortions[/QUOTE]
economy? there won't be anyone to appreciate the economy if we keep killing so many babies! ~~~pro-life~~~
Still better than all the republican loonies
What the fuck, only 8.6%?
Here it's around 14.8% by official rates and closing 20% in reality.
[quote]8.6% unemployment rate won't help Obama much[/quote]
Scoop of the century
There should be another Roosevelt in officer, they've had a good run as presidents right?
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