I used to work for the Employment Service.

There is a discrepancy between the number of new UI claims and the number of new unemployed because not all occupations are covered by the UI system. For some trades if you lose your job, instead of UI, you are SOL.

The UI claim numbers are useful because they are generated every week and give us a quick check on how things are going in the job market.

By the way, the economists aren’t fooling when they say that the four week UI claim average is more useful than the current week’s total.

The four week average of UI claims fell again this week for the 17th consecutive week. Draw your own conclusions.

Came across an article the other day, dated Jan1, 2010, Zero Hedge by Tyler Durden entitled “Is the Government misrepresenting (nice word for lying) unemployment by 32%?” In this article he shows the decrepancy between unemployment benefit outlay and the number of unemployed reported by the government. We all know the amount of unemployment checks didn’t magically go up so the increase is in the amount of folks collecting unemployment benefits.

If unemployed equates to non-consumption, marginal or barely sustainable employment can result in reduced consumption. Now, recall hearing that consumer spending was 70% of our economy? Add up the un, under and employed such as yourself and you’ll see how impossible it is to return to “recovery” in such a short time as some would have us believe.

If most folks look around their communities, you can tell if things are improving or not. To be able to keep up the facade of a recovery that isn’t, the government is forced into underreporting, misrepresenting, fudging the numbers….pick your phrase.

- winters42

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• Nothing has fundamentally changed on Wall St or in Washington.
• Prior to this recession, the last three employment rebound cycles - 2001,1990, 1981 - were all the longest in duration since WW II.
• MHA: Making Homes Affordable.

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