4 ms·

Unemployment may be going down, but that doesn't count for much when most of the added jobs are $10/hr service jobs.

forgetsusername 10y ago
>most of the added jobs are $10/hr service jobs. People employed at minimum wage decreasing: https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/LEU0253127000A https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/LEU0253127000A Weekly earnings rising (a bit): https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/LES1252881600Q https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/LES1252881600Q Where is your data?
- mkhalil 10y ago
  2nd link displays median weekly income for full time is ~$350. 350/40 hours = 8.75/hr Edit: Turns out it's 1984 dollars.
  - praxulus 10y ago
    That's $8.75/hr in 1982/1984 CPI adjusted dollars, which comes out to ~$20/hr in 2016 dollars. http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl?cost1=8.75&year1=1984&year2=2016 http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl?cost1=8.75&year1=1984...
- JDiculous 10y ago
  Half of America's top 10 fastest growing jobs pay less than $25,000/yr http://money.cnn.com/2016/04/18/news/economy/fastest-growing-jobs/index.html http://money.cnn.com/2016/04/18/news/economy/fastest-growing...
- adrenalinelol 10y ago
  Your source is for full-time employment. Part-time jobs surged after 2008[1] and haven't returned to pre 2008 levels. [1] http://blog.indeed.com/the-role-of-part-time-jobs/ http://blog.indeed.com/the-role-of-part-time-jobs/
  - praxulus 10y ago
    Here's a more up-to-date graph of "part-time for economic reaons": https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/LNS12032194 https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/LNS12032194 We're down to June 2008 levels, but have a ways to go before we hit December 2007 levels.
  - forgetsusername 10y ago
    >Your source is for full-time employment. Number of people employed part-time, not by choice...falling: https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/LNS12032196 https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/LNS12032196 U6 Unemployment rate...falling: https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/U6RATE https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/U6RATE
    - rfrank 10y ago
      From those same charts, unemployed part-time not by choice is rising since Oct '15. U6 is constant in that period as well.
r00fus 10y ago
Not to mention /real/ inflation, not this useless "core inflation" measure (that ignores health/energy among other factors), has been rising. Medical and energy costs have gone up significantly in the past 15 years.
- jonknee 10y ago
  Energy is actually quite cheap, especially so in the US with the very abundant and globally cheap natural gas supply after the fracking boom.
JohnTHaller 10y ago
Things are still pretty bad. Underemployment still hovers at around 15%. Unemployment numbers are pretty useless when someone who lost their full time job, is trying to find another one, and is working a handful of hours part time to get by in the meantime is counted as "employed".

>most of the added jobs are $10/hr service jobs. People employed at minimum wage decreasing: https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/LEU0253127000A https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/LEU0253127000A Weekly earnings rising (a bit): https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/LES1252881600Q https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/LES1252881600Q Where is your data?

mkhalil 10y ago
2nd link displays median weekly income for full time is ~$350. 350/40 hours = 8.75/hr Edit: Turns out it's 1984 dollars.
- praxulus 10y ago
  That's $8.75/hr in 1982/1984 CPI adjusted dollars, which comes out to ~$20/hr in 2016 dollars. http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl?cost1=8.75&year1=1984&year2=2016 http://data.bls.gov/cgi-bin/cpicalc.pl?cost1=8.75&year1=1984...
JDiculous 10y ago
Half of America's top 10 fastest growing jobs pay less than $25,000/yr http://money.cnn.com/2016/04/18/news/economy/fastest-growing-jobs/index.html http://money.cnn.com/2016/04/18/news/economy/fastest-growing...
adrenalinelol 10y ago
Your source is for full-time employment. Part-time jobs surged after 2008[1] and haven't returned to pre 2008 levels. [1] http://blog.indeed.com/the-role-of-part-time-jobs/ http://blog.indeed.com/the-role-of-part-time-jobs/
- praxulus 10y ago
  Here's a more up-to-date graph of "part-time for economic reaons": https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/LNS12032194 https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/LNS12032194 We're down to June 2008 levels, but have a ways to go before we hit December 2007 levels.
- forgetsusername 10y ago
  >Your source is for full-time employment. Number of people employed part-time, not by choice...falling: https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/LNS12032196 https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/LNS12032196 U6 Unemployment rate...falling: https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/U6RATE https://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/U6RATE
  - rfrank 10y ago
    From those same charts, unemployed part-time not by choice is rising since Oct '15. U6 is constant in that period as well.

r00fus 10y ago

Not to mention /real/ inflation, not this useless "core inflation" measure (that ignores health/energy among other factors), has been rising. Medical and energy costs have gone up significantly in the past 15 years.

jonknee 10y ago
Energy is actually quite cheap, especially so in the US with the very abundant and globally cheap natural gas supply after the fracking boom.

JohnTHaller 10y ago

Things are still pretty bad. Underemployment still hovers at around 15%. Unemployment numbers are pretty useless when someone who lost their full time job, is trying to find another one, and is working a handful of hours part time to get by in the meantime is counted as "employed".