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This statistic is pretty meaningless without knowing the wage/salary rate for those jobs, and the number of hours. [edit: US govt maintains wage data and it sh

This statistic is pretty meaningless without knowing the wage/salary rate for those jobs, and the number of hours. [edit: US govt maintains wage data and it should be simple to characterize the average & median values for compensation for the 'new jobs created': https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm ] Also, > "But the jobless rate fell in part because 43,000 people left the labor force, the first drop since November, and were no longer counted as unemployed." What kind of nonsense statistic is an unemployment rate that doesn't count this fraction? It's not like those people still don't need a place to live and food to eat even if they can't find a job after six months of looking. Finally, >"The central bank has expressed concern that a robust job market exerts upward pressure on wages — and prices." Translation: workers get a larger fraction of the profits created by their labor if job markets are tight, putting downward pressure on executive bonuses and shareholder dividends, and we can't have that! Everything must go to the rich, since the most important measure of societal success is the billionaire count.

varelse 4y ago
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mschuster91 4y ago
> What kind of nonsense statistic is an unemployment rate that doesn't count this fraction? It's not like those people still don't need a place to live and food to eat even if they can't find a job after six months of looking. "leave the labor force for good" can be legitimate - think someone on a longer sabbatical, going FIRE (financially independent / retire early), going to an extended stay in prison or becoming a permanent stay-at-home parent.
anovikov 4y ago
People who left the labor force are simply those who no longer need work. FIRE people, women who got successfully married/successfully divorced, etc.
- gtk40 4y ago
  > FIRE Or just expand to any retirees not just those who do it early.
surgical_fire 4y ago
> What kind of nonsense statistic is an unemployment rate that doesn't count this fraction? Retirees left the labor force and should not be counted as unemployed. Immigrants on a visa that had to return to their countries after being fired left the labor force and should not be counted as unemployed. Someone that was arrested left the labor force and should not be counted as unemployed. Just a few examples.
deleted 4y ago
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thomascgalvin 4y ago
> What kind of nonsense statistic is an unemployment rate that doesn't count this fraction? Like the inflation rate, unemployment statistics are more bread and circuses than useful information. They're designed to help the people in power remain in power, not to provide guidance for practical governing.
- s1artibartfast 4y ago
  There are multiple numbers for inflation that are all tracked accurately. The most commonly excited is the unemployed and looking number. However, there's also many more numbers like total labor force participation rate that capture retired people or people who are no longer looking

varelse 4y ago

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mschuster91 4y ago

> What kind of nonsense statistic is an unemployment rate that doesn't count this fraction? It's not like those people still don't need a place to live and food to eat even if they can't find a job after six months of looking. "leave the labor force for good" can be legitimate - think someone on a longer sabbatical, going FIRE (financially independent / retire early), going to an extended stay in prison or becoming a permanent stay-at-home parent.

anovikov 4y ago

People who left the labor force are simply those who no longer need work. FIRE people, women who got successfully married/successfully divorced, etc.

gtk40 4y ago
> FIRE Or just expand to any retirees not just those who do it early.

surgical_fire 4y ago

> What kind of nonsense statistic is an unemployment rate that doesn't count this fraction? Retirees left the labor force and should not be counted as unemployed. Immigrants on a visa that had to return to their countries after being fired left the labor force and should not be counted as unemployed. Someone that was arrested left the labor force and should not be counted as unemployed. Just a few examples.

deleted 4y ago

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thomascgalvin 4y ago

> What kind of nonsense statistic is an unemployment rate that doesn't count this fraction? Like the inflation rate, unemployment statistics are more bread and circuses than useful information. They're designed to help the people in power remain in power, not to provide guidance for practical governing.

s1artibartfast 4y ago
There are multiple numbers for inflation that are all tracked accurately. The most commonly excited is the unemployed and looking number. However, there's also many more numbers like total labor force participation rate that capture retired people or people who are no longer looking