Analysis: 10 percent jobless is Obama's new world

AP/GoogleNews ^ | 11/6/09 | JIM KUHNHENN

[Kartographer]

For months he had warned it was coming but that didn't ease the political shockwaves for President Barack Obama when unemployment topped 10 percent.

A year after his election Obama finds it increasingly difficult to blame the sour economy on George W. Bush or offer reassurances that jobless Americans will soon find work.

[Kartographer]

"A year after his election Obama finds it increasingly difficult to blame the sour economy on George W. Bush"
His words betray him for the racist nazi scum he must be, how can AP employ such!!(sarc)

[SkyDancer]

I bet according to the media this is a good thing. It is now his new base, zero’d out .....so basically the unemployment rate is zero, like him.

[bigbob]

Having a job isn’t important if there’s enough wealth-spreadin’-around going on...

[lonestar67]

The unemployment rate in January 2007 when Democrats took control of Congress was 4.7%.

That fact must be hammered home every day from now until Congressional elections 2010.

http://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2007/feb/wk1/art02.htm

[clamper1797]

I know he will say ... “Bush’s fault”

[Logic n' Reason]

Yeah....10.2% now; it'll be 11% by year's end...or at the end of January 2010.

Has kind of a nice ring to it..."unemployment at 11% after first month of 2010, and the democans/republicrats will be voted out of office on 11/2010.

I can live with that!

[Sparko]

An alternate figure for the real unemployment rate is the “comprehensive gauge of labor underutilization” AKA U-6.

This includes those who have given up looking for work “discouraged workers”

U-6 = “U-6 Total unemployed, plus all marginally attached workers, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all marginally attached workers.. “

The U-6 is now 17.5%

See
Table A-12. Alternative measures of labor underutilization
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t12.htm

*How’s that Hope and Change working out for you, Obama voters?*

[GeronL]

“For months he had warned it was coming...”

was this after he promised it would not go past 8.5%?

[Krodg]

DU had a thread about how much worse it would be without obama. Idiots.

[CPOSharky]

Yeah, 10% is the “new normal.” When it drops below 10% zer0 will be a hero. Unless that doesn’t happen until Sara is in office.

[SampleMan]

For months he had warned it was coming but that didn't ease the political shockwaves for President Barack Obama when unemployment topped 10 percent.

To be fair, I believe he stated that HIS stimulus bill would prevent unemployment from hitting 8%.

[TurtleUp]

It’s a good thing we have the stimulus; otherwise Obama predicted back in January that unemployment might have soared to just over 9%.

[sphinx]

Why should anyone be upset? 10.2% is pretty normal by European standards. The dems have said for years that they wanted the U.S. to be more like Europe. So we now have European growth rates and European unemployment rates. European health care rationing is on the way. We're still short of European tax rates, at least at the federal level, but Team Zero is working on it. Now if they can just pass cap and trade, we can double electric rates and catch up to Europe there as well.

Change. Don'tcha love it?