Where have all the people gone? (vanity)

Bureau of Labor Statistics ^ | January 15, 2012 | US Government

[FreeAtlanta]

How is the government justifying no growth in the employment age population over the last 3 years? Look how flat the graph is! And it actually decreases over the last 3 years!

The only way that can happen is if 10s of millions of people left our country and have not been replaced, or there was a massive increase in deaths, or the Obama government is lying through their teeth.

Oh, I forgot alien abductions.

My vote is Obama and his pathetic lefty administration are lying.

[bigheadfred]

[FreeAtlanta]

You think people are being eaten by sleestaks?

[ProudFossil]

Haven’t you heard, today’s youngsters are moving into the basement in their parent’s or grandparent’s home. They have not left, they are just in hiding hacking into computers and promoting conspiracies.

[proxy_user]

The ‘labor force’ does not consist of all people between 16 and 65. Many of them are students, housewives, retired, etc.

The BLS definition of the labor force is those people who either have a job or business, or have taken action during the past 4 weeks to find a job or start a business. This is in some ways a judgment call, but there really is no better way anyone can think of to exclude people who for various reasons are not interested in earning money right now.

[FreeAtlanta]

It is still very odd that the numbers have gone flat for the first extended (more than a year) time in 60 years.

Obama’s gang are playing with numbers. Jimmy Carter’s team of commie peanuts didn’t even get away with this, much less even try it.

[bigheadfred]

You think people are being eaten by sleestaks?

Now that you mention it.

No, actually I think people are falling victim to the zombie apocalypse of which Obama is the tip of the spear.

I just did a cutout of 'ol Rango there and just wanted to see how it looked on a webpage. And one of your threads is the perfect place to test dumb things. teehee

[FreeAtlanta]

Here is the graph extended back to pre-Carter Amazing. I have seen many cases of the Government lying and fudging numbers, but never this transparent.

[FreeAtlanta]

one of your threads is the perfect place to test dumb things

Hey, I resemble that remark...

[bvw]

What is mucho oddiemente mas is that the major candidates and the media have not broadcast this data that clearly shows a grotesque lie, since Year Zero Obama, in the unemployment numbers.

[BfloGuy]

There's a drop of about 1 1/2 million from 2008 to 2009 which has never recovered. I searched for a while but couldn't find any mention of a change in procedures. I have to suspect that's it; but have no reason what it consisted of or what the justification was.

I'm happy to assume government skullduggery in the meantime.

[FreeAtlanta]

hmmmm, I should have previewed that. It didn't format the way I expected...

Here is the graph extended back to pre-Carter

Amazing. I have seen many cases of the Government lying and fudging numbers, but never this transparent.

[PghBaldy]

Same thing probably happened during the last depression. Nothing unsual considering the economy.

[bigheadfred]

Amazing.

It is. They think they've won...

[proxy_user]

Obviously, people are avoiding entering the labor force or dropping out of the labor force right now because jobs are scarce. People who don’t think they’ll find a job either don’t look or give up looking.

Some retire, some go back to school, some become housewives, some are living with relatives. You don’t need much to get by if your needs are simple.

[FreeAtlanta]

Unless Bill Clinton was the only person having sex in the 1990’s, it doesn’t make sense that our population has suddenly stopped growing.

[ErnBatavia]

Hey, I resemble that remark...

Or, as Rosie O'Donnell might put it, "I resent that insemination"...

[BfloGuy]

The BLS definition of the labor force is those people who either have a job or business, or have taken action during the past 4 weeks to find a job or start a business.

That would certainly explain it. Big drop in 2009 with little recovery. I had thought that the labor force was the potential number of workers while the participation rate defined who was employed or seeking work. Given the numbers, your explanation sounds sensible.

[left that other site]

rather than a “Hockey Stick” Graph, that looks like a golf club. Appropriate since we have a putts (sic) for a POtuS.

[FreeAtlanta]

I understand what you are saying, but the government is using this as a baseline to show unemployment. How did the 25% of the depression get calculated and why is the government not using that method today?

Unfortunately, this particular bls.gov data set only goes back to 1948. Still, it shows no crazy lying chicanery like what the lefties are trying to pull starting in 2008.

The data says "Civilian labor force" so, call me a moron, but to me that means all people who can work. BTW, this graph is in thousands, so basically, b>the missing population - extrapolating the graph - is about 30 million people.