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What the Media Didn’t Tell You About Friday’s Unemployment Spike
Townhall.com ^ | 8 June 2008 | Jerry Bowyer

Posted on 06/08/2008 8:20:37 PM PDT by K-oneTexas

What the Media Didn’t Tell You About Friday’s Unemployment Spike By Jerry Bowyer

It wasn’t Bush, it wasn’t greedy corporations, or free trade, or history’s most over-predicted recession. It was not the oil companies, income inequality, or the excesses of cowboy capitalism. None of these things caused the unemployment rate to jump a half a percentage point in one month.

Ask yourself a few questions: Why did unemployment surge at a time when unemployment compensation claims are historically low? More to the point, how could unemployment spike this much without a coinciding spike in corporate lay-offs?

The answer to all of these questions is same: because very few people lost jobs last month. This huge jump in the size of the unemployed comes from new entrants to the economy – hundreds of thousands of them. In short, well over 600,000 people who were not job seekers in April became job seekers in May. And who starts looking for work at the end of Spring? That’s right – students. Hundreds of thousands of students are looking for work right now, and they’re not finding it.

Congress is to blame. Last year Congressional Democrats (along with some Stockholm-Syndromed Republicans) passed the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, which started a phased hike of the minimum wage from $5.15 an hour to $7.25. Free market economists warned them that this would increase unemployment – that rapid increases in unemployment compensation hit teens and minorities the hardest. But the class-warriors are running the people’s house now, and they would hear none of that, so they took to the floor, let loose the dogs of demagoguery, and saddled America’s pizza parlors, municipal swimming pools, house painting businesses and lawn mowing services with a huge cost increase.

Now, we see the perfectly logical outcome of wage controls – rising unemployment among the most economically vulnerable. The chart above tells the story: Friday’s unemployment spike occurred overwhelmingly among teenagers, and secondarily among African Americans. Just like we said it would. A kid who is at entry level of job skills may be a good deal at 5 bucks an hour, but not at 7. Our anointed leaders gets to glory in their generosity (with other people’s money) and just so long as very few people in the media know that a demand curve slopes downward (a good bet, there), no one calls them on it.

This summer the left will make political lemonade out of a tough student job market. Heck, it may provide a small army of angry unemployed youth to man the campaign, hungry for hope and (loose) change, never once realizing that they’re working to entrench the leftie war on business which left them jobless this summer in the first place.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: economy; minimumwage; newsblackout; unemployment
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
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To: Salvation
Are you saying the unemployment rate jumps .5% each year at this time? Have you any evidence of that? This chart appears to show the opposite in many cases and at best shows no discernable pattern.

Additionally, not the way the jobless numbers ALWAYS decline when a lib is in the White House, despite overall economic conditions. Even under Carter, where we had the “Misery Index’ The jobless rate came down while under Reagan and Bush 1 it went UP despite greatly improved conditions. Look also how after Clinton was elected the numbers SUDDENLY began to drop and continued to do so until Bush took office.

This is actually quite amazing when it is viewed in the political context.

http://www.miseryindex.us/urbymonth.asp

YEAR MONTH RATE
1969- 01 3.40 Nixon
1969- 02 3.40
1969- 03 3.40
1969- 04 3.40
1969- 05 3.40
1969- 06 3.50
1969- 07 3.50
1969- 08 3.50
1969- 09 3.70
1969- 10 3.70
1969- 11 3.50
1969- 12 3.50
1970- 01 3.90
1970- 02 4.20
1970- 03 4.40
1970- 04 4.60
1970- 05 4.80
1970- 06 4.90
1970- 07 5.00
1970- 08 5.10
1970- 09 5.40
1970- 10 5.50
1970- 11 5.90
1970- 12 6.10
1971- 01 5.90
1971- 02 5.90
1971- 03 6.00
1971- 04 5.90
1971- 05 5.90
1971- 06 5.90
1971- 07 6.00
1971- 08 6.10
1971- 09 6.00
1971- 10 5.80
1971- 11 6.00
1971- 12 6.00
1972- 01 5.80
1972- 02 5.70
1972- 03 5.80
1972-04 5.70
1972-05 5.70
1972-06 5.70
1972-07 5.60
1972-08 5.60
1972-09 5.50
1972-10 5.60
1972-11 5.30
1972-12 5.20
1973-01 4.90
1973-02 5.00
1973-03 4.90
1973-04 5.00
1973-05 4.90
1973-06 4.90
1973-07 4.80
1973-08 4.80
1973-09 4.80
1973-10 4.60
1973-11 4.80
1973-12 4.90
1974-01 5.10
1974-02 5.20
1974-03 5.10
1974-04 5.10
1974-05 5.10
1974-06 5.40
1974-07 5.50
1974-08 5.50 Ford
1974-09 5.90
1974-10 6.00
1974-11 6.60
1974-12 7.20
1975-01 8.10
1975-02 8.10
1975-03 8.60
1975-04 8.80
1975-05 9.00
1975-06 8.80
1975-07 8.60
1975-08 8.40
1975-09 8.40
1975-10 8.40
1975-11 8.30
1975-12 8.20
1976-01 7.90
1976-02 7.70
1976-03 7.60
1976-04 7.70
1976-05 7.40
1976-06 7.60
1976-07 7.80
1976-08 7.80
1976-09 7.60
1976-10 7.70
1976-11 7.80
1976-12 7.80
1977-01 7.50 Carter
1977-02 7.60
1977-03 7.40
1977-04 7.20
1977-05 7.00
1977-06 7.20
1977-07 6.90
1977-08 7.00
1977-09 6.80
1977-10 6.80
1977-11 6.80
1977-12 6.40
1978-01 6.40
1978-02 6.30
1978-03 6.30
1978-04 6.10
1978-05 6.00
1978-06 5.90
1978-07 6.20
1978-08 5.90
1978-09 6.00
1978-10 5.80
1978-11 5.90
1978-12 6.00
1979-01 5.90
1979-02 5.90
1979-03 5.80
1979-04 5.80
1979-05 5.60
1979-06 5.70
1979-07 5.70
1979-08 6.00
1979-09 5.90
1979-10 6.00
1979-11 5.90
1979-12 6.00
1980-01 6.30
1980-02 6.30
1980-03 6.30
1980-04 6.90
1980-05 7.50
1980-06 7.60
1980-07 7.80
1980-08 7.70
1980-09 7.50
1980-10 7.50
1980-11 7.50
1980-12 7.20
1981-01 7.50 Reagan
1981-02 7.40
1981-03 7.40
1981-04 7.20
1981-05 7.50
1981-06 7.50
1981-07 7.20
1981-08 7.40
1981-09 7.60
1981-10 7.90
1981-11 8.30
1981-12 8.50
1982-01 8.60
1982-02 8.90
1982-03 9.00
1982-04 9.30
1982-05 9.40
1982-06 9.60
1982-07 9.80
1982-08 9.80
1982-09 10.10
1982-10 10.40
1982-11 10.80
1982-12 10.80
1983-01 10.40
1983-02 10.40
1983-03 10.30
1983-04 10.20
1983-05 10.10
1983-06 10.10
1983-07 9.40
1983-08 9.50
1983-09 9.20
1983-10 8.80
1983-11 8.50
1983-12 8.30
1984-01 8.00
1984-02 7.80
1984-03 7.80
1984-04 7.70
1984-05 7.40
1984-06 7.20
1984-07 7.50
1984-08 7.50
1984-09 7.30
1984-10 7.40
1984-11 7.20
1984-12 7.30
1985-01 7.30
1985-02 7.20
1985-03 7.20
1985-04 7.30
1985-05 7.20
1985-06 7.40
1985-07 7.40
1985-08 7.10
1985-09 7.10
1985-10 7.10
1985-11 7.00
1985-12 7.00
1986-01 6.70
1986-02 7.20
1986-03 7.20
1986-04 7.10
1986-05 7.20
1986-06 7.20
1986-07 7.00
1986-08 6.90
1986-09 7.00
1986-10 7.00
1986-11 6.90
1986-12 6.60
1987-01 6.60
1987-02 6.60
1987-03 6.60
1987-04 6.30
1987-05 6.30
1987-06 6.20
1987-07 6.10
1987-08 6.00
1987-09 5.90
1987-10 6.00
1987-11 5.80
1987-12 5.70
1988-01 5.70
1988-02 5.70
1988-03 5.70
1988-04 5.40
1988-05 5.60
1988-06 5.40
1988-07 5.40
1988-08 5.60
1988-09 5.40
1988-10 5.40
1988-11 5.30
1988-12 5.30
1989-01 5.40 Bush, G.H.W.
1989-02 5.20
1989-03 5.00
1989-04 5.20
1989-05 5.20
1989-06 5.30
1989-07 5.20
1989-08 5.20
1989-09 5.30
1989-10 5.30
1989-11 5.40
1989-12 5.40
1990-01 5.40
1990-02 5.30
1990-03 5.20
1990-04 5.40
1990-05 5.40
1990-06 5.20
1990-07 5.50
1990-08 5.70
1990-09 5.90
1990-10 5.90
1990-11 6.20
1990-12 6.30
1991-01 6.40
1991-02 6.60
1991-03 6.80
1991-04 6.70
1991-05 6.90
1991-06 6.90
1991-07 6.80
1991-08 6.90
1991-09 6.90
1991-10 7.00
1991-11 7.00
1991-12 7.30
1992-01 7.30
1992-02 7.40
1992-03 7.40
1992-04 7.40
1992-05 7.60
1992-06 7.80
1992-07 7.70
1992-08 7.60
1992-09 7.60
1992-10 7.30
1992-11 7.40
1992-12 7.40
1993-01 7.30 Clinton
1993-02 7.10
1993-03 7.00
1993-04 7.10
1993-05 7.10
1993-06 7.00
1993-07 6.90
1993-08 6.80
1993-09 6.70
1993-10 6.80
1993-11 6.60
1993-12 6.50
1994-01 6.60
1994-02 6.60
1994-03 6.50
1994-04 6.40
1994-05 6.10
1994-06 6.10
1994-07 6.10
1994-08 6.00
1994-09 5.90
1994-10 5.80
1994-11 5.60
1994-12 5.50
1995-01 5.60
1995-02 5.40
1995-03 5.40
1995-04 5.80
1995-05 5.60
1995-06 5.60
1995-07 5.70
1995-08 5.70
1995-09 5.60
1995-10 5.50
1995-11 5.60
1995-12 5.60
1996-01 5.60
1996-02 5.50
1996-03 5.50
1996-04 5.60
1996-05 5.60
1996-06 5.30
1996-07 5.50
1996-08 5.10
1996-09 5.20
1996-10 5.20
1996-11 5.40
1996-12 5.40
1997-01 5.30
1997-02 5.20
1997-03 5.20
1997-04 5.10
1997-05 4.90
1997-06 5.00
1997-07 4.90
1997-08 4.80
1997-09 4.90
1997-10 4.70
1997-11 4.60
1997-12 4.70
1998-01 4.60
1998-02 4.60
1998-03 4.70
1998-04 4.30
1998-05 4.40
1998-06 4.50
1998-07 4.50
1998-08 4.50
1998-09 4.60
1998-10 4.50
1998-11 4.40
1998-12 4.40
1999-01 4.30
1999-02 4.40
1999-03 4.20
1999-04 4.30
1999-05 4.20
1999-06 4.30
1999-07 4.30
1999-08 4.20
1999-09 4.20
1999-10 4.10
1999-11 4.10
1999-12 4.00
2000-01 4.00
2000-02 4.10
2000-03 4.00
2000-04 3.80
2000-05 4.00
2000-06 4.00
2000-07 4.00
2000-08 4.10
2000-09 4.00
2000-10 3.90
2000-11 3.90
2000-12 3.90
2001-01 4.20 Bush, G.W.
2001-02 4.20
2001-03 4.30
2001-04 4.40
2001-05 4.30
2001-06 4.50
2001-07 4.60
2001-08 4.90
2001-09 5.00
2001-10 5.40
2001-11 5.60
2001-12 5.70
2002-01 5.60
2002-02 5.70
2002-03 5.70
2002-04 5.90
2002-05 5.80
2002-06 5.80
2002-07 5.80
2002-08 5.70
2002-09 5.70
2002-10 5.70
2002-11 5.90
2002-12 6.00
2003-01 5.80
2003-02 5.90
2003-03 5.80
2003-04 6.00
2003-05 6.10
2003-06 6.30
2003-07 6.20
2003-08 6.10
2003-09 6.10
2003-10 6.00
2003-11 5.90
2003-12 5.70
2004-01 5.60
2004-02 5.60
2004-03 5.70
2004-04 5.60
2004-05 5.60
2004-06 5.60
2004-07 5.50
2004-08 5.40
2004-09 5.40
2004-10 5.50
2004-11 5.40
2004-12 5.40
2005-01 5.20
2005-02 5.40
2005-03 5.20
2005-04 5.20
2005-05 5.10
2005-06 5.00
2005-07 5.00
2005-08 4.90
2005-09 5.10
2005-10 5.00
2005-11 5.00
2005-12 4.90
2006-01 4.70
2006-02 4.80
2006-03 4.70
2006-04 4.70
2006-05 4.60
2006-06 4.60
2006-07 4.80
2006-08 4.70
2006-09 4.60
2006-10 4.40
2006-11 4.50
2006-12 4.50
2007-01 4.60
2007-02 4.50
2007-03 4.40
2007-04 4.50
2007-05 4.50
2007-06 4.50
2007-07 4.60
2007-08 4.60
2007-09 4.70
2007-10 4.70
2007-11 4.70
2007-12 5.00
2008-01 4.90
2008-02 4.80
2008-03 5.10
2008-04 5.00

41 posted on 06/09/2008 3:22:04 AM PDT by lexusppd
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To: Freedom_Is_Not_Free

You expect someone to explain what you missed in not reading the article and making idiotic comments on this thread? You’re worse than the Congresswoman demanding that the Oil Execs prove to her that they’re not manipulating the price of oil.


42 posted on 06/09/2008 4:27:34 AM PDT by ReleaseTheHounds ("The demagogue is one who preaches doctrines he knows to be untrue to men he knows to be idiots.")
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To: K-oneTexas
Bill CLinton and the leftists have stated that they want the economy to slow and cool down. We are too focused on materialism and the economy according to the left and a slowing would reduce greenhouse gases and help the planet???. Apparently they think 10% unemployment like they have in Europe is the ideal.

Democrats love the misery index. They have a pathological need to complain and whine 24/7 since its the easiest way to make money to survive in a nanny state.

43 posted on 06/09/2008 5:46:31 AM PDT by x_plus_one ("let them eat cake, drive small electric cars and take the bus")
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To: K-oneTexas
I am not sure if I really believe this. For instance, I thought the unemployment rate is tracked by the number of people applying for unemployment. This means they paid, along with their employer, for unemployment insurance in case they lost their jobs. If this is the case, then new students coming into the market place would not qualify. Furthermore, with the collapse in the building industry. Logically that would effect other markets too. Therefore, lay offs will occur. I also do recall AT&T having lay offs from the AT&T/BellSouth merger a year ago along with Ford company to. Do to Ford closing plants. Perhaps I am wrong.

This guys example about the minimum wage going up does not seem to really add up too. Most people that apply to minimum wage jobs are students. Maybe they are hiring less, but these employees tend to not get unemployment.

I hate to say it but I think I think this author is full of bull to blame the Dems. After all a Republican is the president.

44 posted on 06/09/2008 5:50:38 AM PDT by Sprite518
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To: K-oneTexas

Our American workers have to compete with millions of illegal workers but lets not let our lower paid citizens have a decent minimum wage to help make up for it.

It’s ridiculous to pretend there is any kind of free market going on here.


45 posted on 06/09/2008 6:36:29 AM PDT by sazerac
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To: zeestephen
I agree the author did not speak about ILLEGALS unemployment rate. Althouh how they measure it would let all Americans know that they are identiiable, something DHS and many Senators/Congressmen don't want. Remember, if they can be identified they can be caught and deported and they don't want that.

Also, with unemployment at 5.5% that is low. But if we really look it is telling us we are 94.5% of the available population to work is employed.

Looking at the BLS publications did speak to teens and  teenagers unemploment rates. It was the highest rate per BLS published document (June 2008) and a roughly an 8% increase from prior (Apr-Jun 2007) BLS ublication. Yes it occurrs annually during the summer, however with the increased minamum wage it would have an impact on businesses. Maybe not a tremendous one but an impact none the less to increase the over all rate by almost 1% from April (4.3%) to May (5.5%) 2008.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

(Bolded is my emphasis):  [http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.htm]

Employment Situation News Release


Media contact:         (202) 691-5902   Friday, June 6, 2008.



                  THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION:  MAY 2008

   The unemployment rate rose from 5.0 to 5.5 percent in May, and nonfarm
payroll employment continued to trend down (-49,000), the Bureau of Labor
Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.  In May, employ-
ment continued to fall in construction, manufacturing, retail trade, and
temporary help services, while health care continued to add jobs.  Average
hourly earnings rose by 5 cents, or 0.3 percent, over the month.

Unemployment (Household Survey Data)

   The number of unemployed persons increased by 861,000 to 8.5 million in
May, after seasonal adjustment, and the unemployment rate rose by 0.5 per-
centage point to 5.5 percent.  A year earlier, the number of unemployed per-
sons was 6.9 million, and the jobless rate was 4.5 percent.  (See table A-1.)

   The unemployment rates for adult men (4.9 percent), adult women (4.8 per-
cent), teenagers (18.7 percent), whites (4.9 percent), and blacks (9.7 per-
cent) rose in May.  The jobless rate for Hispanics (6.9 percent) was unchanged.
The unemployment rate for Asians was 3.8 percent, not seasonally adjusted.
(See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

   Among the unemployed, the number of reentrants and new entrants to the
labor force rose in May, by 326,000 and 204,000, respectively. The number of
persons who had lost their last job increased by 268,000 over the month to
4.3 million.  Over the past 12 months, the number of unemployed job losers has
risen by 907,000. (See table A-8.)

   The number of newly unemployed--those jobless fewer than 5 weeks--rose by
760,000 to 3.2 million in May.  The number of persons unemployed for 27 weeks
or more increased by 197,000 to 1.6 million.  This group accounted for 18.3 per-
cent of the unemployed in May.  (See table A-9.)

Total Employment and the Labor Force (Household Survey Data)

   The civilian labor force rose by 577,000 to 154.5 million in May, and the
labor force participation rate edged up to 66.2 percent.  Total employment was
little changed at 146.0 million.  The employment-population ratio, at 62.6 per-
cent, also was little changed over the month.  (See table A-1.)

   The number of persons who worked part time for economic reasons, at 5.2 mil-
lion in May, was essentially unchanged over the month but was up by 764,000 over
the past 12 months.  These individuals indicated that they were working part time
because their hours had been cut back or they were unable to find full-time jobs.
(See table A-5.)

   About 7.7 million persons held more than one job in May.  Multiple jobholders
represented 5.3 percent of the employed, the same as a year earlier.  (See table
A-6.)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Employment and Unemployment Among Youth Summary

[http://www.bls.gov/news.release/youth.nr0.htm]

From April to July 2007, the number of employed youth 16 to 24 years old
increased by 2.3 million to 21.7 million, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of
the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.  July is the traditional summer-
time peak for youth employment.  This summer’s increase in youth employment
was slightly lower than last year's 2.5 million increase. Unemployment among
youth increased by 548,000 between April and July, a smaller rise than in 2006.
(Because this analysis focuses on the seasonal changes in youth employment and
unemployment that occur every spring and summer, the data are not seasonally
adjusted.)

Labor force

   The youth labor force--16- to 24-year-olds working or actively looking
for work--grows sharply between April and July each year.  During these
months, large numbers of high school and college students take or search
for summer jobs, and many graduates enter the labor market to look for or
begin permanent employment.  This summer, the youth labor force grew by
2.9 million to a total of 24.3 million in July.  (See table 1.)

   The labor force participation rate for youth--the proportion of their
population working or looking for work--was 65.0 percent in July 2007, down
from 66.7 percent in July 2006 and about 13 percentage points below its
peak for that month in 1989 (77.5 percent).  Over the 1989-2007 period, the
proportion of youth enrolled in school in July trended up; youth enrolled
in school are much less likely than those not in school to be in the labor
force.

   The July 2007 labor force participation rates for 16- to 24-year-old men
(67.9 percent) and women (62.1 percent) were lower than a year earlier.  For
several decades prior to 1989, young men’s July labor force participation rate
showed no clear trend, ranging from 81 to 86 percent.  Since July 1989, however,
their participation rate has declined by about 15 percentage points.  Young
women’s July labor force participation rate peaked in 1989 after a long-term
upward trend; their rate has fallen by about 10 percentage points since then.

   The July participation rates for whites (68.0 percent), blacks (54.1 per-
cent), and Hispanics (59.5 percent) declined over the year.  For all three
groups, labor force participation rates were more than 10 percentage points
lower than their peak levels for July 1989.  The participation rate for Asian
youth in July 2007 (49.4 percent) was not much different from July 2006.  (See
table 2.)

                                  - 2 -

Employment

   In July 2007, 21.7 million 16- to 24-year-olds were employed.  The em-
ployment-population ratio for youth--the proportion of the 16- to 24-year-
old civilian noninstitutional population that was employed--was 58.0 per-
cent, 1.2 percentage points lower than in July 2006.  The ratio has fallen
by about 11 percentage points since its peak in July 1989.  The July 2007
employment-population ratios for young men (60.3 percent), whites (61.7
percent), and Hispanics (52.5 percent) were lower than a year earlier; the
rates for young women (55.6 percent), blacks (43.0 percent), and Asians
(45.6 percent) were little changed.  (See table 2.)


   In July 2007, 22 percent of employed youth worked in the leisure and
hospitality industry (which includes food services) and 20 percent worked
in retail trade.  In addition, nearly two-fifths of employed youth worked
in education and health services, professional and business services,
government, construction, and manufacturing combined.  (See table 3.)


Unemployment

   In July 2007, 2.6 million youth were unemployed.  The youth unemployment
rate (10.8 percent) was little different from July 2006.  The July 2007 un-
employment rates for young men (11.1 percent), women (10.4 percent), whites
(9.3 percent), Asians (7.7 percent), and Hispanics (11.8 percent) showed
little change from a year earlier.  The rate for black youth (20.5 percent)
decreased over the year.  (See table 2.)




 

46 posted on 06/09/2008 6:58:25 AM PDT by K-oneTexas (I'm not a judge and there ain't enough of me to be a jury. (Zell Miller, A National Party No More))
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To: potlatch

“In my south Texas town, there are ‘help wanted’ signs in many prominent business windows!”

same around here, plus the resort areas are hiring Eastern European college students on special visas to fill thousands of jobs.


47 posted on 06/09/2008 7:24:46 AM PDT by elpadre (nation)
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To: potlatch

“In my south Texas town, there are ‘help wanted’ signs in many prominent business windows!”

same around here, plus the resort areas are hiring Eastern European college students on special visas to fill thousands of jobs.


48 posted on 06/09/2008 7:25:15 AM PDT by elpadre (nation)
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To: 1066AD
Around here a lot of kids’ jobs are now taken by illegals.

Yup. All low skilled jobs are being sucked up by these economic leeches. Construction used to be an honorable job that payed a decent wage (not great, but decent). Those are gone now unless you are a native spanish speaker (i.e., illegal).

Fast food joints are about the same. I went to a Wendy's a couple of weeks ago, and there wasn't a person there who could speak more than minimal fractured english.

These days, when I see a sign that says "se habla espanol", I translate it as, "we cater to illegals, please do your business elsewhere".

49 posted on 06/09/2008 8:17:10 AM PDT by zeugma (Mark Steyn For Global Dictator!)
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To: K-oneTexas

If it is true (and I don’t know that it is) that unemployment specifically reflects people who were employed, and are now on “unemployment”, then is it possible that this year there is something different, such that teenagers who have quit their jobs they held during the school year qualify for unemployment at a much higher rate than previously, and have decided to collect unemployment, at least for the short term, rather than take a summer job?

In other words, was there something in one of these Democrat bills that made it easier for part-time workers earning minimum wage to collect unemployment insurance?

It seems odd that May would see a sharp increasae in the number of teens unemployed.

Oh, but I keep forgetting, the numbers are “seasonally adjusted”, so in fact a DECREASE in the number of teens that GOT jobs could show up as an increase in the number collecting unemployment, simply because of the math used to adjust for the “normal” year’s increase in jobs to teens.

If THAT is the case, then the theory about minimum wage could be true, if not because the teens aren’t worth it, then possibly because those jobs are filled by adults who were attracted to the higher wages for trivial labor.

In other words, one impact of minimum wage increases is to make the jobs more attractive, and thus crowd out lesser skilled workers, even IF the businesses are able to pass on costs associated with the increased wages.


50 posted on 06/09/2008 10:07:10 AM PDT by CharlesWayneCT
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To: elpadre

In the DC area, they have reported (anecdotally) that we are having trouble getting foreign students to take our low-wage jobs that Americans won’t do (actually, that is serious, it’s hard to get americans to fill all the lifeguard positions at the pool because the jobs are pretty boring).

Turns out they can’t earn enough money now that the dollar is so cheap compared to the Euro. It isn’t worth it for them to come here, they just don’t take back enough money.


51 posted on 06/09/2008 10:09:05 AM PDT by CharlesWayneCT
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