Posted on 11/26/2023 6:47:30 PM PST by george76
19 months in a row! The Conference Board’s index of leading economic indicators has now fallen for 19 months in a row. When something happens for 19 consecutive months, that is definitely a trend. The economy is clearly in big trouble, and conditions are getting worse with each passing day.
But the mainstream media continues to insist that the economy is doing just great. They tell us that inflation is low, but if it was still measured the way that it was back in 1980, the official rate of inflation would be well into double digit territory. And they tell us that the unemployment rate is low, but if honest numbers were being used the official rate of unemployment would be about 25 percent right now. There are highly qualified people that can’t even get an interview even though they are sending out hundreds and hundreds of resumes. What are they doing wrong?
Of course the truth is that they aren’t doing anything wrong. The employment market is far tighter than we are being led to believe, and that isn’t going to change any time soon.
When a working age American is not working, the government puts that individual into one of two categories.
Right now, there are only 6.5 million U.S. adults that are officially considered to be “unemployed”.
But another 99.9 million U.S. adults are considered to be “not in the labor force”. So they don’t count as being “unemployed”.
When you add those two numbers together, you get a grand total of 106.4 million U.S. adults that do not have a job right now.
At no point during the economic crisis of 2008 and 2009 did that number even reach 90 million.
So don’t let anyone convince you that unemployment is low.
The elite are trying to do their best to convince us that everything is just fine, but meanwhile the Conference Board’s index of leading economic indicators has now fallen for 19 months in a row…
A key measure of the direction of the U.S. economy fell for the 19th straight month and once again indicated that a recession is looming.
The leading economic index fell 0.8 percent in October, the Conference Board said Monday. The LEI is based on 10 indicators that tend to forecast the direction of the economy.
Economists had expected a milder decline of 0.8 percent.
The last time the index declined for 19 months in a row was during the Great Recession when it fell from the end of 2007 through 2009.
The last streak of this magnitude started in 2007.
But we didn’t have a recession in 2007.
And things still seemed relatively fine in early 2008 too.
Of course then we got to the end of 2008 and everything fell to pieces.
That is why they are called “leading” economic indicators.
They tell us what is coming.
And what is coming in our time is not going to be fun.
Needless to say, most of the population is not prepared at all for a major economic storm.
Survey after survey has shown that most of the U.S. population is currently living paycheck to paycheck…
The majority of U.S. adults are living paycheck to paycheck heading into this holiday season, a report shows.
LendingClub’s latest report shows that as of October, 60 percent of adults said they are living paycheck to paycheck. Around 40 percent of consumers consider themselves to be worse off now than in 2022.
Even higher earners are struggling to get by, with 42 percent of those making six figures also living check-to-check under President Joe Biden.
According to a separate CNBC survey, the number of adults struggling to save between checks is up from 58 percent in March.
As long as those paychecks keep coming in, they can keep scraping by from month to month.
But now layoffs are starting to surge again all over the nation.
Young Americans are in particularly dire straits.
Millions upon millions of young Americans have low paying jobs and are deeply struggling with student loan debt, and this is one of the reasons why the average age of a U.S. homebuyer just keeps going higher and higher…
The average American homebuyer is now 49-years-old – 18 years older than in 1981 – as inflation, college costs and house prices make it harder for young people to get a foot on the ladder.
Research by the National Association of Realtors has revealed that the median age of all homebuyers has steadily crept up over the past forty years.
The most shocking contrast is for first time buyers where the median age is now 35, up from 31 in 2013 and 29 in 1981.
The American Dream is now out of reach for most of the nation, and that is especially true among those that are under the age of 40.
But the mainstream media absolutely refuses to acknowledge the truth.
They just keep telling us that things look great for the U.S. economy in 2024 and beyond. The following comes from a Yahoo Finance article entitled “The election year economy looks good for Biden”…
The much-predicted recession still hasn’t arrived. Will it materialize in 2024, at the worst possible moment for President Joe Biden, as he’s trying to convince voters to give him a second term?
It’s not looking that way. As economists roll out their forecasts for 2024, the prevailing theme is moderation: slowing but still-positive economic growth, a declining rate of inflation, and continued low unemployment.
Seriously?
Come on man.
Do they actually expect us to consume that pablum?
We are already in an economic crisis right now, and things are going to get so much worse during the years ahead.
You can stick your head in the sand and pretend that everything is okay if you want.
But nothing is going to change the fact that the “endgame” has arrived.
Decades of very foolish decisions have brought us to this stage, and now we are truly going to reap what we have sown.
I completely understand
I’ll have to use my early SS to fix a couple of cars the next few months
Then I can look for work
BUT it will be part-time or just temporary thanks to the idiotic income cap on SS
Otherwise I’d be full-time
Yeah. Way too high.
The Scamdemic accelerated the retirements of government employees who can retire before age 64.
They’ve got debt, and the big bloated nanny-state! What’s better than that!?
I retired in 1998 at age 58. And have not worked a minute since then. Going strong and expecting to make it 100 unless cancer pays a visit.
The late in 2008 economic shamble onset spate was orchestrated by the come help o bamma get elected leftist news media that beat the doom and gloom drums incessantly during bushists last days in our house.
Things were wrong with the then let it go then fuss about it journalism that was pulled on republicans.
That was then and wait for it.. we got the 2008 election theft (that didn’t happen??) and the subsequent 8 years of now standard let it go, cover for them and democrat ass kissing journalism with degradation of governmental integrity.
Spend spend spend, give give give away money everywhere , solyndra big fing deal, lois learner’s FIFTH with benefits, print money fiscal mismanagement equals an of out control country.
All followed by a 4 years beat the steal dodged hitlerry then 2020 shameless STEAL, and Mr Magoo, Montgomery whats his name Homer Simpsons boss, p resident ‘elect’ as declared by ap.....
anyway, Yes I would say things are probably worse that let on.
Wow. Retired at 58. That is great!
I really enjoy retirement and have more hobbies to cycle through than I have time.
Government spending is a component of GDP.
It’s ever-increasing government spending that IS GDP “growth”
President’s Sniffer’s solution is to import another 30 million illegals... let the least among us compete with people willing to work under the table...
I retired early due to many health issues. Job was wonderful at a US dept of Energy funded research lab. Took up full time golf at Royal Oaks country club in Vancouver, WA and amazingly all my health issues disappeared in a year. At age 83 now, I gave up golf but do treadmill 4 times a week and it is keeping me out of doctor’s offices.
I’m waiting for a shovel ready job from Obama.
It’s right around the corner, I know it!
I will be blunt.
They don't.
They move in with family members if they are able. If they can't they are on the street.
Those people who are living in tent cities, they do not do any of those things.
And there are a lot of them.
But those are the visible ones. The invisible ones are the ones that are moving in with family or friends. They couch surf. But things are getting tighter and tighter. Soon there will be less people who can take someone in.
I just knew some very good dependable people were looking for work and not finding anything.
Not gonna get one. I’ve gone Gault.
Why don’t you tell everyone on this thread, who is having problems getting hired, or who have family members in need, all about your $23 million net worth?
And then call them all failures?
I’ll keep you in my prayers. I’ve been there.
If you can install plumbing and/or hang wallboard
and are near Atlanta, I am looking for someone...
I am one of the 106.4 million. I’m sure the government isn’t counting me because my last job ended in 2018. Since then, when I have applied for jobs, I’m usually told that I am overqualified. To keep money coming in, I have worked as an Uber driver almost every night.
I did that for a few years from websites relentlessly and got maybe 2 call backs both of which reulted in useless job interviews.
Only success I ever had was temp to perm with recruiting firms.
I haven’t been able to transition directly from one full time job to the other since 1999 without going temp status first then to perm via recruiting firms.
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