So with another month in the books the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), released the jobs report for the month of August. Headlines would tell you that the unemployment rate declined to 8.4%. However, what you’re not likely going to hear is that permanent job losers increased by 534,000 to 3.4 million. This is a figure not seen since 2013 still coming off the highs seen during the GFC. What the headlines also will not tell you is that when you look at the Department of Labor’s report, which is a part of our typical Thursday data review podcast, it noted that for the week ending 15 August, some 29.2 million Americans were claiming some form of unemployment insurance – a week-over-week increase of nearly 2.2 million. Well if one takes this number and divides it by 160 million (size of labor force), you get 18.25%! This is nowhere near the headline 8.4% figure. Now of course there also still exists many distortionary effects when it comes to the jobs numbers, in addition to other variables, and these distortions come from the “Nobody Cares Act,” the PPP loans/grants, and various “emergency” programs from the Federal Reserve, and states’ moratoriums and the like.
These policies make it very difficult to gain a full-picture of the true jobs situation. This is why we highlight the permanent job losers stats, along with the total number of Americans claiming unemployment insurance benefits. If one wants to come up with the 8.4% figure, simply take the continuing claims data and divide by the 160 million labor force (of course account for rounding). Still the point is made, because continuing claims data does not take into consideration those who claim various federal programs that have been implemented due to the pandemic – which again, goes to show the distortionary effects in real-time. If you want the fuller picture, then stay diversified, stay vigilant, and stay with The Kapital News. #Economy #Jobs #Unemployment #Inflation #Gold #Silver #USA #BananaRepublic #EndTheFed #Protests #Recession #Depression #Liberty #Revolution