Right-Wing Media Rely On Discredited Evidence To Dismiss Positive Jobs Report
Right-wing media are rushing to put a negative spin on newly released jobs numbers showing a drop in the unemployment rate and a net increase in jobs by parroting the discredited claim that government data show that "1.2 million people dropped out of the labor force" last month. In fact, as economic experts have explained, that number reflected an increase in population from 2010 Census figures and is not the result of how many people "dropped out" of the labor force last month.
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After The Labor Department Reported January Employment Growth
Labor Department: Employment Rose By 243,000 Jobs In January And Unemployment Dropped To 8.3 Percent. From the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 243,000 in January, and the unemployment rate decreased to 8.3 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job growth was widespread in the private sector, with large employment gains in professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and manufacturing. Government employment changed little over the month.
[...]
The unemployment rate declined by 0.2 percentage point in January to 8.3 percent; the rate has fallen by 0.8 point since August. [Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2/3/12]
NY Times: Two Million Jobs Added In Past Year. The New York Times' Economix blog reported that "[o]ver the last 12 months, the economy added nearly two million jobs, more than in any similar period since early 2007." [The New York Times, Economix, 2/3/12]
Financial Blog Zero Hedge Dismissed Employment Growth With Dubious Claim That "1.2 Million People Dropped Out Of The Labor Force"
Zero Hedge: "1.2 Million People Dropped Out Of The Labor Force In One Month!" A post on economics and finance blog Zero Hedge claimed that the Bureau of Labor Statistics report estimated that "1.2 million people dropped out of the labor force" in January. [Zero Hedge, 2/3/12]
But Experts Argue That The 1.2 Million Number Is Based On A Misreading Of The Jobs Report
Economic Journalist Barry Ritholtz: "The Fact Is 1 Million People Did Not Drop Out Of The Labor Force In January 2012." Economic journalist and Washington Post columnist Barry Ritholtz explained that those who are claiming that 1.2 million people dropped out of the labor force in January are misreading the Labor Department's jobs report:
So today following an otherwise pretty darn good jobs report, we get the usual perma-pessimists at Zero Hedge and Rick Santelli over at CNBC proclaiming that the report showed a drop of over 1 million people from the labor force in one month. Of course, as ususal, both Santelli and Zero Hedge have a real reading comprehension problem and completely missed that this million+ people isn't some new January phenomenon, but a result of the BLS using the 2010 census data to have more accurate data. In other words, the changes in the Household Survey to the various measures had taken place over the years prior to 2010, but for simplicity's sake, the BLS incorporates these changes into one month (which they clearly point out).
[...]
[T]he fact is 1 million people did not drop out of the labor force in January 2012. [The Big Picture, 2/3/12]
WSJ: Population Growth Didn't Affect Unemployment Rate. In a post analyzing the jobs report numbers, The Wall Street Journal's Real Time Economics blog explained:
Today's jobs report carries good news on both fronts. The unemployment rate fell, and the employment-population ratio rose. That means the improvement in the labor market is real -- people actually found jobs.
The employment gain wasn't immediately obvious to some observers because of a quirk in this month's report. Every January, the Labor Department readjusts its data to account for changes in the population. The tweaks are especially significant in years like this one that take into account a new decennial census.
This year, the population adjustment makes it look like the employment-population ratio didn't change from December to January. In reality, the ratio improved by 0.3 percentage points. The gains were just masked by the population adjustments.
Here's what happened: According to the Census Bureau, the civilian population grew by 1.5 million people in 2011. But the growth wasn't distributed evenly. Most of the growth came among people 55 and older and, to a lesser degree, by people 16-24 years old. Both groups are less likely to work than people in their mid-20s to early 50s. So the share of the population that's working is actually lower than previously believed. Taking that into account, the employment-population ratio went up. The unemployment rate wasn't affected.
"There was not a big increase in discouraged workers," economist Betsey Stevenson commented on Twitter. "What happened was Census found a bunch of old people we had assumed died." [The Wall Street Journal, 2/3/12]
Time: "The Labor Force Numbers Stayed Essentially The Same." Time reporter Massimo Calabresi wrote:
Some Obama opponents are struggling to find a cloud in the silver lining of January's jobs numbers, which estimated that there was a 243,000-job boost and a big drop in the unemployment rate, from 8.5% to 8.3%, last month. Their biggest gripe focuses on the size of the labor force: As the unemployment rate has trended down over the last few months, anti-Obama commentators have argued that the official percentage for those without jobs is deceptive because the Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn't count those who have stopped looking for work. In Friday's report, they found a sharp increase in that group: More than 1.2 million people joined the non-job seeking pool of working-age Americans last month.
[...]
The demographic adjustments had no effect on the unemployment rate, says Mary Bowler, the resident expert in these matters at the BLS. And when it comes to labor force estimates, the steep jump in the number of those not seeking work came entirely from the census adjustment, which added 1.25 million people to that group. If you take out the census adjustment, the labor force numbers stayed essentially the same, as reflected by the labor force participation rate of 63.7%. In other words, the spike in the number of people no longer looking for work is entirely the result of some people at the Labor Department adding numbers to their spread sheets rather than an actual observed shift anywhere in the real economy. [Time, 2/3/12]
Right-Wing Media Jumped On The Discredited Figure To Dismiss Jobs Report As "Corrupt"
Rush Limbaugh Cited The 1.2 Million Number To Argue That The Jobs Report Is "Corrupt." On his radio show, Rush Limbaugh cited Zero Hedge and claimed that "1.2 million people dropped out of the labor force in one month" to argue that the jobs numbers report is as "corrupt as it can be." [Premiere Radio Networks, The Rush Limbaugh Show, 2/3/12]
Sean Hannity Repeated The 1.2 Million Falsehood To Claim Lower Unemployment Rate Is "Phony." On his radio show, Sean Hannity stated: "It appears that the people not in the labor force exploded by an unprecedented record 1.2 million and that's not a typo. In other words, 1.2 million people dropped out of the labor force in one month." He then explained that what this shows is that the unemployment rate is a "phony number." Hannity added: "This jobs report has limited good news but phony numbers all around it." [Premiere Radio Networks, The Sean Hannity Show, 2/3/12]
Fox Nation Highlighted Limbaugh's Charge That Unemployment Rate Number Is "Corrupt." Fox Nation amplified Limbaugh's criticism of the jobs report using the headline: "Rush Slams 'Corrupt' Obama Jobs Stats":
[Fox Nation, 2/3/12]
Drudge: "Record 1.2M Fall Out Of Labor Force." The Drudge Report highlighted the misleading claim that 1.2 million people dropped out of the labor force:
[Drudge Report, 2/3/12]
Welcome to the constantly AAAAAAmazing world of Right-Wing Authoritarianism
I wondered where the broadcasting guidelines of the Reich-Wing came from and finally found it in a book and some speeches from Frank Luntz's mentor:
“If you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth.”
“The bigger the lie, the more people will believe it.”
“The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly - it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over”
"If you repeat a lie often enough, it becomes the truth."
"The bigger the lie, the more people will believe it."
"The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly - it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over"
--Joseph Goebbels
http://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/11/15/liars-figure/
As far as the east is from the west. To the ends of the earth. Forever and a day.
Obama Derangement Syndrome knows no bounds.
They like that much better than having to be part of the propaganda arm of a governing Republican.
I understand it was a tough day for the hard right's hardest working paid propagandists. We were already snickering at Romney for his, "I'm not concerned about the very poor," statement, his figuratively bowing before Trump, and would later have the added pleasure of breaking out into loud guffaws over the smackdown Orly Taitz received in Georgia. Those things would have been enough to make many of them start to wish that February 3 was the leap day hoping that they'll not have to endure another 24 hour period like that again for another four years.
But seriously, this is the spin they offer? Damnation of good news? An insincere effort to discredit what they dare not praise? I had expected an across the board attempt to take backdoor credit for the gains offering themselves the same type of praise they tossed at Bush after Osama bin Laden was killed. Instead we're treated to another example of just how strong the Obama Derangement Syndrome is; one that leaps far over the bizarre scene of how they cheered when it was announced that Chicago would not be hosting the Olympics.
Those who wish to embrace the Limbaugh/Hannity/Drudge messages on this matter should not be debated with--just laughed at.
That's right. The judge, while not happy that the defendants did not appear to present their side of the case, was able to make a decision in their favor based on the arguments that the opposition made alone.
For normal people, acknowledging good news is a third option. Not for the rightwingers of today.
Christ, Hannity's stupid.
The Obama administration is going to do anything they can to get the unemployment rate down so they can use it to try and fool people into reelecting him.
The real unemployment number is much higher than 8.3% but the government does not want the American people to know the truth.
Below is an article that explains the government lies.
Unemployment Rate Lies
Yet again you prove you are about the stupidest and most brainwashed creature ever to draw breath. Prison Planet? If you cannot come up with a CREDIBLE source then just STFU. This site doesnt try to help Obama get anything. They combat conservative media misinformation. It isnt our fault that the right, much like YOU, lies so much.
What you want to call the REAL unemployment numbers are ALWAYS higher than the formal rate. It has been that way since AT LEAST Reagan you brainwashed cretin. I know that YOU are a moron but you arent telling us anything we dont know. It is particularly entertaining when you combine your astonishing stupidity with such pitiful condescension.
Below was propaganda from a fringe website meant ONLY to brainwash the stupidest people on the planet like you CLEARLY are
It is you kab that is pathetically stupid and brainwashed.
Note to kabnuts: you'll never understand. Hypocrisy is a word you'll never ever understand. I'd be funny if kabnuts was a normal human being but since he is mentally disabled we should not make fun of him. However, mutant freaks like him should stay away from posting any messages here. It's way above his pay-grade.
I can hardly wait to read his reply to this post. Anyone wanna make a bet he'll at least double the insults for little ole me?
Makes ya kinda proud to be associated with him, doesn't it? After all, how many mutant freaks do you personally know about?
Keep posting kab - each and every one of your insult filled messages are priceless. Very intelligent postings indeed. I'm sure your parents, if they have any courage at all, are very proud of your repetitive ramblings on these here MMfA message boards.
Atta boy!
It's not like the Obama administration invented this disparity, and so your assertion that the Obama administration is trying to do something dishonest by utilizing the same number that all previous adminstrations have used is some really weak tea, "altsoba" and you know it.
It's not a lie to look at a subset of a larger number when anyone who knows what they're talking about already knows it's a subset of a larger number!
Obama is incompetent and does not deserve another term. The problem is that if Rommeny or Gingrich win the republican nomination neither one of them are competent to lead either so again we are left with choosing the lesser of the evils. Let's hope Ron Paul is at least one of the choices we have for president.
When?
I hope not. The man doesn't really know how to govern a country.
And having the Unemployment numbers that are regularly cited, numbers that leave out some who aren't working but might be under differing circumstances, makes sense too. Its not done to hide anything or disguise the 'real' numbers.
And Obama never, ever, ever said that unemployment wouldn't go over 8%. No one associated with him said that either. What they DID say was that if the preliminary numbers they were using from late 2008 remained accurate, they predicted that with their stimulus package, unemployment wouldn't go over 8%. But it turns out that the preliminary guesstimates about the economy in the last quarter of 2008 were grossly underestimated the collapse that had happened. We didn't fully recognize how bad it was until this past summer when they further documented the collapse! Complaining that a prediction based upon shaky numbers didn't come true is disingenuous. Of course, it's what Mitt Romney did in his speech after he won Nevada on Saturday.
If I say that it normally takes 3 hours to get to the nearest huge metropolis from my home, and then we have a natural catastrophe that destroys a portion of the roadway and it now takes 5 hours to get there, was my comment wrong? Nope, it wasn't. If all things had remained the same, it would still take 3 hours to get there on an average travel day.
See the Dow Jones jump when that number came out?
Okay, I'm confused...
Apparently, there hasn't yet been a high-level conference call amongst Roger Ailes and the other righty mucky-mucks to settle on a national narrative.
For three years, we've heard "The economy's crashing and it's all Obama's fault!" and now we're hearing "The economy's getting better and you can thank we conservatives."
Which is it, guys?