Labor Statistics for July…Surprise!
Well, the labor statistics for July have been released, and there seems to be some surprise in Washington that employment dropped by a net 131,000 people in July. There was also little mention that the newly unemployed number for June was “revised” downward by another 100,000.
However, the “official” unemployment rate of 9.5% remained unchanged. It always amazes me how so many jobs can be lost each month while the unemployment rate improves or remains unchanged. Of course the numbers are “seasonally adjusted.” I doubt that anyone knows what the formula is for seasonally adjusting the numbers, so I always stick with actual numbers.
Which, by the way, are much more representative of reality when we look at the Bureau of Labor Statistics U-6 numbers instead of the U-3 numbers. U-6 includes all unemployed people whether they said they looked for a job in the last 4 weeks or not. The U-6 number puts the unemployment rate at 16.8%.
But, don’t forget, this still does not include those people who did not report that they looked for work during the past 12 months; those who would like to enter the workforce but cannot find a job (new graduates and new immigrants); and those who do not report looking for work because they are in the country illegally. Some studies have put the real number of unemployed closer to 30%. Detroit has reported their actual unemployment rate at around 50%.
The point is; that Washington needs to quit their petty political bickering and get busy working on free enterprise job creation by supporting new businesses, new R&D, new expansions, new capital resources…and stop regulating and taxing businesses—and jobs—into oblivion.
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Unemployment and Opportunity
Well, unemployment rose above the 10 percent mark last month, and although the rate of lay-offs slowed, there is no sign that they will be halting anytime soon. Of course the politicos seem to take great pride in the fact that only 190,000 people lost their jobs last month. I am sure those 190,000 people take much comfort in that.
What do people do when they lose their jobs? I suppose many do nothing and just wait for their job to come back—if it ever does. Others decide to do something “special” with the new situation just forced on them.
Erik Proulx is one of the latter. In fact, he decided to make a documentary movie of what many people do when they become unemployed. The movie is titled, “Lemonade,” and will be released soon. The trailer can be viewed below.
(email subscribers view on my blog)
If the trailer is any indication, Lemonade should prove extremely interesting. Here’s what Erik had to say about his movie:
“…I hope even more that people walk away with an understanding of Lemonade’s intent: that losing your job can be devastating. But with the right perspective and a work ethic, it can also be the single greatest moment of your career.” —Erik Proulx
The point is that there are many things people could do—and for some, becoming unemployed provides the impetus they needed to follow their dreams.
As Erik said in a recent post “…Do something amazing!”
Have any of you ever been laid-off? What did you do when it happened?
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