The sad truth behind yesterday's unemployment numbers [View all]

[MadHound]

"In reality, the jobs gained are a drop in the bucket compared to those lost during the recession. In the downturn that started in 2008, the US economy lost 8.9 million jobs, and if previous economic trends had continued, another 5.9 million jobs would have been added. Since the end of 2009, the economy has added only 5.7 million jobs.

At February’s rate of job growth, the US economy would not get back to the pre-recession level of unemployment until 2017.

By and large, the new jobs created pay much less than those lost during the crash. According to Friday’s figures, average hourly earnings for production workers have risen by only 2 percent over the past year, a figure wiped out by rising prices.

In addition to paying lower wages, an increasing number of new jobs are part time. Compared to late 2007, 5.8 million fewer people in the US are now working full time, but 2.8 million more are working part time. The share of people working part-time has grown from 16.9 percent at the start of the recession to 19.2 percent today."
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2013/03/09/econ-m09.html

Ra Ra, unemployment dropped two tenths of one percent Meanwhile, with the Meatcleaver Austerity about to take hold, and Austerity Lite waiting in the wings, US workers are in for ever more hurt. But hey, the 1% can now party like it's 2007, the DOW hit a new record high

Reagan, and every single president since him have massaged the unemployment numbers to make things look as rosy as possible. This is but the latest example.