Are the Unemployed Being Buried Alive?

Are the Unemployed Being Buried Alive?

July 4th, 2010 - (Special Independence Day Edition) - - If what the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) just reported, and 652,000 "marginally attached" and "discouraged workers" weren't looking for a job in the last 4 weeks (and are no longer being counted in the unemployment rate), doesn't that now contradict the on-going argument that "they won't take a low-paying job because they're collecting more money with unemployment benefits"?

If these people no longer have any unemployment insurance income, wouldn't you think that now they'd be looking for ANY job? And therefore, shouldn't they still be counted in the unemployment rate?

How could the unemployment rate have gone down last month? Shouldn't it have gone higher? Because these people STILL haven't found a job!

Over 5 million people are losing federal extended unemployment benefits, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is reporting that NOT ONE of these people are looking for work, and are no longer being counted in the unemployment rate, and are no longer part of the labor force.

Isn't that the same thing as burying someone who's still alive?

- New York Times: The unemployment rate declined in June to 9.5 percent, from 9.7 percent in May. But that was a largely illusory decline, as 652,000 Americans left the work force.

LAST MONTH - June 2010:

125,000 temporary Census workers were laid off
+ 10,000 jobs were cut from state and local governments (likely to accelerate this summer)
+ 340,000 other lost jobs
= 475,000 new initial unemployment claims

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) claims 652,000 people left the work force last month (those who lost federal unemployment benefits and are not counted in the unemployment rate). Because of this, the labor force also shrunk.

- New York Times: 2.6 million people were "marginally attached" to the labor force, a rise of 415,000 from a year earlier. This means they are not being counted in the unemployment numbers, but they have looked during the last year and want a job.

NOTE: The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) claims they use a monthly survey (CPS) to determine that these "marginally attached" people did not look for a job within the last 4 weeks, and why they are no longer counted in the unemployment rate, and are also no longer considered a part of the labor force. (*I e-mailed the BLS asking for a copy of this supposed data and the CPS survey and I'm still waiting to hear back from them.)

Write the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Department of Labor and ask them, "Why is this?"

cpsinfo@BLS.GOV
Gibbons.Scott@dol.gov
cohany.sharon@bls.gov
Sznoluch.Anatoli@dol.gov

LAST MONTH - June 2010:

83,000 jobs were added to private sector, but the economy needs to add at least 130,000 jobs each month just to keep pace with new workers entering the market!

- New York Times: This economic recovery does not have enough momentum to sustain on its own without government help. Businesses are reluctant to hire for fear of a double-dip recession. Without jobs, the economy can’t grow, limiting job growth and spending. Banks are holding tight to credit, consumers appear fatigued and the stock market is tumbling. And another 3.2 million workers are losing their unemployment benefits [over 1.8 million already have]. The overall unemployment rate, incorporating all such Americans, stood at 16.5 percent.

Those out of work the longest: The picture remained unyieldingly grim for the long-term unemployed, which is approximately 50% of the unemployed who've been out of work an average of 37 weeks (8 months.)

And the one's who first exhausted all their federal benefits (which can range from 20 to 99 weeks), are the ones who have been especially hard hit. They were the first ones to get laid off in this recession so didn't have time to prepare or save. By now, most have used up their IRAs, 401ks, and pensions - but are too young for Social Security benefits.

Many of these people live alone and have no family - - - so image the fear, frustration, desperation, and isolation that those people must feel. Their mental and physical health may have suffered greatly too as they worried over their financial situations, wondering if they'll ever survive.

Also, the long-term unemployed (because they have been out of work for so long) are discriminated against for being "long-term" (and "old" if they are between the ages of 45 - 62 years old).

Then there are those with children: single moms with infants, men who owe child support, kids who need clothes for school..."special needs" children. Parents may be hauled into court and judged as "unfit parents" and have their children taken away...because they lost their unemployment benefits during the worst recession on record and could no longer pay the rent and buy food. (This is a national disgrace.)

And lastly, the unspeakable: the homeless and those that take their own lives. Simply being not "counted" can reek hell on someone's life, especially when they don't think they matter anymore - like a father's last attempt to save his family by using life insurance. Will the Bureau of Labor Statistics keep track of these statistics, and finally count these poor souls? (See The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention).

Commentary: I believe Bureau of Labor Statistics has caused irreparable harm to the unemployed by publishing these misleading statistics, and as government employees, they owe the American people (including the jobless) the responsibility of reporting a clearer picture of the actual unemployment situation. The Bureau of Labor Statistics should not be engaged in any political activities to make the current administration's economic efforts look any better than they actually are. The PEOPLE deserve the truth, whether it be good news or bad news.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has caused the political climate in BOTH parties to look at "government spending" in a skewed manner as it pertains to unemployment benefits for the jobless - perpetuating a myth that the unemployed are somehow "lazy" and won't take jobs when it is a FACT that there are NOT 15 million jobs available for these otherwise hard-working people. If anything, they lost their jobs because of government intervention and/or poor governmental regulatory oversight.

Congress should not spend ONE MORE DIME on ANY new program, for ANY earmark, for ANY senator (who have several lavish offices), and in ANY other country, until they help jobless Americans first.

It was largely the government who caused these people to lose their jobs in the first place, and as a final act, it is the government who is now burying them alive.

* Someone please forward this article to the congressional budget office and Fox News for me ;)

Related article: "Note to Congress: We want JOBS but until they arrive we, need UI benefits"

Original source material for this post:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/03/business/economy/03jobs.html

Related post: "The Unemployment rate fell? The BIG Lie!"
http://acompanyofone.org/post-article-2010_unemployment-rate.html

Other Articles I wrote about the Congressional Denial of Unemployment Benefits to the Unemployed

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