Her stats, from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, don’t take into account people who have given up hope and are no longer looking.
Curry twittered, “ … 247,000 people lost jobs in July, down from 443,000 in June. Unemployment was 9.5 percent, now 9.4 percent.” The following information, contradicting what Curry passed on to her followers (her info from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) are snippets from a statement by Michael J. Wilson, National Director, Americans for Democratic Action
— “The real unemployment rate released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics is 16.3 percent, nearly 7 points higher than the officially reported rate.
— “President Obama’s economic recovery plan is working but the real rate of unemployment underscores an urgent need to spur more hiring.
— “A jobless recovery is not a recovery.
— “The real rate includes marginally attached workers which the BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) reports “are neither working nor looking for work but indicate that they want and are available for a job and have looked for work sometime in the recent past. Discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally attached, have given a job-market related reason for not looking currently for a job. Persons employed part time for economic reasons are those who want and are available for full-time work but have had to settle for a part-time schedule.â€
— “The real unemployment rate dropped from 16.4 percent in June, marking the first decline in unemployment since April 2008. There are currently 25 million workers unemployed or underemployed using the real rate.â€
Read full statement here.
Tags: Americans for Democratic Action, Ann Curry, Bureau of Labor Statistics, CNN, unemployment, unemployment rate