Unemployment Rates Dip, But By Technicality

• Author: Mary Singleton
• Posted: 2024-07-15

If you've been paying attention to the news media's covering of the Joe Biden presidency, then you may have noticed that this administration receives some very glowing reviews despite the fact that America is dealing with a fuel crisis, a housing crisis, the highest inflation in history, and a possible looming nuclear war. To hear the people on the news networks tell it, the real problem America is facing is that Governor Ron DeSantis wants to give parents a say over what their children learn in public school. You might be waiting in line at a food bank not to starve, but think about all those teachers who will now need permission to influence other people's children! One of the most glaringly obvious examples of how the mainstream media runs cover for the Biden administration is in their reporting of the unemployment numbers. Earlier this week, there were so many nearly identical articles released on a supposed "drop" in the unemployment number that a cynical person may believe it was coordinated. The unemployment rate is down to 3.5%, every single network screamed.

Apparently, according to these news reports, nearly 100,000 magical jobs were found in September, with the takeaway being that the Democrats need to win in November because Biden is doing so great. Yes, it's true; you can go read these articles yourself to see. Right after claiming that unemployment has dropped, the networks immediately begin shilling for a certain type of politician to win. It's really shameless; but worse, it's not even true. Where did the jobs come from? According to the BBB, more businesses are closing than are opening. Small businesses are being priced out of existence, yet there are more jobs available now than in months previous? It literally doesn't add up mathematically.

Something's very wrong with this picture, and everyone knows that the unemployment rate is higher than 3.5%. But just like with the government telling you that inflation is only 8%, despite your own accounting proving that false, they're going to keep pushing these numbers on you because it makes them look better.
 

Every Administration Changes the Criteria

To be clear, fudging the unemployment numbers to make a sitting President look good in the eyes of the public isn't a Democrat-specific thing. It's something every administration does. Bill Clinton was credited for the DotCom boom in the mid '90s, then wasn't blamed at all when the bubble burst. Donald Trump fudged his numbers too, to make black unemployment look like the lowest in history, counting part-time jobs and delaying data for months. Obama created the industry standard that Biden's expanding on now, whereby the government no longer counts people as unemployed if they aren't actively seeking jobs. Biden's change here involved actually making the federal data for unemployment reflect state-based data on unemployment payments. In other words, if you're not drawing an unemployment check, you're not counted as unemployed. Whether this check expires, or you were denied, the government says you don't exist and thus you don't count toward the unemployed.

These are just the political games that politicians play in order to stay in power. The bigger issue is that only one party is allowed to get away with it in the mainstream. The bulk of corporate media networks will hide the facts when it's a Democrat, but expose them when it's a Republican. This keeps Americans very polarized, and it pushes the idea that factual information depends entirely on political affiliation. For a country that supposedly hates Russia, America sure does love its Soviet-era propaganda.
 

Still a Record Job Shortage

How does anyone know that these jobs' numbers aren't real? Well, referencing the data from earlier, it is factual that more businesses are closing than opening in America today. In fact, it's harder to open a business today than at any other point in American history. There are more regulations and red tape than ever. Plus, America is still in the midst of its largest labor shortage in history. In retail, 70% of jobs are vacant. In the hospitality industry, 55% of jobs are vacant. These numbers are from data analysis performed by the Washington Post, not exactly an enemy of Joe Biden.

So, if there are so many millions of job vacancies, how can there be record low unemployment? It really does all boil down to most people not being counted. So, be careful about the news you read regarding unemployment rates. It's a very political topic.