Trump: Way US Counts Unemployed Is ‘Not Appropriate’Tuesday, 03 Jul 2012 05:13 PM The Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn’t count unemployed people who have given up looking for work as part of the labor force, which keeps headline unemployment rates artificially low, says real estate mogul Donald Trump. Only those who are out of work but actively looking are counted as unemployed, yet if the government were to factor in discouraged workers into the headline unemployment rate, the number would be much higher. Previous methodologies would have resulted in much higher unemployment rates today as well. "The reporting requirements are so different now. You have people saying the real number is 14 percent and 15 percent and 16 percent by the way they used to account, and now the number is at 8.2 and you know if you give up looking for a job, they take you off the list," Trump tells CNBC. "You're not counted, and I think that's probably not appropriate." Methodology aside, the labor market is showing signs of deteriorating. In May, the economy picked up 69,000 jobs while in April, the economy created 77,000. By comparison, January and February added 275,000 and 259,000 net jobs, respectively, higher-than-expected numbers that were likely inflated by unseasonably warm winter weather that brought construction jobs online earlier than normal. A MarketWatch survey predicts the June jobs report will show the economy added a net 100,000 jobs, an improvement but not enough to drive the economy out of its doldrums. "The recent weakness in hiring is a combination of seasonal issues and the underlying slowdown in U.S. and global economies," says Yelena Shulyatyeva, a BNP economist, MarketWatch reports. "This week should bring more disappointing news." Meanwhile, the manufacturing sector, once the bright spot in the U.S. economy earlier this year, is showing signs of decline as well. The Institute for Supply Management reported that its index of manufacturing activity fell to 49.7 in June from 53.5 in May, the lowest reading since July of 2009 and well below analyst forecasts for the index to drop to 52.0. A reading above 50.0 indicates industry expansion, while below indicates contraction. "This is not good. Not good at all,” Dan Greenhaus, chief global strategist at BTIG, writes in a note, Fox Business Network reports. “The ISM Manufacturing Index remains a premier economic indicator and a reading below 50 in June is incredibly, incredibly worrisome.” © Moneynews. All rights reserved. To subscribe or visit go to: http://www.moneynews.com |