Order It Up

Now that the official U-3 unemployment figure is at 10.2% can we order up some real Green Shoots? Here you go:



The official U-6 is at 17.6%. Anyone for seconds?

The U-6 counts all the people that want a job but gave up, all the people with part-time jobs that want a full-time job, and all the people who dropped off unemployment benefits because their unemployment benefits ran out.

Here is a list of people who we have entrusted the future of our country to and their thoughts from earlier this year. If you remember, the main idea of Stimulus 1 was to save jobs and keep the unemployment rate below 10%. I am pretty sure that has failed.

David Axelrod, Senior Adviser to President Obama on whether the stimulus plan will keep unemployment from reaching 10 percent (February 15, 2009):

"That’s our hope – that’s our hope. There’s no doubt that without it, that’s where we were looking: double-digit unemployment. That’s what we’re trying to forestall."


President Obama (February 13, 2009):

"That’s a story I’m confident will be repeated at companies across the country — companies that are currently struggling to borrow money selling their products, struggling to make payroll, but could find themselves in a different position when we start implementing the plan,” Obama said. “Rather than downsizing, they may be able to start growing again. Rather than cutting jobs, they may be able to create them again.”


Larry Summers, Lead Economic Adviser to President Obama (January 18, 2009):

"I don’t think so. I think while we’re going to see some substantial job losses, frankly what is important about the president’s program here is that it is going to contain what would otherwise be just a vicious cycle, people spend less, therefore they earn less. We’re going to contain this problem."


Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve testifying before Congress’s joint economic committee (May 5, 2009):

"Currently, we don’t think it will get to 10 percent. Our current number is somewhere in the 9s."


The biggest joke quote of them all:

Presidential Candidate Barack Obama (April 3, 2008):

"Today’s job news is the latest indicator of how badly America needs fundamental change from Bush-McCain policies that have been devastating for working families and catastrophic for our economy. Our economy is struggling because the American people are struggling, and simply bailing out investment banks on Wall Street will not help Main Street."

I keep hearing that U-3 unemployment is a lagging indicator, that's just trader talk on Wall Street, believe me I am a Wall Street Trader. In the meantime may I have the desert menu?