US stated unemployment rate 7.9 percent, Labor force participation rate 63.6 percent, NC unemployment rate up, Berkshire Hathaway buys Greensboro News Record

“With a 63.7% labor force participation, “conditions in the labor market are considerably worse than indicated” in July’s report”…economist Joshua Shapiro, WSJ August 3, 2012

“Guilford (Large NC County) appears on it’s way to a third consecutive year with annual jobless rates in double digits. Economists say that likely hasn’t happened since the Great Depression.”…Greensboro News Record December 2, 2011

“the Times of the nineteenth of December had published the official forecasts of the output of various classes of consumption goods in the fourth quarter of 1983, which was also the sixth quarter of the Ninth Three-Year Plan. Today’s issue contained a statement of the actual output, from which it appeared that the forecasts were in every instance grossly wrong. Winston’s job was to rectify the original figures by making them agree with the later ones.”…George Orwell, “1984”

From the US Labor Dept. February 1, 2013.

“Employment Situation Summary”

“Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 157,000 in January, and the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 7.9 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Retail trade, construction, health care, and wholesale trade added jobs over the month.

Household Survey Data

The number of unemployed persons, at 12.3 million, was little changed in January. The unemployment rate was 7.9 percent and has been at or near that level since September 2012. (See table A-1.) (See the note and tables B and C for information about annual population adjustments to the household survey estimates.)

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (7.3 percent), adult women (7.3 percent), teenagers (23.4 percent), whites (7.0 percent), blacks (13.8 percent), and Hispanics (9.7 percent) showed little or no change in January. The jobless rate for Asians was 6.5 percent (not seasonally adjusted), little changed from a year earlier.
(See tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

In January, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) was about unchanged at 4.7 million and accounted for 38.1 percent of the unemployed. (See table A-12.)

Both the employment-population ratio (58.6 percent) and the civilian labor force participation rate (63.6 percent) were unchanged in January.”

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm

The Orwellian reporting of Obama and economic news is getting worse with no end in sight.

The Greensboro News Record has done a decent job of economic and jobs reporting over the past year.

However,

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway just bought the Greensboro News Record.

“But Kroeger said BH Media likes the News & Record because it is the dominant source of information for the region, and that gives it an edge in attracting advertisers.

Kroeger said it’s important that the print newspaper is affordable and accessible to all readers, even in an economically troubled region.

But plenty of readers want their news by computer, smartphone and iPad. So, BH Media wants to deliver content to those people and earn money in the process.”

http://www.news-record.com/home/latestnews/673320-91/buffett-media-buys-news-

From the Greensboro News Record  January 30, 2013 .

“Update: Jobless rate up slightly in Triad”

“The jobless rate for the Greensboro-High Point metro area was 9.6 percent in December, up from November’s figure of 9.2 percent.

The December rate was lower compared with December 2011, which had a jobless rate of 10.5 percent, according to figures the N.C. Department of Commerce released today.”

http://www.news-record.com/news/business/665883-92/update-jobless-rate-up-slightly

“up slightly”

Is that like slightly pregnant?

Actually, unemployment was up in 97 of 100 counties in NC!

From the Greensboro News Record  February 1, 2013 .

“Greensboro area jobless rate drops, still high”

“No economist likes a 9.6 percent unemployment rate.

But December’s rate in the Greensboro/High Point Metro Area is nearly 1 percentage point lower than it was in December 2011, according to figures released Wednesday by the state Department of Commerce.

“That’s a terrible number, but it’s less terrible than a year ago,” said Andrew Brod, senior research fellow at the Center for Business and Economic Research at UNCG.”

http://www.news-record.com/news/crime/latestnewsnewscrime/666278-92/greensboro-area-jobless-rate-drops

“:jobless rate drops”

How many people read that and believed that it was reality?

Factor in the drop in the labor force participation rate in NC and it may not have dropped from a year ago.

George Orwell must be spinning in his grave.