NC lost thousands of jobs in June, Labor force participation rate plummeted 3.8 percent since Obama took White House in January 2009, Reduced unemployment benefits and labor force dropouts lower unemployment rate

“Nearly half of U.S. companies are reluctant to hire full-time employees because of the ACA. One in five firms indicates they are likely to hire fewer employees, and another one in 10 may lay off current employees in response to the law.

Other firms will shift toward part-time workers. More than 40 percent of CFOs say their companies will consider switching some jobs to less than 30 hours per week or targeting part-time workers for future employment.”…Duke University Fuqua School of Business December 11, 2013

“Over the last six months, of the net job creation, 97 percent of that is part-time work,”…Keith Hall, former BLS chief

“11.4%: What the U.S. unemployment rate would be if labor force participation were back to January 2008 levels.” …James Pethokoukis, American Enterprise Institute, June 2013

NC lost thousands of jobs in June.

The big story is that the NC labor force participation rate plummeted 3.8 percent since Obama took the White House in January 2009.

From Triangle Business Journal July 18, 2014.

“N.C. economy sheds thousands of jobs in June”

“North Carolina lost more than 8,500 jobs in June, wiping out job gains experienced since March. The net job loss was attributable largely to job losses in the government sector.

The unemployment rate of 6.4 percent was unchanged from May to June, though that has to do with how the rate is artificially measured. A more accurate depiction of the jobs picture is to look at total jobs.”
“The state measures unemployment in two ways, one through a survey of households, which is where the official unemployment rate comes from, and one from a survey of employers, typically referred to as “nonfarm employment.” This nonfarm measure excludes workers in general government, teachers, private households, nonprofit organizations and individual or corporate farms, a measure that makes up roughly 77 percent of the total gross domestic product, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

By that measure, the state lost an estimated 5,800 jobs from May to June, though it still had 74,800 more jobs than in June of last year.
Going by the household survey reflects a job loss of 8,577, but an unchanged unemployment rate of 6.4 percent. Since last year, the rate had been steadily declining, but looking at only the rate gives a false overall jobs picture. One of the major policies implemented by the state government was to reduce the length of time that individuals receive unemployment benefits after being laid off. This policy has had the effect of artificially reducing the unemployment rate.
By reducing benefits, the household unemployment survey technically tallies fewer people in the labor force, even if those people haven’t actually found jobs or stopped looking for work. Reducing the officially counted labor force number, even if that number is reduced artificially because of reduced unemployment benefits, will drive the unemployment rate down – artificially in North Carolina.”

Read more:

http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2014/07/18/nc-economy-sheds-thousands-of-jobs-in-june.html?page=all