HOW’S THAT HOPEY-CHANGEY STUFF WORKIN’ OUT FOR YA? (CONT’D): Unemployment Rate Rises to 8.2%. “American employers in May added the smallest number of workers in a year and the unemployment rate unexpectedly increased as job-seekers re-entered the workforce, further evidence that the labor-market recovery is stalling.”
Unexpectedly! More: “The dismal jobs figures could fan fears that the economy is sputtering.” Ya think?
UPDATE: “This is just brutal no matter how you look at it. But how can these ‘experts’ and ‘economists’ be so far off in their forecasts? Not even half of what they expected.”
ANOTHER UPDATE: Dan Mitchell: “At best, the results are mediocre. The unemployment rate generally gets the most attention, and that was bad news since the joblessness rate jumped to 8.2 percent. What makes that number particularly painful is that the Obama Administration claimed that the unemployment rate today would be less than 6 percent if the so-called stimulus was adopted. But as you can see from the chart, squandering $800 billion on a Keynesian package hasn’t worked.”
He continues: “Sort of makes you wonder whether there’s a lesson to be learned. Maybe, just maybe, bigger government means weaker economic performance.” Ya think?
Related: “The May jobs numbers are putrid.”