Fueled by the increasing adoption of outsourced analysts in India and unattended fuel pumps that recite annoying sales on Hostess Cupcakes in perfect, unaccented English (both still illegal in New Jersey) over half a million jobs vanished in December, pulling unemployment up to 7.2% (a decade and a half high). At least 10% of the monthly figure is, however, accounted for by Citi and their heartless cancellation of the massive model train display this year. (Send your complaints to bobrubin@citi.com).
Frankly, we were expecting more like -800,000. What say you, DealBreaker readers? Good news in disguise?
Unemployment Hits 7.2%, a 15-Year High [The New York Times]
Posted by guest , Jan 09, 2009 9:37AM
1st WAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
Posted by guest , Jan 09, 2009 9:48AM
Paying attention to eash statistic is idiotic at this point. Everyone knows the next year is crap, millions of jobs will be lost, the bubble will have broken, and then life goes on. What diff does it make if the number was 500k or 1m.
The press is too stupid to comment on real economy so you get 24hrs per day of laboring on what we already know
Posted by guest , Jan 09, 2009 9:48AM
Paying attention to eash statistic is idiotic at this point. Everyone knows the next year is crap, millions of jobs will be lost, the bubble will have broken, and then life goes on. What diff does it make if the number was 500k or 1m.
The press is too stupid to comment on real economy so you get 24hrs per day of laboring on what we already know
Posted by financialmarketjim , Jan 09, 2009 9:49AM
these guys project an increase in employment in 2009.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m54bAfxgYPw
Posted by guest , Jan 09, 2009 9:51AM
wasn't it obama who was fueling the high whisper number?
1/8 speech:
"We start 2009 in the midst of a crisis unlike any we have seen in our
lifetime, a crisis that has only deepened over the last few weeks.
Nearly 2 million jobs have been now lost. And on Friday, we're likely to learn that we lost more jobs last year than at any time since World War II. Just in the past year, another 2.8 million Americans who want and need full-time work have had to settle for part-time jobs."
1/5 speech:
" Last week, we learned that manufacturing had hit a 20-year low.
On Friday, we're going to get the final jobs report from this year.
And every indication is that we will have lost, in 2008, more jobs
than at any time since World War II."
if I were the Meghan Cheung, I'd be looking at a few of his eTrade account about now....
Posted by guest , Jan 09, 2009 9:53AM
Sorry but the Liquidity Sharks video is f'ing lame
Posted by guest , Jan 09, 2009 9:54AM
holler holler its PE Baller says:
@5 if you were Meghan Cheung you'd be at homeplaying with your snatch
bitches.
Posted by guest , Jan 09, 2009 9:59AM
It's coming.... 35% employment... this time next year.
Posted by guest , Jan 09, 2009 10:03AM
There are still jobs in this economy? We were expecting everyone to be out of a job? What will become of you America?
Posted by guest , Jan 09, 2009 10:07AM
@2-@3
Not figuring out how to post once is idiotic too.
Posted by guest , Jan 09, 2009 10:09AM
@8-- is that in the finance sector or auto sector?
Posted by guest , Jan 09, 2009 10:09AM
@5
Leave Meghan out of this. She was just doing her job.
Posted by MarshallStack , Jan 09, 2009 10:21AM
@12
She is being unfairly targeted, but she did not do her job.
She punched the clock - that is not the same thing.
Posted by guest , Jan 09, 2009 10:23AM
@2 and @3 When times are good its media's job to gloss over bad stuff...like subprime, massive US gov debt, massive consumer debt, Madeoff etc...
when times are bad its their job to make sure all of us know just how a$$ rammed we all really are and they won't stop until every American knows.
God bless'em eh?
Posted by guest , Jan 09, 2009 10:47AM
@4 that is awful -
Posted by guest , Jan 09, 2009 11:11AM
You know they sandbagged this number, and will try to sneak the real losses past us in next month's 'revision'. It'll probably end up over 600k.
Posted by guest , Jan 09, 2009 11:17AM
2/3, are you serious? We're way beyond a simple contraction/expansion analysis here.
Posted by vbierschwale , Jan 09, 2009 11:28AM
Let me show you some unemployment numbers that I believe you can take to the bank because these numbers are garbage
http://keepamericaatwork.com/?p=733
Regards,
Virgil
http://www.KeepAmericaAtWork.com
Posted by guest , Jan 09, 2009 11:38AM
Not good - it'll get revised up.
More important, Wideclops was on christmas vacation, so couldn't can folks in December.
Unless they really work the "seasonal adjustment", I'd expect the real miserable number to be for January, when HR gets around to firing folks.
Posted by guest , Jan 09, 2009 11:42AM
@17
Are the labor numbers new to you. If they were double, would it be news to you. Point is everyone already knows this.
These idiots on tv/press just keep jawboning the same noise until everyone buys krugerands and hide in their basements.
How about a story like, we will lose another 5 million jobs, the economy will stabilize within a year, and things will start to return to normalcy.
@10 KMA
Posted by guest , Jan 09, 2009 11:43AM
stagggggflation wooooooooooooo!! watch it happen 6 months from now!
Posted by guest , Jan 09, 2009 12:46PM
Bob Rubin - Why are you dogging Hostess Cupcakes? They are AMERICAN made and absolutely delicious. All of the ingredients that go into Hostess, Wonder, and Dolly Madison are from AMERICAN companies. 22,000 people are employed to bring AMERICANs Hostess, Wonder Bread, and Dolly Madison products.
Be nice, buy AMERICAN made products to keep AMERICANs employed.
Posted by guest , Jan 09, 2009 1:01PM
@18
Back to the yahooo boards.
Posted by guest , Jan 09, 2009 5:14PM
Why would Citigroup's layoffs factor into December's numbers? WARN act (mass layoffs) requires 60 days notice, so anyone laid off in December would technically be on payroll through February.
And since you can't claim unemployment benefits while you're receive severance, I would argue that the numbers are going to get much, much worse in 4-6 months.
Posted by guest , Jan 09, 2009 8:35PM
@18 - aren't you a little far from home?