Unemployment rate is 10.2%, but the number of jobs lost last month declined. Which statistic is more important?

Unemployment rate is 10.2%, but the number of jobs lost last month declined. Which statistic is more important? Obviously with the unemployment rate at its highest level in 26 years, this 10.2% figure is important, but as we look at the short term and long term economic future, which of these statistics becomes more important?

With BusinessWeek reporting 254,000 jobs lost in September ( businessweek.com/smallbiz/running_small_... ) and 190,000 jobs lost in October ( businessweek.com/investor/content/nov200... ) the number of people who have lost their jobs in hte last couple of months is staggering. With a total unemployment rate rising to 10.2% in October, the rate of job losses declined by nearly a 25%in that same month. I am not an economist, so please help me understand if this is truly a silver lining (whatever that means) or if one statistic makes the other insignificant.

Asked by AlaskaDO 26 months ago Similar questions: Unemployment rate 10 2% number jobs lost month declined statistic important Science > Social Science.

Similar questions: Unemployment rate 10 2% number jobs lost month declined statistic important.

Tough Q. Depends what you want to do with the information...invest? Invest in what?

Feel more hopeful about getting a job? Feel more hopeful about your product sales? Etc?

More data: nytimes.com/interactive/2009/11/06/busin... The chart in the NYT looks good. I haven't studied the seasonality of unemployment. I do know in good times, layoffs often increase at year end before bonuses.

I hope that this one monthly data point is the beginning of a trend. But, I don't yet have any confidence that US unemployment is likely to disappear. I don't feel we have done anything--despite the mega-billions flying here and there--to tackle unemployment.

We have stabilized banking. We have kept some Wall Streeters from the poor house. We have made some non-Wall Street small business people millionaires.

Don't kid yourselves. Somebody is getting all of that money. But, we haven't done anything substantial to help the unemployed individual get reemployed.

We're even caging our achievements in terms of layoff prevention. That way it seems to me we give up on the unemployed and enable ourselves to declare success with an accounting trick. It would be disingenuous to lay this at the feet of the Democrats.

Bush was the captain of the ship during the period when we buried ourselves. A Congress of Democrats and Republicans have accomplished little on this other than approving huge increases in spending that have questionable benefits...with respect to unemployment. Unless one actually creates jobs FOR THE UNEMPLOYED with the government money, it is a crapshoot when any of it will trickle down to the unemployed, if ever.

Employment is always lagged. But, in this new global economy, as we help crippled companies back onto their feet, they may decide to remain lean or restaff with highly skilled but lower cost off-shore employees. Personally, I would hedge oneself.

I would try to keep a lot of money in cash or cash equivalent; but, I would maintain a portion of assets in the market to benefit from climbs as we have seen over the past several months. You won't clear as much as you would if you were all in the market and it continued to climb. But, if we are experiencing a shadow bubble as some maintain, then you will have a cushion to weather the next downturn with.To get back to your Q, the monthly layoff statistics can give us a sense that the economy is beginning to turn, assuming one can count on a one data point "trend".

However, if you are concerned about an industry that depends on consumer confidence and discretionary spending, then the total unemployment rate is much more important, factoring in current year unemployment and the unemployed over many years. The age levels of these unemployed are also interesting, but probably not tracked by the State Labor Departments (at least I have never seen reporting on this). Younger workers right out of school often have the abilities to retool and start over in another profession or industry relatively quickly.

They also can sometimes be more risk seeking in going after entrepreneurial opportunities. They may not have families to support, college educations to pay, etc.50- and 60-somethings may have great difficulty getting reemployed in ways that meet present standards of living. If our unemployed base were largely older, we will have a serious social issue and expense coming at us in a year or two.

If the unemployed are largely college grads, then it still hurts, but, it will be a shorter wait until recovery..

The real unemployment rate is the more telling number. The number of jobs lost will flatten out as the economy reaches it's limit, in my opinion. Let's say you have 1000 jobs.

The first day 100 are lost, leaving 900, then another 100 leaving 800, then 90 leaving 710, then 85 leaving ... well, whatever. You get the point. As the number of actual jobs declines, the number of jobs that can be lost also decline.

Short of complete economic collapse, there is a fixed bottom number to the number of people that can be employed for the economy to remain stable. I think we are getting close to that number; of course, if we exceed the number, then economic collapse is no longer an if, but a when.

10.2 unemployment well I'd have to say the 10.2% unemployment rate has to top the list. We have over 300 million people in the USA, not all of them are wage earners. Lets say for safety's sake 200 million people are workers paying taxes.

That means that there are 20.4 million people out of work. Let me say that again 20.4 million people out of work. What the feds don't tell us is: 1.

Are the people that have exhausted their unemployment claims, and have no more extentions counted as employed now? 2. How many of the counted are illegal aliens, who are on work visa's that have been laid off?3.

How many of the unemployed have taken part time jobs with the hope of the part time job turning into a full time job? 4. How many of the unemployed have switched over to disability, or social security diabilities payments?5.

How many elderly have lost their jobs and are ready to go on social security in a year or so?6. How many jobs are just a temporary lay off?7. How many people have gone back to school under education grants?

8. How many of the jobless claims are denied. Are they still counted?

9. How many people have gone back to their own country? The jobless %, are on filed claims for the month, not on what takes place.

The 25% can be manipulated in various ways to anounce doom or gloom or a rosey picture. I hope this helps..

1 They're both important. If you're one of the 10.2%, it's THE important figure. The other figure tells you that it's becoming less likely that you'll join the 10.2% if you aren't already.

And it gives the 10.2% a little hope that they won't stay that way forever. Both numbers are radical oversimplifications of the state of the economy.

They're both important. If you're one of the 10.2%, it's THE important figure. The other figure tells you that it's becoming less likely that you'll join the 10.2% if you aren't already.

And it gives the 10.2% a little hope that they won't stay that way forever. Both numbers are radical oversimplifications of the state of the economy.

2 There are many Business is that have announced that they will be laying off in the months ahead. The unemployment rate is expected to go up for a while yet.

There are many Business is that have announced that they will be laying off in the months ahead. The unemployment rate is expected to go up for a while yet.

" "what is important of statistic to accounting.

What is important of statistic to accounting.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.