6.1% Unemployment Rate - The Real Truth

While Democrats are promoting “the sky is falling” with today’s released unemployment numbers one has to take it with a large grain of salt. Do NOT get me wrong, we have a major issue with unemployment and only the world market place will determine how we get out of it.

First, with the recent passage of the extended unemployment benefits law, many thousands of people who had expired their benefits previously now return to the unemployed calculations. They now have an additional 13 weeks and again are crunched into the numbers.

When they had used up their unemployment benefits (26 weeks) they where no longer consider in the unemployed numbers. This is not a President Bush way of figuring numbers but goes back for longer then I can remember. My guess this happens because they count the number of claims filed and once a person no longer can make a weekly unemployment claim they have no way when or if they ever find a job.


Second, manufacturing was hardest hit. Which tells us fewer people are buying products made here in the United States. While we are concerned, and rightfully so, our own “backyard” the economy of many parts of the world have started to slow.

Third, during the month of August many auto manufacturing plants where closed for adjustment for over production. This also resulted in many, if not most, of direct suppliers to the auto manufacturers to lay off their work forces.

Forth, the real unemployment number is closer to a tad over 10%. The four percent difference is made up of people who claim to looking for work and those who have taken part-time employment while looking for full time work. This four percent number will very, based on what
I could find, is down to just under three percent in best of times.

Here in Allen County the GM plant was closed during the last week of August. They where told by their UAW union to file for unemployment, which is there right and should do so. The thing is our plant workers will return to work, I believe, in the second week of September. But for August numbers they are unemployed!


The clouds in the sky are growing darker but the sky is NOT falling!