The Rooster Crowing

The 2008 recession, that Obama inherited, cut 8.7 million jobs out of the U.S. economy … and now, just after 4 ½ years in office, this administration can crow about returning this same number to the job market … see: CNN Story. This is obviously good news … but there are three clouds to this silver lining:

-        During this same period the population of this country has grown by 11.7 million. For employment levels to be equivalent on a percentage basis to what they were in 2008, our economy would have to have grown jobs by an additional 7 million (see previous link).

-        It is estimated that, of the 8.7 million new jobs created under Obama, almost one million of them are on a part-time or contract basis (see: Sun Times Story). This typically means no health-care, no bonuses, and few of the many other perks afforded to full-time employees. One reason for this plethora of part-timers obviously has to be Obamacare.

-        Average weekly earnings of our working population has stagnated over this same 4 ½ years … growing less than 2% per year since Obama’s inauguration … whereas median earnings have grown at almost 3% … see: Social Securit Administration Numbers. This of course is a function of the level of part-time and contract employment … but it also highlights the growing inequality of incomes within our economy. This is something that Obama decries but does not seem to be able to do anything to correct.

So when you see the Barack rooster crowing about his record on job growth, you can now, being in the know, quietly smile to yourself … or, like myself, shout at the TV.