Teamsters local 570

Is the Employment Situation Really Improving?

Posted On: Jul 22, 2014

July 22, 2014 | LABOR | Over the past several years, Americans have been told that the labor situation in the U.S. is improving. The evidence used to back this up is the unemployment rate published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which has been declining. It has gotten to the point where we are seeing headlines that indicate that the job losses relating to the economic crisis of 2007-2009 are behind us, and the economy is nearly back to full employment. But despite these headlines, a look at the specifics regarding unemployment and labor reveals a far more daunting picture: fewer people are working, and if it weren't for the BLS playing statistical games, the unemployment rate would be rising, not falling. Here's why.