I've recently fumed on how misleading it is when some government official implies that labor markets are doing just fine by saying that we're employing more people than ever. Today, at the state level we get this nonsense again (More job seekers ...):
North Carolina's jobless rate jumped yet again as more people searched for work.
The state's unemployment rate hit 5.7 percent in July, up from 5.3 percent in June and 5.1 percent in May.
...
The bump in the N.C. unemployment rate disappointed Larry Parker, spokesman with the N.C. Employment Security Commission. Still, he said, job seekers shouldn't worry.
"This is the highest number of people who have been employed ever" in the state, Parker said, referring to North Carolina's 4.1 million workers.
What is wrong with this statement? Well. Let's say that as population grows, and it does, that more people graduate from high school or college, they do, and decide to try to get jobs. The labor force increases, employment increases AND unemployment increases.
A rising population should naturally increase the number of people employed over time. It may have absolutely nothing to do with the health of the labor market.
Here is a quote: "This is the highest number of people who have been unemployed ever" in the state, [John] Whitehead said, referring to North Carolina's 246,320 unemployed. That would have been a good quote had it been true. But, alas, there were more unemployed workers in Jan-Feb of 2004.
So, what about the increase in the unemployment rate? It is probably good news. NC workers are more optimistic about the job market and trying to find a job. They'll probably land one very soon and the unemployment rate might fall. Let's hope so, so that NC can back off being one of the more protectionist states in the union.
I wonder what the employment to population ratio is for NC?
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