Unemployment Down to 9.0%

[klunderbunker]

http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/04/8632201-october-jobs-report-hints-at-improvement

Good sign. It was 9.1% since the summer. The jobs report showed 80,000 new jobs (decent but not great) added in October.

 

[D-Man]

Yeah, it's about time we saw improvement.

 

[klunderbunker]

It's been improving for a little while. It went down a tenth of a point over the summer (July I think) and it's gone down another now. Under 9 by February would be nice.

 

[Lee]

That's still pretty high.

 

[D-Man]

It is but we can only pray for the improvement to stay on the positive.

 

[Fizzy]

That's still pretty high.

Any progress no matter how small, is a big deal right now.

 

[Lee]

I'm not being a dick about it but surely this is the time of the year where all the stores hire extra staff for Black Friday and Christmas? A .1% is expected surely.

 

[Cena's Little Helper]

I'm not being a dick about it but surely this is the time of the year where all the stores hire extra staff for Black Friday and Christmas? A .1% is expected surely.

Correct, but temporary staff won't be hired until two weeks before Black Friday at the earliest.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

It is not something for Obama to be positive about. People expect better. Obama would be better off talking about how much faster employment numbers would improve if the Repubs would have not killed his jobs plans and is only working in the interest of the wealthy blah, blah, blah...

 

[Slyfox696]

If only there were a way to find out the REAL unemployment number. You know, by excluding the people who say they are looking for a job, but only want to collect government unemployment and have no interest in working.

I wonder if you could exclude them, if unemployment would go down 2% or more.

 

[The Crock]

If only there were a way to find out the REAL unemployment number. You know, by excluding the people who say they are looking for a job, but only want to collect government unemployment and have no interest in working.

I wonder if you could exclude them, if unemployment would go down 2% or more.

Probably. I've seen loads people pulling that shtick.

Correct, but temporary staff won't be hired until two weeks before Black Friday at the earliest.

Yeah, this sounds about right. Plus, they don't hire too many guys do they?

 

[Lee]

In the UK they hire their temporary Christmas staff about Octoberish and do hire a lot of people.

 

[The Crock]

Going off of what I see in my local stores, not any actually fact here, but it seems like they get a couple of people to just load boxes and stuff and only for a month or so (if even).

 

[HBK-aholic]

I would LOVE to go shopping on Black Friday. Hint hint, KB.

 

[Constipated Badger Bottom]

In the UK they hire their temporary Christmas staff about Octoberish and do hire a lot of people.

But at the same time all the holiday parks/resorts will be shutting down for the winter

 

[Slyfox696]

I would LOVE to go shopping on Black Friday. Hint hint, KB.

No, you wouldn't. I promise. Such a waste of time.

 

[jazzua]

I used to manage at a Super Target. In regards to when and how many seasonal employees are hired. We would do most of our hiring in October or so. Our store would attempt to hire 30-50 employees, no kidding. However, the real number would normally be around 20-30. Typically, we would hire them for 3 months. Every year we would keep no more than 5 or so on after the holidays. So, do the math. Target alone hires massive amounts of people through the holidays.

 

[The Crock]

I used to manage at a Super Target. In regards to when and how many seasonal employees are hired. We would do most of our hiring in October or so. Our store would attempt to hire 30-50 employees, no kidding. However, the real number would normally be around 20-30. Typically, we would hire them for 3 months. Every year we would keep no more than 5 or so on after the holidays. So, do the math. Target alone hires massive amounts of people through the holidays.

Holy hell. I'm going to pay attention and see how many new faces I see at the store now.

 

[jazzua]

Holy hell. I'm going to pay attention and see how many new faces I see at the store now.

Yeah, it's a little nuts. We would do two or three job fairs in October and then November if necessary. Any "super" store is likely to hire far more than just a regular one. You will see most of the new faces at the registers. Also, a large chunk are hired for overnight or short shifts before the stores even open. For every new face you see day side you can count 1-2 more for overnights.

 

[Lee]

yeah when I worked at Currys (big electric store) they hired 20 for christmas staff and I was hired in October. I was one of 4 kept on after Christmas and ended up working there two years.

 

[LigerBomb]

I was a holiday/seasonal hire for Gamestop and wound-up staying on for about 2 years. It was actually a pretty fun job.

 

[Tastycles]

What the fuck is Black Friday? Is it like Bloody Sunday?

 

[Mighty NorCal]

yes

 

[Serious Mozzarella]

What the fuck is Black Friday? Is it like Bloody Sunday?

It's a time when consumerism turns people into wild animals.

 

[X]

http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/04/8632201-october-jobs-report-hints-at-improvement

Good sign. It was 9.1% since the summer. The jobs report showed 80,000 new jobs (decent but not great) added in October.

This is akin to being pleased that someone has been kind enough to put a band-aid on your three week old infected gunshot wound.

Like, I'm glad to see some positive growth....but they still aren't addressing the underlying root cause of all of our socioeconomic problems. And until they do it's just like slapping a band-aid on a gunshot wound.

Politics make me want to become a nihilist again.