The rest of this cartoon can be seen at the American Spectator blog.
From the Heritage Foundation:
The household survey’s headline number that the unemployment rate had fallen from 9.5 to 9.4 percent seems to be good news. However, the decline results entirely from the fact that 422,000 people left the labor force. As a result, the labor force participation rate fell to 66.5, which equals the lowest recorded number for the current recession. The civilian employment to population ratio continued to decline as people left the labor market. It fell to 59.5, the lowest level in 25 years.
When labor markets begin to firm, many of these discouraged workers will begin to re-enter the workforce, making it likely that the unemployment rate will remain high or even increase past 10 percent before the start of 2010. After all, labor force re-entrants account for over a fifth of all unemployed workers. When companies are reluctant to hire, it becomes even harder for these workers to obtain a job.
Another factor that will boost the unemployment rate in future months will be the fate of teenage workers. Teens accounted for a quarter of the decline in the labor force last month. July’s jobs report was conducted before the minimum wage took effect. Therefore, it is likely that the job market for teenagers will be further weakened by the minimum wage increase. Teenagers already have the highest unemployment rate at 23.8 percent, which is more than double the national average…
Pro-Growth Polices Needed
Despite containing some of the least bad numbers of the year, the July jobs report is still bad news. It shows that the economy is leveling out, albeit with a labor market that is still expected to shed jobs for the next several months.
Unfortunately, policies in Washington are making it likely that job growth will be sluggish in the future. Mandates and tax increases on businesses will hinder employment. Massive government borrowing and spending will impede businesses’ ability to obtain capital to expand and create new jobs. Policymakers should end their reliance on failed Keynesian economics and concentrate on pro-growth policies such as extending the lower tax rates for dividends and capital gains.
Reuters: U.S. Food Stamp List Tops 34 Million for First Time
Bloomberg: Kiss Jobs Goodbye With Minimum Wage Increase