Why is the unemployment rate not decreasing?

Why is the unemployment rate not decreasing?

From stlouisfed.org

The U.S. economy has been adding jobs continuously for several years. In fact, payroll employment growth has been consistently higher than measures of population growth, including the civilian population shown in the graph above. This is definitely an encouraging sign for the health of the labor market. The unemployment rate has steadily decreased over this period, yet it has hardly moved in recent months: It was 5.1% in August 2015 and is 5.0% as of April 2016. With this larger inflow of employed people than people in general, the unemployment rate should decrease, right? That would be correct if the proportion of ... (full story)

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Comment #1
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May 12, 2016 4:59pm May 12, 2016 4:59pm

Newstart08
| Joined Sep 2008 | Status: Member | 255 Comments

There is no way to really get correct information. If one is dropped from getting unemployment checks ..they are considered working. All you will get is a general shift. There are the API numbers which would be great if every pay check was written by them. I think this was an idea that someone dreamed up and it caught on. Not much stock is put on the results. It is a chart mover if lots of hoopla is made before the results. Eventually a trader will see it is all hype and not much else.

Comment #2
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May 12, 2016 5:21pm May 12, 2016 5:21pm

Guest
| IP XXX.XX.215.6

cos why we all day trading and fu&&&&&ing you central bankers up, that's why

Comment #3
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May 12, 2016 5:37pm May 12, 2016 5:37pm

kiwis
| Joined Apr 2013 | Status: Observation mode... | 71 Comments

Looking at the data so far presented and throwing a bit of logic into the equation; if the number of jobs has increased, then the percentage of unemployed should decrease.
If not, then it is entirely possible that the number of people being listed as unemployed has increased; maybe seasonal or a larger group of school dropouts entering the market.
What if, the original data presented over the last few years was not correctly aligned to the equation... hence now the maths does not add up?

In the tempest of a fast moving market; not everyone is happy.

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Posted: May 12, 2016 3:17pm
Submitted by:
Newsstand

Category: Educational News

Comments: 3 / Views: 1,405