Be Careful of Obama Economic Stats

Washington has been quick to proclaim that there are ever increasing signs that the current recession has come to a end and the economy is recovering. Indeed there have been some positive signs that perhaps the worst days of this economic downtrend are over but there is no indication that the recovery has begun.

Unemployment is expected to increase until nationwide the percentage rate of those Americans out of work reaches at least 10%. It is currently, as of the end of July, at 9.4%. The well publicized July drop in the unemployment rate was marginalized by the real fact that 27 States actually had increases in their jobless rate during that month. Additionally, Washington admitted for the first time that the real national unemployment rate was at a level of 16% when Americans are added to the total who are part-time employees looking for full-time and those who have just given up by no longer seeking work and no longer receiving benefits. In very cavalier wording the Obama Administration has expressed that the August unemployed figure is expected to show "only" an increase of 250,000. "Only"? A quarter-of-a-million Americans join the rants of the unemployed and the official position is "only". A comment by the same government economist that it is "premature to conclude that unemployment has peaked" is obviously true and an understatement.

On a different note, Washington announced that the rate of construction of single family residences had increased but left in the fine print the fact that commercial construction and multi-family residential construction had again diminished.

Also raised by federal government mouthpieces as a sign the the economy was better was the "spectacular" increase in the projected annual sales of new automobiles. This almost falls into the classification of intentionally misleading. On its face the statement is true, but in reality no consideration was given at all to the distortion created by the "cash for clunkers" success. Further, the projected annual sales figure did not factor in the motor vehicle industry's own anticipated drop in new vehicle sales for at least September and October resulting from the same program.

The word to use while considering economic statements from Obama has to be caution. This Administration may not expressly lie to the public but its every utterance has to be closely examined before it can be taken as factual and its real impact evaluated.