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It’s “the economy, stupid.” That’s what legendary Democratic political strategist James Carville scrawled on a handwritten sign hung in the Little Rock presidential campaign headquarters of then-Arkansas governor Bill Clinton.
Clinton’s message discipline – particularly on economic issues – was key to his 1992 presidential victory.
In the current election, “the economy, stupid” should be a core message of former president Donald Trump, whose (new) 2024 rival Kamala Harris has presided over a period of soaring inflation and elevated joblessness – putting millions of Americans in increasingly dire financial straits.
Is Trump a disciplined messenger, though? Eh …
Heading into the weekend, new numbers from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) ought to refocus the 2024 presidential debate back on the fundamental health (or lack thereof) of the American economy.
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According to the agency – which has been criticized of late for political goal-seeking – the American economy added an anemic 114,000 jobs to its payrolls last month. That was the worst monthly job creation number since December 2020 – and came in well below Wall Street estimates, which were projecting the addition of 175,000 jobs. In keeping with a recent trend, the latest BLS data (.pdf) included downward revisions from May and June which totaled 29,000 jobs – meaning the numbers being parroted by the administration are not the real numbers you should be paying attention to.
Anyway, the BLS’ “establishment” survey consists of payroll data. The BLS’ household survey – which is used to calculate the unemployment rate – showed an even smaller increase of 67,000 jobs.
The difference? Per the agency itself, “the household survey has no duplication of individuals, because individuals are counted only once, even if they hold more than one job.”
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RELATED | SOUTH CAROLINA WORKFORCE WOES
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“In the establishment survey, employees working at more than one job and thus appearing on more than one payroll are counted separately for each appearance,” the BLS guidance added.
Worth noting? Despite Harris and lame duck president Joe Biden claiming to have created nearly 15 million jobs since taking office, the number of employed workers in the United States has not changed in over a year – and remains roughly equivalent to where it was prior to the Covid-19 shutdowns.
A total of 161.2 million Americans were employed last month – virtually identical to the same period a year ago.
For those of you keeping score at home, labor participation inched up modestly to 62.7 percent in July, while the more widely reported unemployment rate jumped to 4.3 percent – up more than 0.6 percent from where it was in January.
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THE RELEASE…
(BLS)
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Will Folks is the owner and founding editor of FITSNews. Prior to founding his own news outlet, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina, bass guitarist in an alternative rock band and bouncer at a Columbia, S.C. dive bar. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
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2 comments
lol
Sure.
Let’s turn the economy over to a super-old convicted felon who was also found guilty of decades of financial fraud in New York and when he dies that weird ol’ couch fucker can screw things up!
Sounds great! Trump / Vance 24!