What Happens When Jobs Rise But Leave Wages And Living Standards Behind?

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UptLflp-YlE]

• Welcome to Capital Account. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly jobs report for October revealed an unemployment rate increase of a tenth of a percent to 7.9 percent; however, on a positive note, this increase was due to people entering the labor force, as the Labor Department only counts those with jobs or those who are actively looking for jobs as part of the workforce. An additional 578,000 people joined the labor force in October, edging the labor force participation rate up to 63.8 percent. Also, 171,000 non-farm payroll jobs were added to the US labor force, beating median analyst expectations of 125,000 jobs, according to Bloomberg. These are all signs of an improving labor market and economy, right? But how sustainable is a true recovery given all the stimulus measures in place since 2008? We talk to Mike Shedlock, investment advisor for Sitka Pacific Capital, about what these numbers don’t take into account.
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  Also, the economy has added private sector jobs for 32 consecutive months, amounting to 111.7 million as of October. Yet, the total number of people employed has remained virtually unchanged since President Obama took office: 133.6 million in January of 2009 versus 133.8 million in October of 2012. In addition, wages have not even been keeping up with inflation, according to the BLS. We talk to Mike Shedlock, author of Mish’s Global Economic Trend Analysis, about what wages and standard of living might indicate about a US economic recovery or lack thereof.
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  And yesterday, ahead of the BLS jobs report, the private staffing and business services firm ADP released its monthly jobs report, which showed that companies expanded payrolls the most in eight months according to press coverage. Economic indicators such as these get a lot of attention when they first come out, but there is very little notice when revisions are later released. We talk to Mike Shedlock about what we can learn from ADP’s revisionist history that may temper our expectations.
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  Plus in Viewer Feedback, Lauren responds to your comments ranging from Superstorm Sandy’s price gouging, to catastrophe bonds, to why US citizens don’t vote for a third party candidate.

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