Thoughts

Discouraged Workers Reach an All-Time High

The total number of Americans who are not in the labor force but who want a job now stands at 6.65 million.

The bullish spin doctors have been rationalizing the January jobs number all day.

The number of Americans that are not in the labor force but who want a job now rose by another 431,000 in January -- the total now stands at 6.65 million people.

If these Americans were in the labor force (and were looking for a job), the unemployment rate would go from 9% to 12.8%.

Bulls Blow It Again on Job Growth

The economic bulls have been wrong about their job growth forecasts for almost 15 months.

They continue to ignore three mega trends:

1. advances in technology;
2. globalization; and
3. the fact that temporary workers are becoming a permanent feature of the workplace.

They will also spin today's numbers.

Eventually, they will be correct, with "eventually" being the operative word.

Bernanke's head-in-the-sand mentality is paving the way for a classic policy mistake of easing too hard and for too long.

Recommended Reading

Knowledge@Wharton has a special report out this week on how to operate in a two-speed world.