The White House is already attributing the disastrous March jobs report on the sequester – and by extension blaming the Republicans in Congress it deems responsible for the cuts.
The Department of Labor reported this morning that the economy added only 88,000 jobs last month, the slowest pace since June 2012, while unemployment declined to 7.6 percent – but mostly because people exited the workforce on a massive scale.
From a statement by White House Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Alan Krueger:
It is important to bear in mind that the March household and payroll surveys are the first monthly surveys to look at employment since the beginning of sequestration. While the recovery was gaining traction before sequestration took effect, these arbitrary and unnecessary cuts to government services will be a headwind in the months to come, and will cut key investments in the Nation’s future competitiveness . . .
Now is not the time for Washington to impose more self-inflicted wounds on the economy. The Administration continues to urge Congress to replace the sequester with balanced deficit reduction, while working to put in place measures to put more Americans back to work like rebuilding our roads and bridges and promoting American manufacturing.
But the White House line is misleading. Any deficit reduction, whether “balanced” or through sequestration, will have a contractionary effect on the economy because it will by definition either reduce government spending or raise taxes. And both sides – Republican and Democrat – support deficit reduction.
What’s more, Americans are probably just feeling the pain of tax hikes that went into effect in January at the insistence of the White House, well before sequestration took effect.
Further spinning the numbers, Krueger seemed almost divorced from reality, writing, “today’s employment report provides further evidence that the U.S. economy is continuing to recover.”
40 thoughts on “White House Blames Lousy Jobs Numbers on Sequester”
Keith,
in March, Alan Kreuger, feeling the pressure you put on him, decided to get away from his 1st paragraph Word for Word Template about the Unemployment situation…
well HE’S BACK BABY… He once again is back.
Here is his wording from September’12 – February’13 in his first
While more work remains to be done, today’s employment report provides further evidence that the U.S. economy is continuing to heal from the wounds inflicted by the worst downturn since the Great Depression. It is critical that we pursue the policies needed to build an economy that works for the middle class as we continue to dig our way out of the deep hole that was caused by the severe recession that began in December 2007.
Here it is today
While more work remains to be done, today’s employment report provides further evidence that the U.S. economy is continuing to heal from the wounds inflicted by the worst downturn since the Great Depression. It is critical that we pursue the policies needed to build an economy that works for the middle class as we continue to dig our way out of the deep hole that was caused by the severe recession that began in December 2007.
Holy Crap is this guy a loser.
Yes–we deserve more creativity.
Repeat a lie often enough and soon you will believe it.
There are 90 million people in this country who are unemployed. Out of a population of 310 million (not counting illegals) that’s an unemployment rate of 29%. When are we going to stop the joke of using the most recent claims as an indication of the unemployment rate in this country? We’re talking depression but every bloke has his head in the sand and every so-called leader is a liar.
@Julie – Its only going to worse. Only if Obamacare and Dodd-Frank are repealed. Do we stand a chance at a real recovery. I’m part of that 90 million no longer counted. Out of work 2 years 6 months. Age and competition for what jobs that are out there. Have forced one self out. I read according to the real unreported stat the U6 true jobless rate is 15%.
Good luck, Burke. The wheel always turns, and it will turn in your favor.
“The Administration continues to urge Congress to replace the sequester with balanced deficit reduction, while working to put in place measures to put more Americans back to work like rebuilding our roads and bridges and promoting American manufacturing.” In other words take care of the unions
and all those “Shovel Ready” jobs
On NPR, they said it was not sequestration. These people better compare talking points. Bankruptcies are up in AZ–they say this is bec people use their tax refund to pay lawyers–that’s very reassuring.
Do they also spin the room along with the press release to further add confusion to this news?
Good question.
I’ve ofter wondered how these government officials who were probably all men and women of impeccable backgrounds, morally and ethically unimpeachable can step in front of a microphone and throw their lifelong credibility down the tubes by lying to the American people.
ahh, but they get paid well to do it.
My guess is the people who have been able to climb the ladder of success in this leviathan government bureaucracy gave up any morals or ethics a long time ago. They are more afraid of getting tossed off the gravy train than they are of deceiving us rubes out in flyover country.
looks like they did a change up on the “Dart Board of Blame” at the WH. They removed one SS, One Bush, and added 2 Sequesters.
In May they plan to alternate the dart board with “Hoops of Cancellations”, where BO is given 10 foul line shots and based on the number he hits, will go against a numbered list of what WH tours / shows / special events will be cancelled.
MrKrueger’s remarks are not out and out lies, but are phrased to mislead and obfuscate the real reasons for the bump in unemployment.
We deserve better from our government, we deserve the truth and not this constant confrontational agenda that helps no one.
As for the constant call for more stimulus money; even if Congress allocated a trillion dollars today, it would be years before any shovel hit the ground.
They know that, we know that, so it’s time to quit lying about it.
Period.
Fortunately Gov’t unemployment fell from 6.8% to 6.6%.
If I’m not mistaken, wasn’t this sequester garbage Zippy’s idea in the first place? Until the media calls him out things are only gonna worsen. If we make it through this presidency relatively unscathed, it’ll be a miracle.
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Intresting article–even a Yale grad is worried. Unlike some so-called Millennials, she does not sound hoity-toity or all entitled…just concerned.
http://qz.com/70400/yale-senior-we-millennials-dont-stand-a-chance/
This is probably a supporter of yours, Mr Obama, let’s refocus that laser.
PS 68% of bartenders have a college degree.
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President B-Lame. The only thing missing from the lengthy list during the past 4 years+ is Mrs. O’Leary’s cow and the only reason the cow hasn’t been called out is because it was from Chicago.
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Looks like a depression to me when half of the country is on food stamps and other forms of govt. subsistance. Hardly anyone talks about the fact that when unemployment runs out, half of the recipients go directly to disability and do not show up on the unemployment rolls. Disability claims have more than doubled since Obama took office.
Obama is already talking about a national minimum wage – a sure way to create massive unemployment. Since when is the minimum wage meant to be a living wage
Finally, wait until amnesty and chain migration/family reunification occurs, not to mention the number of full-time jobs that will become part-time once Obamacare is in full swing. What are we going to do with the millions of elderly parents of the illiterate illegal aliens already in this country, not to mention their non-citizen children. Is it going to be SSI and Obamacare for all? Probably!
There are very few leading economic indicators – most either reflect what is currently happening and most seem to confirm what has already gone one. The most common leading indicator are stock market indices (not the only ones but a common one) – they’ve all been up (generally) since the “deep,” “draconian,” “damoclean sword” cuts of the sequester – if anything would have indicated that the sequester was going to have a negative impact on the economy, it would have been reflected in the stock market. It hasn’t.
BTW, the jobs number has hovered about 150k a month for the last freaking 5 years – it’s not the sequester, it’s the new normal. Welcome to Obamaland, where you get 1/2 of what you need and 2x what the liberals want to shove down your throat.
Republican state and federal legislators feign ignorance about simple cause and effect relationships:
If you are concerned about high unemployment, then you cannot scoff at the predicted impact of the sequester on the national economy — including the cascading impact on the private sector job market with its multitude of government contractors — as well as do everything in your power to induce layoffs of public employees, and then point at the resulting increase in unemployed Americans and insist that the opposition bears sole responsibility for the outcome.
I know what you’re saying here, but disagree with the concept that the government fosters prosperity. Without a vigorous private economy, the government doesn’t have any money to keep their employees or to purchase stuffs from private companies.
Simple; no jobs, no taxes paid, government broke.
sorry, bra but (with rare exceptions) fewer government workers => higher productivity (there are simply less nannies shuffling papers, annoying productive citizens).
Not to worry–they want to hire thousands and thousands of “navigators” to splain the health care law to us for $48K per or more…I thought the IRS did that.
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The blame falls squarely on the oaf in the oval office. Going on five years of his stupidity-we can’t take any more. Time to toss this clown and his pet idiots in the dumpster where they rightfully belong. We have had three druggies in a row in the White House-now you know why it is called dope.
Somewhere I read -likely on this site – that the total of jobless Americans is 30 million. And since the American population is 130 million, the jobless rate is 29%.
It’s difficult to know who to be angrier with, the o and all the valjars or the fools that voted for him/them.
However, it sure looks to me as if the o people have perfectly gamed the system, and will win re-election (no matter who they run), because they play by “the rules”.
They’ve managed to take over the Secretaries of State (who control the vote) and pretty much defeat Voter ID initiatives. As someone said (James O’Keefe?), a National Gun Registry is patriotic, but a national Voter Registry is racist.
And that’s BEFORE the new folks (immigrants, illegal, whatever) join the voting rolls. They don
t know how to read, but by God, they know how to vote.
It’s the first time in my life I was appalled to see the League of Women Voters registering high school students at the High School Musical.
Whoops – num bers wrong: jobless at 90 million – from Drudge.
Just a comment and an observation. Pres. Obama is the father and designer of Sequestration. Secondly, the felllow Kreuger reminds me of “Baghdad Bob” The economy is improving./Theer are no American tanks in Baghdad!/ /:
Sounds like some one is “stuck on stupid”. Of course that would be high Drama Obama.
it’s the only gear ‘e’s got…
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