9.0%!!!

The unemployment rate for April 2011 rose .02% up to 9.0%. Although 244,000 jobs were created last month the unemployment rate still rose showing just how many people are really out of work. President Barack Obama got a modest bounce from the capture and death of Osama Bin Laden; however, lets see how long lived that is when 9.0% unemployment numbers face the American people.

Employment increased more than expected in April as private companies created jobs at the fastest pace in five years, pointing to underlying strength in the economy, even though the jobless rate rose to 9.0 percent.

Nonfarm payrolls rose 244,000 last month, the most in 11 months, the Labor Department said on Friday. The private sector accounted for all of the job gains last month, with payrolls rising 268,000, the largest rise since February 2006.

How convoluted and misleading is the unemployment number? Months ago when few jobs were created, the overall unemployment rate went down as many had just given up looking for a job. Now, as stated above, employment increased more than expected but yet the overall unemployment rate rose to 9.0%. The fact of the matter is that there are so many people out of work, discouraged and underemployed that the unemployment number is skewed. Add the 99′s to the mix and the actual number of people who are unemployed will be a burden and drag on Obama in his bid for reelection.

Gallup has unemployment at 9.4% and underemployment at 19.3% which is probably a better indicator as to what the real unemployment numbers are in the United States.

Hmm, let’s remember this VP Biden quote for the future, the US. economy would create 100,000 to 200,000 jobs next month, with a rise to 250,000 to 500,000 jobs per month soon afterward.

UPDATE I: 63,000 of the above jobs came from mass  McDonald’s job hire. The point made here is that is not a hiring trend, that is a massive one time hiringpalooza. So lets not get too giddy about more jobs than predicted. Some of these jobs are one time hiring much like how the “cash for clunker’s program affected car sales.