I am too busy to write anything useful, so figure this out yourself.

NYT, 1/9/10:

U.S. Job Losses in December Dim Hopes for Quick Upswing

By PETER S. GOODMAN

The government said the economy shed 85,000 jobs last month, surprising forecasters, while the unemployment rate held steady at 10 percent.

Each month, we lose tens of thousands of jobs and consider a drop in the number of those filing for unemployment to be a great news. So, how do we lose all these jobs and the unemployment rate remains at 10 percent?

It is the same logic as the recent TIPS discussion - The government is in charge of making up the key numbers. In our regular lives, we call that fraud.

Below is a chart from Shadowstats Check there for several graphs. They are all revealing. Check out the M 1 supply and the dollar value. Then buy silver.

The fantasy figure these days is 10%. We live in one of the best economies in the nation, now, so think about how many people do you know are out of work?

See any trends below?

Pop quiz tomorrow.

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Alternate Unemployment Charts

The seasonally-adjusted SGS Alternate Unemployment Rate reflects current unemployment reporting methodology adjusted for SGS-estimated long-term discouraged workers, who were defined out of official existence in 1994. That estimate is added to the BLS estimate of U-6 unemployment, which includes short-term discouraged workers.

The U-3 unemployment rate is the monthly headline number. The U-6 unemployment rate is the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) broadest unemployment measure, including short-term discouraged and other marginally-attached workers as well as those forced to work part-time because they cannot find full-time employment.

Unemployment Data Series