The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) issued its October Jobs Report last week and the Unemployment Rate ticked down to 5.8%.

But don’t get too giddy.

As NPR reports, the economic metrics that matter most to Americans are still awaiting this mythical recovery that Team Obama keeps talking about.

Wages

“Linda Barrington, executive director of the Institute for Compensation Studies at Cornell University, says they’ve been inching up, barely.”

“Wages and inflation are sort of going hand in hand and have been since the recession, so people aren’t feeling like they’re getting ahead, even if they have a job,” she says.”

Long Term Unemployment Rate

“You know, when you see the longer-term unemployment numbers, those are people who have not given up, who continue to look for work, who want to work,” she says. “But for some reason an employer isn’t seeing what they’re bringing as valuable enough to hire them.”

Labor Force Participation Rate

“A lot of people are giving up,” she says. “They’re not even in the numbers; they’re not in the count. They’ve been looking for jobs for so long and can’t find the jobs that they’re simply not even trying anymore. And that is why you see this [unemployment rate] number below 6 percent looking better than it really is.”

Quit Rate

“The quit rate is still relatively low. Economist Tara Sinclair, with the jobs website Indeed, says we actually want more people quitting their jobs.”

“The reason it’s a good thing for people to be quitting their job is because that suggests that they’re optimistic about their labor market choices,” she says.”

People Who Would Rather Be Employed Full Time

“That number is still very elevated, which suggests that even though the employment numbers look pretty good, if people aren’t getting the type of job that they want there’s still room for improvement,” Sinclair says.”

It’s odd that nowhere in this NPR article does the author attempt to arrive at reasons why we are still waiting for that much expected recovery from the latest recession.

Nothing about increased government regulation, a Federal takeover of the US healthcare system, the highest corporate tax rate in the world, ballooning national debt or exploding entitlement programs.

It’s like these lingering economic problems are just the result of dumb luck or something.
It probably has nothing to do with the guy who has resided at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for the past 6 years.

At least not according to NPR.