Rick Santelli Slams CNBC Panelists for Spinning 'Disappointing' Jobs Report
Jobs are heading up and down at the same time. The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced the morning of Feb. 4 that only 36,000 jobs were added in the month of January, but the unemployment rate dropped from 9.4 percent to 9.0 percent.
The mainstream news media will likely latch on to the dropping unemployment rate, despite job gains that were less than one-fourth of the consensus estimate of 148,000 jobs added. One of the CNBC panelists noted that the increase was "way below consensus."
CNBC's Rick Santelli even lashed out at some of the CNBC "Squawk Box" panel that were discussing the latest jobs report. (VIDEO BELOW FOLD)
"[W]e have overwhelming evidence the jobs market is disappointing, and all of you are trying to look for that one half of spaghetti in a 50 lb. spaghetti bowl. This is not great data," Santelli claimed. "We know that the U6 probably gives you a better indication of the true unemployment rate …"
CNBC's Steve Liesman interjected: "It went down, Rick. It went down - "
"Yeah, what is it?" asked Santelli.
"It went down Rick, to 16.1 [percent]," Liesman said.
"Oh boy, guys! 16.1 [percent] is probably the unemployment rate. That's cause celebre," Rick sarcastically shouted on the trading floor of the Chicago mercantile exchange.
"But it fell from 16.7," Liesman insisted.
Santelli continued to criticize the spin: "You know what Steve? You and I both know that the unemployment rate, the labor force moving in and out, those giving up, is really probably your best statistical reason for the drop to 9.0 (percent). And in terms of jobs, you, Mr. Steve Liesman, said if you work just one day. If you stay home but you get paid you're counted in the data …"
"Right - it shouldn't be weather," Liesman acknowledged. Some of the panelists including Moody's economist Mark Zandi had blamed weather for drops in construction and other sectors.
"So this is probably less distorted," Santelli concluded.
But the fact that the two different economic surveys conducted by the BLS were moving in different directions was baffling to many. Even the liberal Economic Policy Institute noted on its blog that the picture was "muddled."
"Given the confounding nature of this report, we will have to wait at least another month to see if the labor market is rebounding strongly," Heidi Shierholz wrote for EPI.
- Julia A. Seymour's blog
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Comments
Exactly what many
Submitted by dirtydan64 on Fri, 02/04/2011 - 11:47am.
on Varney & Co. were saying as well, maybe Rick should quit the CNBC gig and join the FOX Business Network where he would be appriciated more then on the CNBC Cast of hacks !!!
These people
Submitted by StarAZ on Fri, 02/04/2011 - 12:27pm.
They are funnier than Austan Goolsbee--and he is a part-time standup comedian!
Wait another month?
Submitted by Ashrak on Fri, 02/04/2011 - 11:49am.
There is that "hope and change" angle.
Later, we will see a revision of these numbers that admits the reality. This sham was put out for one reason and one reason only - to STALL.
Do you know why they want to wait a while? All that "earned income credit" money will be flowing now and businesses will be selling lots of flat screen tv's and new phones as a result.
Watch, Obama's economy will soon be claimed as experiencing an awesome rebound, just like it was regarding cash for clunkers. And then when the after affects set in, the Obama cabal will fudge the numbers like this example yet again.
Americans are finally waking up to the game because they can see before their own eyes that the numbers foisted upon them just don't add up.
Oil is on the rise and so is gasoline. We are headed to that four dollar mark again and there is no stopping it now. Obama could affect it and so could Congress but neither will do so. It is gonna get worse, folks, before it gets better. I hope people are preparing the best they can, we are in for a bumpy ride.
Don't you think though that $4 a gallon gas...
Submitted by Red Jeep on Fri, 02/04/2011 - 12:12pm.
...would lead to an overwhelming Democrat defeat in the next Presidential election?
It might also for once and for all end the grip of environmental laws making us dependent on foreign oil. Glad to see ads now on TV showing how one oil well can extract energy from many different areas underground.
"Contempt citation for the administration in deep water...
Submitted by Red Jeep on Fri, 02/04/2011 - 12:40pm.
...drilling ban"
http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2011/02/ccontempt_citation_for_the_adm.html
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-03/u-s-administration-in-contempt-over-gulf-drill-ban-judge-rules.html
Can someone explain this to
Submitted by bkeyser on Fri, 02/04/2011 - 12:18pm.
Can someone explain this to me? The AP piece that Drudge has linked opens with:
Followed immediately by:
And the 10th of 13 paragraphs adds:
So, 500,000 found jobs and 464,000 lost jobs? And the rate went down by nearly 4%? I realize this "survey" doesn't count those who have given up searching for a job, but didn't the Lame Duck just extend unemployment benefits in December?
I'm confused.
hello BKeyser
Submitted by Hoosier Conservative on Fri, 02/04/2011 - 12:30pm.
The payroll survey doesn't count self-employed and it also doesn't count freelance contractors. I am an IT recruiter by trade. Trust me, there are lots of people taking three or six month gigs and getting paid through 1099 forms. People who do get work have to put in twice as much effort for much less compensation. And even if someone's unemployment benefits get extended, if it's been two years a lot of them have moved in with family and just stopped looking.
Hoosier
Submitted by bkeyser on Fri, 02/04/2011 - 12:49pm.
Yeah, I get that, but if the self-employed (I am one also; I'm and architectural designer/construction consultant and freelance contractor in home improvements) and "undocumented" freelancers working for cash or 1099's were counted, the 9.0% would conceivably be lower. What I'm wondering is why the rate dropped by nearly 4% when only 36,000 net new jobs were added? By extending the UI, those folks would still be counted as unemployed and looking; and I made the assumption -presumably wrong, I guess- that with the extension of benefits, not nearly as many people dropped out of the employment market.
I don't know, the whole thing seems baffling to me; the games played by this administration in conjunction with a complicit media almost make this look like someone is simply fudging the numbers.
As an aside- it is interesting to see how the weather is used as an excuse for, or against these reports. The AP blames January snows for a diminished increase in hiring, yet whenever the numbers come out showing a jump in layoffs, they blame the weather for slow reporting during the week prior- causing a spike. Now I'm thinking this all has something to do with global warming.
Or Sarah Palin.
The extension on unemployment
Submitted by astonrickenbach on Fri, 02/04/2011 - 12:56pm.
The extension on unemployment was more of a continuation than an extension adding to the 99 weeks. The orginal extension ended up taking the 26 weeks to 99 weeks. In December, the extension was going to end and go back to 26 weeks. Therefore, those caught in 26 to 99 weeks would immediately lose their benefits.
The "extension" was to continue the 99 weeks not to add additional weeks ontop of the 99 weeks.
So people are still falling off at 99 weeks.
Ah
Submitted by bkeyser on Fri, 02/04/2011 - 1:32pm.
thanks for the clarification- that does make sense.
you also have to consider
Submitted by Hoosier Conservative on Fri, 02/04/2011 - 1:02pm.
Those jobs back in November/December (the holiday retail stuff) were temporary part time jobs. When they got laid off, they don't even qualify for unemployment checks and they don't count as being unemployed. Same with freelancers. The unemployment extension only benefits educated workers who were entrenched in getting those checks. It does nothing to help those getting laid off right now.
The government loves to save their cake and eat it too. They're all about counting part time retail jobs when they come up, then they totally ignore those layoffs and throw those people under the bus when those jobs disappear.
Hmmm
Submitted by bkeyser on Fri, 02/04/2011 - 1:37pm.
They count a guy who works one day as employed and don't count those laid off and either ineligible for -or as yet unwilling to file for unemployment. Thanks. That does help my understanding. I was sorta right then- it's all rigged to minimize the negative.
Or, maybe it's Barry's laser-like focus that has helped to bring down the number. My guess is that's what Katie Couric says tonight.
What a joke.
note one crystal clear example of this
Submitted by Hoosier Conservative on Fri, 02/04/2011 - 3:07pm.
Look at how they say hiring is down because bad weather delayed construction. But who is it out there in the field doing the physical labor, the ones who can't show up in bad weather? Most of them are contracted construction guys. Exactly the ones who get no unemployment checks between gigs. Their jobs count, their layoffs don't.
Just in...
Submitted by StarAZ on Fri, 02/04/2011 - 2:10pm.
Sarah Palin CAUSED global warming or cooling, or whatever is accounting for my cold feet in AZ.
Don't be confused based on the MSM glowing analysis.
Submitted by Conservator on Fri, 02/04/2011 - 1:43pm.
Why did unemployment drop to 9%? Because about 500,000 people dropped out of the workforce, which skewed the percentage of unemployed lower despite the small increase in actual payrolls. But the cheerleaders of Pres. Obama in the MSM won't focus on this little but most important fact.
Thanks Conservator
Submitted by bkeyser on Fri, 02/04/2011 - 2:29pm.
Zerohedge as a pretty good description:
So I guess my next question is: Why? Why are people not looking for work and who is providing for those that aren't? Is this largely a result of the entitlement mentality?
who is providing?
Submitted by Hoosier Conservative on Fri, 02/04/2011 - 3:20pm.
They either move in with their family, take out loans to go to school, or join the military. Or when the checks stop coming, they do manual labor around their neighborhood for extra cash under the table. Or the best they can get is working 15 hours a week at McDonald's and then the government deems them no longer unemployed.
If you break down the stats of unemployment, the average recipient of an unemployment check right now is a skilled worker who has been out of work for more than six months. These are not typically your welfare queens.
Yet we still have more and more immigrant workers coming here on H-1B visas. If an American is not willing to work 12 hour days for the lowest possible salary, they won't get the gig.
We have an economy
Submitted by donabernathy on Fri, 02/04/2011 - 12:18pm.
Based upon selling each other cell phone and cable TV plans.
If we spend money at Wal-Mart, the money goes to China. If we spend it on gasoline it goes to the Arabs. If we buy a computer it will go to India. If we purchase fruit and vegetables it will go to Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala. If we purchase a good car it will go to Germany. If we purchase useless crap it will go to Taiwan and none of it will help the American economy. The only way to keep that money here at home is to spend it on prostitutes and beer, since these are the only products still produced in the US. "I've been doing my part."
roflmao
global economy
Submitted by milootoole on Fri, 02/04/2011 - 1:00pm.
donabernaty-
what part of "global" economy do you not understand? Can't you understand it is your duty to support the economies of all nations. You need to stop thinking of yourself as an American consumer, but as a world consumer.
So your kids can't find work?? A small problem. If they ever do, they can buy everything cheaper. Doesn't that send a thrill up your leg?? When you are reading to your child, or grandchild, at night, can't you comfort them with the explanation of "competitive advantage"?
The ones that do have jobs can revel in the fact that they are being taxed to support the education of a horde of invaders, who, I am sure, will go back to their native lands with their newly acquired , (at your progenies' expense), knowledge and build better. stronger countries with more prosperous communities to buy all the goods produced by the blue collar workers of America.
I fear, sir , that you may be a racist, xenophobic, protectionist. Open your heart, your borders and your wallet and you will be free. Help democracy to grow throughout the world, (at your childrens' expense), it will set you free.
donabernathy, you are correct. I just had to vent some spleen at the liberal mindset of some Americans, (and , a few on this site).
PS
I hope you are frequenting American prostitutes and shunning Corona beer.
US Mfg
Submitted by astonrickenbach on Fri, 02/04/2011 - 1:51pm.
Whoda thunk?
"Yet America remains by far the No. 1 manufacturing country. It out-produces No. 2 China by more than 40 percent. U.S. manufacturers cranked out nearly $1.7 trillion in goods in 2009, according to the United Nations."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110131/ap_on_bi_ge/us_economy_manufacturing
more on this issue
Submitted by milootoole on Fri, 02/04/2011 - 2:37pm.
Mark Perry, a visiting scholar at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, likens the loss of manufacturing jobs to the exodus of workers from farms between the 19th and 20th centuries. If that migration hadn't happened, Perry says, "we'd still have millions of people working in agriculture. Now, we can employ fewer people in factories."
But the transition can be painful, he concedes.
The U.S. remains No. 1 in global manufacturing, accounting for 18 percent of global manufacturing output in 2008. But China is catching up. Its share of manufacturing output jumped from about 6 percent in 1998 to 15 percent in 2008.
Critics have a ready explanation for that: unfair competition.
Robert Scott of the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute says China is cheating in world markets — keeping its currency artificially low to make Chinese products less expensive overseas and unfairly subsidizing its exporters.
Scott and other critics want to see the Obama administration support U.S. manufacturers by pressuring Beijing to drop the subsidies and let its currency rise freely. A higher-valued Chinese currency would make U.S. exports cheaper for Chinese consumers.
Ya make'n a lot of assumptions there ....sport
Submitted by donabernathy on Fri, 02/04/2011 - 4:49pm.
milootoole
"racist, xenophobic, protectionist"..... The fact of the matter is... America is getting it's clock cleaned as it relates to Manufacturing... I don't recall ... mentioning a cause or remedy for that matter... but you seem to want to set up strawmen and make an argument that I am calling for some sort of isolationist, protectionist actions. Feel free to point out where I have said any such thing. I'll be wait'n... take ya time.....while I enjoy another Jack Daniels.
roflmao
well sport-
Submitted by milootoole on Fri, 02/04/2011 - 6:22pm.
Don-
I meant no slight to you. As a matter of fact, I was being sarcastic about the spew from some of our leading economists.
I am sorry if you took my sarcasm as directed at you. I agree with what you wrote.
I know our mfg is screwed.
Again, I apologize if my writing style makes it appear I was blaming or otherwise maligning you.
Guess I better lay off the Jack Black
Submitted by donabernathy on Fri, 02/04/2011 - 7:02pm.
I stand corrected. Yum .....crow a la scarasm.
roflmao
A much better indicator of
Submitted by PeterStone on Fri, 02/04/2011 - 12:40pm.
A much better indicator of the jobs market month-to-month and yearly is the "labor force participation rate". It droped 2.2 million in 2010. Add those numbers to the unemployment numbers and it is scary.
http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/images/user5/imageroot/Labo...
Attention Fox Business: Hire that man!
Submitted by jawebster1 on Fri, 02/04/2011 - 1:11pm.
Rick Santelli is someone who sees the truth and is not afraid to say the truth. He needs to move to Fox so more people can hear the truth!
No jobs added but we have 4% unemployment! Hail Obama!
Submitted by JLin on Fri, 02/04/2011 - 3:49pm.
Cook the books then declare victory. That's the ticket! Jeez, even a dimwitted Detroit high schooler could see through this crap.