On the heels of a new jobs report out on Tuesday morning which showed a record 4.5 million workers quit their jobs in November, NBC Nightly News went into damage control mode that evening by trying to spin for the Biden Administration.
In a segment that lasted 51 seconds, Lester Holt turned to NBC business correspondent Stephanie Ruhle to put a happy face on the jobs numbers. She started off by stressing that “the headline is dramatic but it doesn't tell the whole story.” She went on to say that there is a "workforce shift" taking place in the economy and the worsening pandemic is a big part of the powershift:
People in lower-wage jobs like retail and hospitality have higher exposure to Covid and a lot more stress these days with frustrated customers. Many of them are moving into work from home jobs or more secure environments like warehouses. The good news though, all of this is a sign of economic strength.
Rule claimed this is all a good thing that millions of Americans are quitting their jobs en masse, which is surely contributing to a strain on the supply chains. She argued right now workers have leverage over employers which means “higher pay, better perks.”
At the end of her report, Ruhle made a complete 180 degree turn from her previous comments in November that people can afford higher prices caused by inflation by admitting:
The downside across the board, wages aren't moving up as fast as inflation is. And Lester [Holt], higher pay doesn't mean much when everything costs more.
This is the complete opposite of what Ruhle said late last year about inflation. What’s changed?
As NewsBusters deputy managing editor Nick Fondacaro documented on November 14, Ruhle thumbed her nose at middle-class Americans struggling to pay for groceries, or put gas in their cars by lecturing them:
The dirty little secret here, Willie [Geist], while nobody likes to pay more, on average we have the money to do so.
Ruhle has proven time and time again that she has no clue how the economy or business works, and she’s definitely oblivious to the struggles of everyday Americans.
This segment of an economically illiterate NBC News correspondent trying to spin bad economic news for Democrats was made possible by lucrative sponsorships from Wayfair & Liberty Mutual. Their information is linked so you can let them know about the biased news they fund.
Read the transcript of this segment below by clicking "expand":
NBC Nightly News
1/4/2022
7:10:16 PM
LESTER HOLT: Let’s turn to that report on jobs. A record 4.5 million people quit their jobs in November while the month ended with 10.6 million jobs open. Our Stephanie Ruhle joins us. Stephanie, what's behind these numbers?
STEPHANIE RUHLE (NBC BUSINESS REPORTER): Lester, the headline is dramatic but it doesn't tell the whole story. What we're seeing is a workforce shift. People in lower-wage jobs like retail and hospitality have higher exposure to Covid and a lot more stress these days with frustrated customers. Many of them are moving into work from home jobs or more secure environments like warehouses. The good news though, all of this is a sign of economic strength. That so many can quit and find other work and they are gaining leverage with employers. Right now higher pay, better perks, but the downside across the board, wages aren't moving up as fast as inflation is. And Lester, higher pay doesn't mean much when everything costs more.
HOLT: Alright Stephanie, thanks for putting it in perspective.
