Two months ago, NewsBusters asked when the Obama-loving media would get around to reporting the poor quality of jobs being created in this economy.
On Friday, the NBC Nightly News did just that in a surprising segment that included a reporter actually saying, "Of the eight hundred forty-eight thousand jobs created this year, nearly two thirds are part-time" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
BRIAN WILLIAMS, HOST: There is news this evening about American jobs and the long slog of recovery for so many Americans. There were one hundred sixty-nine thousand new jobs produced in August, pretty modest number as they go. The unemployment rate ticked down to 7.3 percent but largely because, they say, fewer people are even looking for jobs. And an old plot line is back again. A lot of the jobs they`re finding are part-time with low wages and few benefits. That story tonight from NBC`s John Yang.
(Begin VT)
SCOTT NEAL: You know, I`d like to talk to you about the legal issues you`re having.
JOHN YANG: Attorney Scott Neal bills lots of hours not all of them at a law firm. He`s also a YMCA building supervisor, and takes the odd tree-trimming job when he can. Altogether he hopes to make fifteen thousand dollars this year. And at twenty-six--
SCOTT NEAL: Need one more plate.
JOHN YANG: --he still lives with his parents.
When you went to law school, is this what you had envisioned?
SCOTT NEAL: No. No. Not at all. The judge denied it.
JOHN YANG: Neal says his job hunt after law school was bleak.
SCOTT NEAL: If you got an interview somewhere, it was really good. And usually that didn`t pan out, but it was nice to, at least, get an interview.
JOHN YANG: Neal`s struggle highlights how soft the recovery is. Of the eight hundred forty-eight thousand jobs created this year, nearly two thirds are part-time.
STEVE LIESMAN (CNBC): That tells us there is a little bit of tentativeness out there among some employers for hiring people full-time.
To be honest, I'm having a hard time determining where NBC got this data from.
The on-screen graphic said "BLS," but I show somewhat different numbers using both the Establishment and Household surveys.
In addition, last month our friend at Zero Hedge calculated that 77 percent of the jobs created through July 31 were part-time.
Regardless, it was still astonishing to see NBC News file this report.
Maybe if they and other outlets had shared this information with the public during last year's presidential campaign, the results would have been different.
I guess the folks at NBC feel comfortable reporting such bad economic news to the public in an off-election year.
Figures.
(HT Right Pundit)
