Unemployment dropped - or did it?

You may have heard that the monthly jobs report for September just came out, and that the unemployment rate dropped from 8.2% to 7.8%.  Not really.

In fact, the "real" unemployment number was unchanged from last month at 14.7%.  Why is this number so much higher than the widely reported 7.8% number?  Because it includes those who are underemployed and those who have given up looking for jobs.

But let's assume that unemployment really is below 8%.  This is the first time in President Obama's entire term that the rate has been below 8% (though it was never that high under President Bush).  Isn't that great news for America -- and for the President?

It's good for the President, but unfortunately not for America.  The jobs report says that 114,000 jobs were added last month.  America's population grows by roughly 150,000 to 225,000 per month.  If two-thirds of those new Americans need to have jobs (and that's roughly accurate), then we need to add over 120,000 jobs per month just to keep pace with our population growth.

This economy is not improving at an acceptable pace -- if it is improving at all.