The Dems’ Record: Longest 8%+ Unemployment Streak Since Great Depression

 Latest Unemployment Report Showcases the Economic Misery Resulting from the Democrats’ Record of Failure

• The February unemployment report released today continued to highlight the economic misery created by the Democrats’ failed policies, with unemployment remaining unacceptably high and labor force participation still strikingly low, reflecting the high number of discouraged workers who have dropped out of the labor force.
• Housing and construction, typically key components of any economic recovery, still remain weak, with the construction sector losing 13,000 jobs in February. Yet Democrats are insisting on recycling their failed housing policies despite the fact that they have not worked.
• The Democrats also continue to actively sabotage efforts at new job creation in the energy sector. Just this week the Democrats yet again blocked the Keystone pipeline which would create thousands of shovel-ready jobs.

The February unemployment report released today continued to highlight the economic misery created by the Democrats’ failed policies, with unemployment remaining unacceptably high and labor force participation still strikingly low, reflecting the high number of discouraged workers who have dropped out of the labor force:

“8.3% UNEMPLOYMENT EXTENDS LONGEST STREAK OF 8.0%+ UNEMPLOYMENT RATE SINCE GREAT DEPRESSION”: (Tweet from James Pethokoukis, The American, 3/9/2012)

DEMOCRATS PREDICTED UNEMPLOYMENT WOULD BE ABOUT 6 PERCENT IF WE PASSED THEIR $800 BILLION STIMULUS: (“Revisiting Unemployment Projections,” e21, 6/7/2011)

49 MONTHS SINCE U.S. HIT PEAK EMPLOYMENT IN JANUARY 2008: “But America remains mired in the longest jobs recession since the Great Depression. It’s been 49 months since the U.S. hit peak employment in January 2008. And with nonfarm payrolls still 5.33 million below their old high, the jobs slump will continue for several more years.” (Ed Carson, “Jobs Recession Now 49 Months: Longest Since WWII,” Investor’s Business Daily, 3/9/2012) 

LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION AT 63.9%, DOWN FROM 65.7% WHEN OBAMA TOOK OFFICE: (Labor Force Participation Rate, “Databases, Tables & Calculators by Subject,” Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 3/9/2012) 

10.8% UNEMPLOYMENT IF LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION SAME AS WHEN OBAMA TOOK OFFICE: “10.8%: the unemployment rate if labor force participation was the same as when Obama took office in Jan. 2009” (Tweet from James Pethokoukis, The American, 3/9/2012) 

AT CURRENT RATE OF JOB CREATION, WOULD TAKE FIVE MORE YEARS TO GET TO 2007 LOW UNEMPLOYMENT RATE OF 4.4%: “In May of 2007, the unemployment rate was 4.4%. Even at 225,000 jobs a month, we would not get there for 5 more years” (Tweet from James Pethokoukis, The American, 3/9/2012)

LAST JOBS REPORT SHOWED UNDEREMPLOYMENT RATE AT 14.9%: (Table A-15, “Alternative Measures of Labor Underutilization,” Bureau of Labor Statistics, 3/8/2012)

Housing and construction, typically key components of any economic recovery, still remain weak, with the construction sector losing 13,000 jobs in February. Yet Democrats are insisting on recycling their failed housing policies despite the fact that they have not worked: 

13,000 CONSTRUCTION JOBS LOST IN FEBRUARY: (Table B-1, “Employees on Nonfarm Payrolls by Industry Sector and Selected Industry Detail,” Bureau of Labor Statistics, 3/9/2012) 

OBAMA CONCEDES FAILURE OF HIS PREVIOUS HOUSING EFFORTS BY ONCE AGAIN “ANNOUNC[ING] NEW HOUSING INITIATIVES”: (“Obama Announces New Housing Initiatives,” Associated Press, 3/6/2012) 

12 MILLION HOMEOWNERS—20% OF MORTGAGE HOLDERS—WERE UNDERWATER ON MORTGAGES AT THE BEGINNING OF THE YEAR:“Currently, about 12 million homeowners are

underwater on their mortgages  (figure 3)–more than one out of  five homes with a mortgage.” (Ben Bernanke, “The U.S. Housing Market: Current Conditions and Policy Considerations,” U.S. Federal Reserve, 1/4/2012)

MILLIONS OF HOMES FORECLOSED SINCE 2009, MILLIONS MORE ON THE VERGE: “Meanwhile, 2.5 million homes have been lost to foreclosure since 2009, an additional 4 million are in the foreclosure process or seriously delinquent, and home prices are still falling in much of the U.S., shrinking household wealth for millions of Americans.” (Julie Schmit, “What Went Wrong With Foreclosure Aid Programs?”, USA Today, 12/12/2011)

“ALPHABET SOUP” OF PAST OBAMA HOUSING PROGRAMS: “HAMP, HARP, EHLP, 2MP”… HUH?: “That’s a big if, given that the alphabet soup of housing assistance programs to date — HAMP, HARP, EHLP, 2MP — have been too poorly administered and too limited in scope and eligibility to slow or halt the slide in the U.S. housing market.” (Eric Wieffering, “Fixing Economy Requires More Work on Housing,” Minneapolis Star Tribune, 9/17/2011)

BUT WHAT THEY ALL HAVE IN COMMON IS THAT “EVERY PROGRAM HAS FALLEN SHORT OF GOALS”: “ ‘Every program has fallen far short of goals. I can’t think of one that’s been largely successful,’ says John Dodds, director of the Philadelphia Unemployment Project, a non-profit that’s been involved in foreclosure prevention for decades.” (Julie Schmit, “What Went Wrong With Foreclosure Aid Programs?”, USA Today, 12/12/2011)

OBAMA HOUSING PROGRAMS “FALL FAR SHORT OF GOALS,” HELPING ONLY A FRACTION OF THOSE INTENDED: “President Obama pledged at the beginning of his term to boost the nation’s crippled housing market and help as many as 9 million homeowners avoid losing their homes to foreclosure. Nearly three years later, it hasn’t worked out. Obama has spent just $2.4 billion of the $50 billion he promised. The initiatives he announced have helped 1.7 million people. Housing prices remain near a crisis low. Millions of people are deeply indebted, owing more than their properties are worth, and many have lost their homes to foreclosure or are likely to do so. Economists increasingly say that, as a result, Americans are too scared to spend money, depriving the economy of its traditional engine of growth.” (Zachary A. Goldfarb, “Obama’s Efforts to Aid Homeowners, Boost Housing Market Fall Far Short of Goals,” The Washington Post, 10/23/2011)

The Democrats also continue to actively sabotage efforts at new job creation in the energy sector. Just this week the Democrats yet again blocked the Keystone pipeline which would create thousands of shovel-ready jobs:

OBAMA LOBBIED DEMS TO REJECT KEYSTONE XL PIPELINE, AGAIN:“President Barack Obama is intervening in a Senate fight over the Keystone XL oil pipeline and personally lobbying Democrats to reject an amendment calling for its construction, according to several sources familiar with the talks.”(Manu Raju, “Obama Lobbying Dems Over Keystone XL Pipeline,” Politico, 3/7/2012)

OBAMA MADE PERSONAL PHONE CALLS TO TOP DEMS OUT OF FEAR OF GIVING “ELECTION-YEAR FODDER” TO GOP, NEVER MIND THE JOBS AT STAKE: “The White House lobbying effort, including phone calls from the president to Democrats, signals that the vote could be close when it heads to the floor Thursday. The president is trying to defeat an amendment that would give election-year fodder to his Republican critics who have accused him of blocking a job-creating energy project at a time of high gas prices.” (Manu Raju, “Obama Lobbying Dems Over Keystone XL Pipeline,” Politico, 3/7/2012)

OBAMA THROWS 20,000 “SHOVEL-READY” JOBS IN THE DUMPSTER: (Editorial, “Keystone Cop-Out,” The Wall Street Journal, 11/11/2011) 

LONG-TERM JOBS IMPACT: UP TO 130,000 JOBS: “Many of those 20,000 jobs on the construction of the pipeline would have been filled by skilled union members. Eventually, the completed pipeline was expected to result in as many as 130,000 jobs, many of them on the upper Texas Coast, where the heavy oil would be refined into 700,000 barrels of oil daily.” (Editorial, “Keystone Pipeline is the Wrong Call,” The Houston Chronicle, 11/11/2011) 

A WEEK AGO, THE WHITE HOUSE WAS TRYING TO HAVE IT BOTH WAYS ON KEYSTONE PIPELINE, SUPPORTING PART OF IT WHILE “TRYING NOT TO ANGER ITS LIBERAL BASE BY APPROVING THE PIPELINE”: “The rapid response from White House spokesman Jay Carney underscores the political sensitivity of the proposed pipeline and Obama’s balancing act. The White House is trying not to anger its liberal base by approving the pipeline, but at the same time is publicly saying TransCanada should keep working on an alternative route through Nebraska.” (Darren Goode, “Keystone XL Start Welcomed By Obama,” Politico, 2/27/2012) 

BUT 66% OF AMERICANS SUPPORT KEYSTONE APPROVAL: “The Pew Research Center poll released Thursday finds 66 percent who have heard about the issue say the proposed pipeline to bring oil sands from Alberta to Gulf Coast refineries should be approved, while 23 percent say it shouldn’t.”(Ben Geman, “Poll Shows Support for Keystone Pipeline, Environmental Regulations,” The Hill, 2/23/2012)

CANADA WARNED IT WOULD TURN TO CHINA FOR OIL EXPORTS AFTER OBAMA’S KEYSTONE DECISION: “President Barack Obama’s decision yesterday to reject a permit for TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone XL oil pipeline may prompt Canada to turn to China for oil exports.” (Theophilis Arigitis and Jeremy Loon, “Obama Keystone Denial Prompts Canada to Focus on China,” Bloomberg, 1/19/2012)