Bush Oversees Unemployment and Misery
George W. Bush and his father share more than a last name. Reports show that August's unemployment rate increased past the level initially forecast, rising to 6.1 percent. But even more disturbing is the fact that the misery index -- unemployment aggregated with inflation -- also soared to its highest level since 1991, when George H.W. Bush was in office.
George W. Bush and his father share more than a last name. Reports show that August’s unemployment rate increased past the level initially forecast, rising to 6.1 percent. But even more disturbing is the fact that the misery index — unemployment aggregated with inflation — also soared to its highest level since 1991, when George H.W. Bush was in office.
WAIT BEFORE YOU GO...Bloomberg:
The U.S. lost more jobs than forecast in August and the unemployment rate climbed to a five-year high of 6.1 percent, a sign that the economic slowdown is worsening two months before Americans elect their next president.
Payrolls fell by 84,000 in August, and revisions added another 58,000 to job losses for the prior two months, the Labor Department said today in Washington. The increase in the jobless rate sent the misery index, which adds unemployment to inflation, to 11.7 percent, the highest level since 1991.
Treasuries gained as some traders bet the Federal Reserve’s next move will be to cut interest rates, rather than raise them, and stocks sank. Today’s figures increase the risk that President George W. Bush will become the first president since Richard Nixon to oversee two recessions, and may hurt fellow Republican John McCain’s campaign to succeed him.
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A look at the day's political happenings, including August fundraising totals for both presidential candidates and Jon Stewart's latest epic takedown of Fox News.
Not a single American service member died in Iraq in August, a first since the U.S. invasion of the country in 2003. (more)
With the death of a US service member Friday, August now stands as the deadliest month ever for U forces in Afghanistan Forty-five American troops have been killed so far this month, a disturbing sign that conditions in the nearly decade-long war are not getting any better.
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