Employment: Household Survey Up Big Time

Here we go again. The Labor Department’s Employment Situation Summary released today shows employment down by 20,000 jobs—if you look at the Establishment Survey, the data obtained from employers.

But if you look at the Household Survey, the survey of people, asking them whether they are employed or not, then you get a different story, a radically different story. In the Household Survey employment is up by a shattering 362,000 jobs. This number comes about equally from a reduction in unemployment of 189,000 and an increase in the labor force of 173,000

So which do you believe? The headline “jobs” reported by the mainstream media or the Household Survey data?

Really, we are getting two ccompletely different stories. The employers are reporting that we are in a recession, and the nation’s households are reporting that we are getting out of a recession.

The difference is pretty significant. Who is right? Tune in for next month’s exciting episode.