Will the True Wage Report Please Stand Up

The Labor Department, in releasing the weekly unemployment claims number, also released wage data for March.  As Reuters news is reporting:

Private sector wages and salaries were up 2.8 percent in the 12 months through March, the biggest gain since the third quarter of 2008, after rising 2.2 percent in the 12 months through December.

The only problem with this 2.8% increase is that it isn't consistent with the Employment Situation Report for March from another government agency: the Bureau of Labor and Statistics.  That report, in Table B (page 5), says that average weekly private-sector wages only rose 2.1% from $839.73 in March 2014 to $857.67 in March 2015; just barely above the core annual inflation rate of 1.8%.  

Does the Obama Administration think people are too dumb to compare two separate reports for their accuracy and consistency?  Is this a politically motivated report to counter GOP Presidential candidates and their increasing focus on the poor wage growth under Obama? 

References:

U.S. jobless claims at 15-year low; consumer spending rises: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/30/us-usa-economy-idUSKBN0NL1JT20150430

THE  EMPLOYMENT  SITUATION  — M ARCH  2015: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf

In rounding out the Labor Department’s report, core inflation advanced 1.8% on a year-over-year basis after gaining 1.7% in the 12 months ending February and 1.6% through January:  http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/inflation/us-inflation-in-march-rises-0-2-annual-rate-declines/10001692/

Restoring the American Dream: Economy & Jobs | GOP: https://www.gop.com/platform/restoring-the-american-dream/

Obama's Labor Department Continues To Campaign For Him With Questionable Jobs Numbers

Last Friday, Obama's Labor Department suddenly found 873,000 workers who "miraculously" came out of hiding and found jobs.  This was the largest increase in the workforce in 29 years; driving the unemployment rate down below 8% to 7.8%.  Conveniently, this "great news" came just a month before the elections.   Now, just 6 days later, we have another Obama-benefiting number from that same Labor Department:  First time jobless claims dropped by a whopping 30,000 last week.  The biggest drop in 4-1/2 years.

With nothing in the Labor Department's official press release to explain this sudden downturn in job losses, the Wall Street Journal had to chase down a Department of Labor's economist for the reason.  The response they got was reported as follows:

"...a Labor economist said one "large" state didn't report additional quarterly figures as expected, accounting for a substantial part of the decrease."

This is total dishonesty by, again, a Labor Department that seems to be manipulating the numbers in the President's favor. There wasn't a single comment, or footnote, or asterisk in their press release to make the above fact known.  The Labor Department simply published the numbers as fact.  As a result, we get unbridled headlines like "Jobless Claims Plunge" and the "Biggest Drop In 4-1/2 years".   All benefiting Obama ahead of the election.

--- Labor Department Press Release: http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/eta/ui/current.htm#.UHbullFEbf0

--- Wall Street Journal Article: U.S. Jobless Claims Drop to 339,000: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444799904578050233117300440.html

Illegals Call Now!

Last week, the Department of Labor released this ad:



Of course, the purpose of the ad is obvious. However, the concept is simply ridiculous.

First, illegal aliens are only being hired because they are willing to work for less. If employers were willing to pay a fair wage, they wouldn't be hiring them in the first place. They would be hiring Americans with higher educational skills and, hopefully, no language issues.

Additionally, this ad is asking illegals to look a gift horse in the mouth. If employers begin to fear that illegals are talking to the Department of Labor about them, they will stop hiring them. Now, maybe in a way, this will actually reverse the flow of workers across our borders. But, it is possible that because they are here already, the reduction in jobs for these workers may actually create conditions which force them to make other choices to stay alive; causing crime rates and gang activity to increase.

Unemployment Rate Rose In 306 of 377 Major Metro Areas

According to the latest Labor Department report released yesterday, the unemployment rate rose in 306 of 377 major metropolitan areas of this country in December (Click to See Full Story: "Unemployment rises in most metro areas").

Once again, I repeat: Just like the report on State's rates rising, how is it possible for the overall unemployment rate to remain at 10% in December when the individual metropolitan rates rose against November's rates?