Archive for February 29th, 2012

The labor force participation rate … so what?

February 29, 2012

When the Feds release this week’s unemployment data, expect more chatter about the falling labor participation rate … which reflects the increasing number of discouraged people who have stopped looking for work and don’t get counted in the unemployment numbers.

For the 4 years prior to Obama’s inauguration, the labor force participation rate hung pretty steady … at around 66%.

Since Obama took office, that rate has plummeted to 63.7%.

image
image

Let’s try some math skills …

If unemployment is 8.3% with a 63.7% labor force participation rate, what would the unemployment rate be if the participation rate were at the pre-Obama 66%?

Answer: about 11.5% …

image

Obama’s economic hope continues to be that more and more people get discouraged — or, just stay on unemployment for the full 99 weeks.

Bingo, down goes the unemployment rate.

>> Latest Posts

Tags:, ,
Posted in Employment - Jobs | Leave a Comment »

There will only be one Lady Gaga … on Facebook, that is.

February 29, 2012

Punch line: Tighter controls. More credibility? Facebook will now verify celebrity stage or pen names to create accounts for the likes of Lady Gaga.

* * * * *
Excerpted from CNET.com “Facebook to launch verified accounts with pseudonyms”

… In an effort to root out impostors, Facebook will reportedly soon allow celebrities and other public figures to verify their accounts in much the same way that Twitter does.

The social network will begin notifying public figures with many subscribers tomorrow that they can verify their accounts by submitting an image of a government-issued ID, allowing them to display a preferred pseudonym instead of their birth name, according to a TechCrunch report. Facebook will then manually approve the “alternative names” to confirm they are the real stage names or pen names.

Facebook users must be chosen to participate in the program; there is no way to volunteer for verification. However, unlike Twitter, verified accounts will not receive a special badge indicating verified status.

Verification will allow celebrities such as Stefani Germanotta to be more readily accessible to fans when her name is officially listed as Lady Gaga instead of what’s on a birth certificate.

image_thumb1

However, as on Twitter, the influx of impostors has become an inconvenience for both Facebook and fans alike.

Edit by KJM

>> Latest Posts

Tags:, ,
Posted in Internet - Soc Networking | Leave a Comment »