Friday, March 5

The Other Issue In Bush's TV Ads

CNN also pointed out this morning that over 400,000 people have simply given up looking for work, which effectively removes them from the total unemployment numbers. So if these fenderheads tell you over 400,000 Americans are off unemployment, you'll know why.

Lackluster Job Numbers a Growing Problem for Bush

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush's campaign argument that "America is turning the corner" under his leadership suffered a setback on Friday with a report that the labor market mustered only 21,000 new jobs last month, far fewer than anticipated.

The small gain disappointed White House officials who had hoped for stronger evidence of a recovering labor market and fueled Democratic attacks that Bush should be thrown out of office in the Nov. 2 election.

The numbers also appeared to dash any lingering hopes that the employment this year would average 2.6 million jobs above last year's level, as the White House projected last month in a an economic report from which most officials have tried to distance themselves. Meeting that forecast would require adding 300,000 jobs a month this year -- a figure that far exceeds most private forecasts.