Hey Rudy, There Aren't Enough Jobs For Us To "Occupy A Job"

Nov 5th, 2011

The dishonorable former Mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani, gave a glib and spittle-dribbled performance at the annual "Americans For Prosperity" gala in Washington this weekend. He used his time on the dais to smear the Occupy movement. His most crowd pleasing riff? "How about you go and occupy a job." Before watching this vulgar bit of agit-prop (video below), let's look at the most recent job numbers, shall we?

Via The Economist:

"In the month of October, nonfarm payroll employment rose by 80,000 jobs—less than economists expected. The report was less disappointing than might be imagined given that number, however. The initial zero-job figure from August has now been revised up to an increase of 104,000, and September's total has also been revised up, to 158,000. That pace is scarcely enough to keep up with population growth, but it's considerably better than the economy managed in the early summer." EMPHASIS OURS

For over a decade now, the American economy has not added the minimum number of jobs to simply accommodate new entrants in the labor force. Even if we exclude the Wall Street driven disasters of the last three years, there aren't enough jobs to "occupy." That didn't stop Rudy. Why should it? Facts never have gotten in his way.