Where is Unemployment Headed? - Mike Shedlock

Quick Notes About the Unemployment Rate

In the last year, the civilian population rose by 3,584,000. Yet the labor force only rose by 1,569,000. Those not in the labor force rose by 2,014,000. In February, the Civilian Labor Force rose by 476,000. In February, those "Not in Labor Force" decreased by 310,000. If you are not in the labor force, you are not counted as unemployed. Participation Rate rose .2 to 63.9% Were it not for people dropping out of the labor force, the unemployment rate would be well over 11%. Over the past several years people have dropped out of the labor force at an astounding, almost unbelievable rate, holding the unemployment rate artificially low. Some of this was due to major revisions last month on account of the 2010 census finally factored in. However, most of it is simply economic weakness.

 Where is Unemployment Headed? - Mike Shedlock - Townhall Finance Conservative Columnists and Financial Commentary - Page 1.

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Power Plants Shutting Down to Comply With EPA Demands » Not Good News

Thank you Mr. President: Brownouts - Blackouts - Huge increases in electric bills.

GLEN LYN, Va. — The reality of snuffing out several antiquated coal-fired power plants moved a step closer to reality on Thursday with American Electric Power issuing formal notification of the plan to retire 4,600 megawatts of power to comply with Environmental Protection Agency regulations.

"We continue to have serious concerns about the potential impact these plant retirements — and retirements of generation announced by other utilities — will have on the reliability of the electricity grid," Nicholas K. Akins, AEP president and chief executive officer was quoted in an AEP press release as stating. "Our retiring units were required to run to meet peak demand last summer and little new generation is scheduled to come on line prior to the retirement dates to replace the lost generating capacity."

AEP needed to retire more than 4,600 megawatts of coal-fired power to comply with EPA regulations. In addition, AEP was required to announce the plant retirements before PJM Interconnection's auction in May that will set electric generation capacity prices from June 2015 through May 2016.

AEP's Glen Lyn plant is among a group of several power plants scheduled to be retired on June 1, 2015, but AEP will start retiring coal-fired plants as early as Dec. 31, when it retires the Conesville 3, plant in Conesville, Ohio. AEP has already retired the 450-megawatt Sporn Plant in February.

Power Plants Shutting Down to Comply With EPA Demands » Not Good News

AEP notifies organizations about plans to retire power plants » Local News » Bluefield Daily Telegraph, Bluefield, WV.

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Power Plants Shutting Down to Comply With EPA Demands » Not Good News

Public Relations--A Public Fraud in Federal Agencies - Lurita Doan - Townhall Conservative Columnists - Page 1

President Obama may lack chops in many areas—job creation, growing the economy, managing the cost of fuel and food—but, he is a master at political strategy and excels in the art of misdirection.

Obama has used controversies such as the birth-control/insurance mandate in February to divert attention away from a Bureau of Labor Statistics' report which showed that there are approximately 16 million unemployed Americans, 30% of whom have been unemployed for over two years. And, Obama's recent defense of his so-called energy policy seems intended to distract Americans from the fact that gas prices are rising even as the economy groans under the Administration's spending spree causing $1.3 trillion dollars annually in deficits along with a ballooning of the public debt to $15.5 trillion dollars.

Public Relations--A Public Fraud in Federal Agencies - Lurita Doan - Townhall Conservative Columnists - Page 1.

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