The unemployment picture? Same ol' same ol'.

Click on graph to enlarge

In the week ending December 29, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 372,000, an increase of 10,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 362,000. The 4-week moving average was 360,000, an increase of 250 from the previous week's revised average of 359,750. 

When the economy is comparatively healthy,   the weekly “first time claims”  are much closer to 325,000 and less.

As of a few months ago,  the Networks,  including Fox,  have been touting a weekly claims number of 350,000 as being indicative of a healthy or [at least] growing  economy, but a quick glance at the Department of Labor graph in this post,  confirms the fact that 300,000 to 325,000 is the actual number. We have a ways to go.  

Also,  keep in mind that our national work force is at its lowest in 20 years with more than 8 million Americans no longer looking for work,  folks who have dropped out of the work force and are no longer being counted  (!!!) ,  if you can believe that.  If they were counted in the unemployment monthly totals,  our "unemployment rate" would be 14.4 percent,  not the 7.7 percent reported last month,  according to Fox News and the Labor Department.    

Update:  the labor department has raised its monthly unemployment report to 7.8 percent.  This may allow for a January report of "7.7" and the headline,  "Unemployment comes down !!"  They have done this before.  

Obama does not worry about the unemployment rate,  especially since this past election proves that a majority of the electorate does not give a damn.  His schtyke has to do with "fairness,"  all else is secondary.  He wants us all to be in
"the same boat."  We all rise or fall together and the "boat" is the US Central Government.  

His view of "fairness"  has me working my butt off to pay my bills while he confiscates part of my income,  via an increasing system of confiscatory taxes and regulations,  to help the home owner next door,  pay his mortgage.  Nothing fair about that,  but,  for the time being,  the have nots outnumber the hard working population.