I Told You He Was Historic, Melvin: Jobs Recession Now Officially Longest Since World War II

It's another Obama record!

The U.S. economy added 227,000 jobs in February vs. expectations for 206,000, continuing a recent trend of decent hiring activity. The unemployment rate held at 8.3%.

But America remains mired in the longest jobs recession since the Great Depression. It's been 49 months since the U.S. hit peak employment in January 2008. And with nonfarm payrolls still 5.33 million below their old high, the jobs slump will continue for several more years.

The previous jobs recession record — 47 months — came during and after the comparatively mild 2001 recession, which saw unemployment climb to only 6.3%... The labor market won't truly return to health until some 10 million positions are created to rehire all those who lost their jobs and to absorb new workers.

The longest jobs recession in decades coincides, not coincidentally, with the longest stretch of anemic economic performance on record.

And the jobs recession also coincides, not coincidentally, with the regulation-happy Obama administration.

As for the "8.3 percent unemployment rate" reported earlier today, well, that's about as reliable as everything other statement this administration makes. Which is to say, it's about as genuine as a Hillary Clinton $11 bill.

Even if it were a legit number, the 8.3% February unemployment rate, released today by the Labor Department, would be simply terrible—and unacceptable. It would still extend the longest streak of 8%-plus unemployment since the Great Depression. The U.S. economy hasn’t been below 8% unemployment since Obama took office in January 2009. And back in May 2007, unemployment was just 4.4%.

But, unfortunately, the true measure of U.S. unemployment is much, much worse.

...If the size of the U.S. labor force as a share of the total population was the same as it was when Barack Obama took office—65.7% then vs. 63.9% today—the U-3 unemployment rate would be 10.8%.

...Then there’s the broader, U-6 measure of unemployment which includes the discouraged plus part-timers who wish they had full time work. That unemployment rate, perhaps the truest measure of the labor market’s health, is still a sky-high 14.9%.

Maybe next month the Bureau of Labor Statistics will pull another million Americans "out of the workforce" to get unemployment down to, say, 7.5 percent.

That way useful idiots like Mike Dorning at Bloomberg can continue spewing the administration's propaganda without a hint of thoughtful analysis.