Guy in Charge of Economy Has No Idea Why It's Getting Better (Atlantic Wire)

At a meeting of economists and academics on Monday, Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, could not explain the drop in unemployment from 9% to 8.3% given the GDP was basically static during the same time period. “The improvement in the labor market over the past years – especially the decline in the unemployment rate – has been faster than might have been expected, given that the economy during that time appears to have grown at a relatively modest pace,” Bernanke said. At a recent campaign fundraiser in Texas, President Obama touted the addition of 429,000 manufacturing jobs in the past two years. Bernanke does not share the same enthusiasm. “We cannot yet be sure that the recent pace of improvement in the labor market will be sustained,” he said.