US Politician Ocasio-Cortez: "Unemployment Is Low Because Everyone Has Two Jobs"

This is a shortened version of a very interesting article from the US. 

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a self-described democratic socialist and former organizer for Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign, attracted national attention after her upset primary victory over Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley in a Queens- and Bronx-based district. But critics pounced on some of her remarks during an interview on the PBS show Firing Line with Margaret Hoover.

During the interview, Ocasio-Cortez said, "Unemployment is low because everyone has two jobs. Unemployment is low because people are working 60, 70, 80 hours a week and can barely feed their family." (It’s at about 5:45 in this video.)

But do the facts stand up to scrutiny? Louis Jacobson of Politifact looked in detail at this statement.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics keeps track of how many people work two jobs rather than just one.

Over the past 12 months, the number of multiple job holders has ranged between 6 million and 7 million. That compares to more than 148 million Americans who are employed in a single job.

Since the entire pie chart is equivalent to the small red column in the previous graph, the people who might be working 70 or 80 hours a week amount to a tiny percentage of a tiny percentage — 310,000 people at most in a pool of employed Americans totaling more than 150 million.

It’s also worth noting that on average, Americans aren’t working more today than they have been in the recent past. The average number of hours worked in the private sector has hugged tightly to about 34.5 hours a week since 2006, except for a dip during the Great Recession.

So by the official statistics, multiple job holders account for a tiny fraction of American workers.

And this percentage isn’t high by historical standards.

It’s also worth noting that on average, Americans aren’t working more today than they have been in the recent past. The average number of hours worked in the private sector has hugged tightly to about 34.5 hours a week since 2006, except for a dip during the Great Recession.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (was born October 13, 1989), also known by her initials, AOC, is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party. Since January 3, 2019, she has been the U.S. Representative for New York's 14th congressional district. The district includes the eastern part of The Bronx and portions of north-central Queens in New York City.

ABC Note: A very interesting argument but it does not stand up to scruitiny. Excellent work by Louis Jacobson. 

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