It's amazing it's a good as it is.

Welcome to the GOP's America. Get used to it. They've managed to Gerrymander sufficiently to keep this going for a long time.

It's bad enough when mouth breathing morons in Yahoo comments get basic facts wrong but paid political writers who do the same are lower than worm shit.

"The unemployment rate dropped to 6.6% – its lowest point since October 2008 – but that’s cold comfort given the overall data, and is likely affected by congressional Republicans’ decision to cut off jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed"

There is, as anyone with even a passing interest in these things knows, absolutely fuck all connection between benefit eligibility and unemployment rate, which only asks that you even minimally try to look for a job once in a whole month, or even a whole year for U6. The survey that generates the UE rate number does not even ask about benefits.

It's a story about the monthly jobs report. The only thing there that benefits eligibility affects at all is the overall insured rate, which is a buried detail that precious few people even notice let alone care about as a function of the report data. Caring about the people themselves is a separate issue, although fewer people than should do so care about them, too.

The OP linked article, and you apparently, are conflating these things to the general detriment of everybody's understanding. The poster was giving you the benefit of the doubt that you were not talking about unemployment status. Your followup question shows you were.

BLS Definition of Unemployed

Persons are classified as unemployed if they do not have a job, have actively looked for work in the prior 4 weeks, and are currently available for work.

Workers expecting to be recalled from layoff are counted as unemployed, whether or not they have engaged in a specific jobseeking activity. In all other cases, the individual must have been engaged in at least one active job search activity in the 4 weeks preceding the interview and be available for work (except for temporary illness).

no one with any sense is going to look at a report that fell well below expectations as "good news."

I fail to see that month over month additions is "bad" news. Not enough people are employed but we are helping the self-fulfilling doomsday thinking of the GOP and the media.

my own business is down at least 20-25%

I imagine that would be a pretty average estimate.

With heavy infrastructure!!!!!

and dogs can't walk the winter streets/sidewalks free from electrocution hazards.

Maybe it's time we rebuild the infrastructure we will have to replace eventually anyway.