Unemployment is a poor measure, because it doesn't count workers who no longer qualify for unemployment, discouraged workers, people in prison, or those forced into part-time or marginal labor because of being unable to find full-time work with decent pay and benefits. The illegal immigrants would fall into the last of those categories. By the way, if all the other categories are included, we're comparable to the EU countries. The claim that those countries have horrific unemployment compared to us is false.
Comparing job growth and population growth in raw numbers is not a valid comparison, but comparing the percentage changes is reasonable. Population grows by about 1.3% per year, so job growth ought to be at about the same rate for the long-term health of the economy.
Comparing job growth and population growth in raw numbers is not a valid comparison, but comparing the percentage changes is reasonable. Population grows by about 1.3% per year, so job growth ought to be at about the same rate for the long-term health of the economy.