REGULATION ISN'T CAUSING UNEMPLOYMENT

(h/t Media Matters)

Conservatives have been whining about excessive government regulations hampering business and thus causing unemployment.  David Weigel found some data about layoffs from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and they show that once again, the cons are full of it.
 
In the 1st Quarter of 2011, there were 225,136 separations and 257,031 UI claims. Of the separations, 77,265 were due to lack of demand but only 429 were due to government regulation or intervention. Similarly, 101,907 UI claims were due to lack of demand but only 538 were due to government regulation or intervention.