President Obama’s economy is failing again. Just as it did in 2010 and 2011, what was thought to be strong job growth in the winter has turned out to be nothing more than a figment of the Department of Labor’s imagination come spring.

Earlier this month, the Labor Department did report that the nation’s unemployment fell from 8.2 in March to 8.1 percent in April, and that the U.S. economy did add 115,000 jobs. But those new jobs were far outpaced by the 342,000 Americans who became so discouraged they stopped looking for work entirely. People who give up hope and quit seeking work are no longer counted as unemployed. If the U.S. work force were the same size today as it was when Obama took office, the unemployment rate would be a full three points higher, at 11.1 percent.