So how is a rise in the unemployment rate good news?

Been wondering this all weekend. Oh, sure, the explanation is that more discouraged workers are re-entering the marketplace but to me, a novice, this does not make sense. I mean, don't we count the other 8% of workers who have given up looking? When did we start that? And who decides who's "discouraged" and who's not. So when the MSM got all excited about the rise of unemployment rate, it became confusing. Then the Obama administration sent out this graphic, indicating that a measly 280,000 jobs were GREAT news (not mentioning the new and temporary census workers). From Obama:

Reality:

Newsbusters spots U.S. News & World Report claiming, “Why a Rising Unemployment Rate Is Good News.”

Hey, it all depends on who’s in power: back in 2004, CNN was giving President Bush grief for an unemployment rate that was nearly half of President Obama’s. Or as the Professor writes today, “That’s the great thing about having a Democrat in the White House:Everything is good news!”

Mike Opelka of Big Journalism adds, “Earth to Media: Unemployment Numbers Are Like Golf Scores — the Lower the Better.”