OCTOBER
2012 UNEMPLOYMENT DATA*
(U.S.
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS)
OFFICIAL
UNEMPLOYMENT: 7.9%
A year earlier, the number of unemployed
persons was 13.8
million, and the jobless rate was 8.9 percent. [BLS]
| White |
7.0% |
| African
American |
14.3% |
| Hispanic |
10.0% |
| Asian** |
4.9% |
| Persons with a disability** |
12.9% |
| Men
20 years and over |
7.3% |
| Women
20 years and over |
7.2% |
| Teens
(16-19 years) |
23.7% |
| Black
teens |
40.5% |
| Officially
unemployed |
12.3
million |
HIDDEN UNEMPLOYMENT
| Working
part-time because can't find a full-time job: |
8.3
million |
| People
who want jobs but are
not looking so are
not counted in official statistics (of which about 2.4 million**
searched for work during the prior 12 months and were available
for work during the reference week.) |
6.6
million |
|
Total:
27.2 million (16.8% of the labor force)
|
Source: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf
See also Current Employment Statistics--Highlights October 2012
**Not
seasonally adjusted.
*See Uncommon Sense #4
for an explanation of the unemployment measures.
In addition,
millions more were working full-time, year-round, yet earned less
than the official poverty level for a family of four. In 2011,
the latest year available, that number was 17.9 million, 17.6
percent of full-time, full-year workers (estimated from Current
Population Survey, Bur. of the Census, 9/2012).
In
September 2012, the latest month available, the number of job openings
was 3.6 million,
"essentially
unchanged from August. The number of openings was little changed
in all industries except government and professional and business services, where the number decreased. The number of openings was also little changed
in all four regions in September. The level of total nonfarm job
openings in September was up from 2.4 million at the end of the recession
in June 2009. " Job
Openings and Labor Turnover Estimates, November 6, 2012.+
Thus there are now more than 7 job-wanters for each available
job.
http://www.offthechartsblog.org/
Employment-population
ratio 1/1948 to 9/2012
http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3252
+"The
number of job openings in September (not seasonally adjusted) was essentially unchanged over the year for total nonfarm, total private, and government. Job openings increased over the year for
nondurable goods manufacturing, finance and insurance,
real estate and rental and leasing, health care and social assistance, and federal government, but fell in mining and logging, durable goods manufacturing, and state and local government.The Midwest region experienced a rise in job openings over the
year."
|
