|
NOVEMBER 2009 UNEMPLOYMENT DATA*
(U.S.
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS)
OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT:
10.0%
A year earlier, the number of unemployed
persons was 10.5
million, and the jobless rate was 6.8 percent. [BLS]
| White |
9.3% |
| African
American |
15.6% |
| Hispanic |
12.7% |
| Asian** |
7.3% |
| Persons with a disability** |
14.1% |
| Men
20 years and over |
10.5% |
| Women
20 years and over |
7.9% |
| Teen-agers
(16-19 years) |
26.7% |
| Black
teens |
49.4% |
| Officially
unemployed |
15.3
million |
HIDDEN UNEMPLOYMENT
| Working
part-time because can't find a full-time job: |
9.2
million |
| People
who want jobs but are
not looking so are
not counted in official statistics (of which about 2.3 million**
searched for work during the prior 12 months and were available
for work during the reference week.) |
6.1
million |
|
Total:
30.7 million (19.2% of the labor force)
|
Source: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf
**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
2008, the latest
year available, that number was 17.8 million, 17.1 percent of
full-time, full-year workers (estimated from Current
Population Survey, Bur. of the Census, 2009).
In October, 2009,
the latest month available, the number of job
openings was only 2.5 million, according to the BLS, Job
Openings and
Labor Turnover Estimates, December 8, 2009.+
Thus there are more than 12 job-wanters for each available job.[Numbers
are not comparable with previous months as methods have been revised.]
Unemployment
Rate Vastly Understates Labor Market WeaknessEPI
Monthly Change in Non-Farm
Employment CBPP
Long-Term
Unemployment Rose to Historic Highs cbpp See
BLS slides
The Share of the Population with a Job Fell to Levels Not Seen Since the Mid-1980s CBPP
%
Decline in employment-population ratio from start of postwar recessions CPEG
Modest
Wage Growth, CBPP
Job
Losses Far Exceeded Other Recessions CBPP [and recovered
more slowly]
GDP
Fell Far Below What the Economy Was Capable of Producing CBPP
+"Over the 12 months
ending in October, the job openings rate (not seasonally adjusted)
decreased for total nonfarm, total private, and government. The
job openings rate also decreased in many industries: mining and
logging; durable goods manufacturing; nondurable goods manufacturing;
retail trade; transportation, warehousing, and utilities; information;
educational services; health care and social assistance; arts,
entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food services;
and state and local government. The job openings rate decreased
in 3 of the 4 regions—Midwest, Northeast, and South."
The
National Jobs for All Coalition is a project of the Council on
Public and International Affairs. |
