DECEMBER
2012 UNEMPLOYMENT DATA*
(U.S.
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS)
OFFICIAL
UNEMPLOYMENT: 7.8%
A year earlier, the number of unemployed
persons was 13.0
million, and the jobless rate was 8.5 percent. [BLS]
| White |
6.9% |
| African
American |
14.0% |
| Hispanic |
9.6% |
| Asian** |
6.6% |
| Persons with a disability** |
11.7% |
| Men
20 years and over |
7.2% |
| Women
20 years and over |
7.3% |
| Teens
(16-19 years) |
23.5% |
| Black
teens |
40.5% |
| Officially
unemployed |
12.2
million |
HIDDEN UNEMPLOYMENT
| Working
part-time because can't find a full-time job: |
7.9
million |
| People
who want jobs but are
not looking so are
not counted in official statistics (of which about 2.6 million**
searched for work during the prior 12 months and were available
for work during the reference week.) |
6.8
million |
|
Total:
26.9 million (16.6% of the labor force)
|
Source: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf
See also Current
Employment Statistics--Highlights
**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
November 2012, the latest month available, the number of job openings
was 3.7 million,
unchanged from October. The number of openings increased
in retail trade and was little changed in all remaining industries
and in all four regions in November. The level of total nonfarm
job openings was 2.4 million at the end of the recession in June
2009." Job
Openings and Labor Turnover Estimates, January 10, 2013.+
Thus there are now more than 7 job-wanters for each available
job.
http://www.offthechartsblog.org/
http://www.offthechartsblog.org/
Employment-population
ratio 1/1948 to 11/2012
http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3252
+"The
number of job openings in November (not seasonally adjusted) rose
over the year for total nonfarm and total private but was little
changed for government. Job openings increased over the year for
retail trade and for health care and social assistance. The Midwest
and Northeast regions experienced an increase in job openings
over the 12 months ending in November."
|
