FEBRUARY
2013 UNEMPLOYMENT DATA*
(U.S.
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS)
OFFICIAL
UNEMPLOYMENT: 7.7%
A year earlier, the number of unemployed
persons was 12.8
million, and the jobless rate was 8.3 percent. [BLS]
| White |
6.8% |
| African
American |
13.8% |
| Hispanic |
9.6% |
| Asian** |
6.1% |
| Persons with a disability** |
12.3% |
| Men
20 years and over |
7.1% |
| Women
20 years and over |
7.0% |
| Teens
(16-19 years) |
25.1% |
| Black
teens |
43.1% |
| Officially
unemployed |
12.0
million |
HIDDEN UNEMPLOYMENT
| Working
part-time because can't find a full-time job: |
8.0
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:
26.8 million (16.5% 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
December 2012, the latest month available, the number of job openings
was 3.6 million,
little changed from November. The number of openings decreased
in retail trade and was little changed in all remaining industries
and in all four regions in December. 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, February 12, 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 1/2013
http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3252
+"The
number of job openings in December (not seasonally adjusted) was little changed over the year for total nonfarm, total private, and government. Job openings increased over the year for
retail trade, real estate and rental and leasing, educational services, and health care and social assistance but decreased in mining and logging and in professional and business services. The Midwest region experienced an increase in job openings
over the 12 months ending in December."
|
