FEBRUARY 2015 UNEMPLOYMENT DATA*
(U.S.
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS)
OFFICIAL
UNEMPLOYMENT: 5.5%*
A year earlier, the number of unemployed
persons was 10.4 million,
and the jobless rate was 6.7 percent.
[BLS]
| White |
4.7% |
| African
American |
10.4% |
| Hispanic |
6.6% |
| Asian** |
4.0% |
| Persons with a disability** |
11.2% |
| Men
20 years and over |
5.2% |
| Women
20 years and over |
4.9% |
| Teens
(16-19 years) |
17.1% |
| Black
teens |
30.0% |
| Officially
unemployed |
8.7 million |
*If the LFPR were at its pre-recession level, the unemployment
rate in February
2015 would have been 9.0% instead of
5.5%. [See "The Labor Force Participation
Rate and Its Trajectory"]
HIDDEN UNEMPLOYMENT
| Working
part-time because can't find a full-time job: |
6.6
million |
| People
who want jobs but are
not looking so are
not counted in official statistics (of which about 2.2 million**
searched for work during the prior 12 months and were available
for work during the reference week.) |
6.5
million |
|
Total:
21.8 million (13.3%
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, and Is
the Decline in the Labor Force Participation Rate During This Recession
Permanent?.
In addition, millions
more were working full-time, year-round, yet earned less than
the official poverty level for a family of four. In 2013, the
latest year available, that number was 18.5 million, 17.5 percent
of full-time, full-year workers (estimated from
Current Population Survey, Bur. of the Census, 9/2014).
In
January 2015, the latest month available, the number of job openings
was 5.0 million, "little changed from December. This was the highest level of job openings since January 2001.....The number of job openings was little changed for total private and government in January. Job openings increased for accommodation and food services and in the West region."
Job Openings and Labor Turnover
Summary, March 10, 2015.+ Thus
there are 4.4 job-wanters for
each available job.
Unemployment Rate Vastly Understates Labor Market Weakness
Private
Employment Has Grown For 60 Months
(cbpp 3/6/15)
GDP
Fell Far Below What the Economy
Was Capable of Producing CBPP 2/27/15
+"The
number of job openings (not seasonally adjusted) increased over
the 12 months ending in January for total nonfarm, total private
and government. Job openings increased over the year for many industries including professional and business services, health care and social assistance, and accommodation and food services. Job openings decreased over the year in mining and logging. The number of openings increased over the year in all four regions." http://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.nr0.htm
|
