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MARCH
2011 UNEMPLOYMENT DATA*
(U.S.
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS)
OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT:
8.8%
A year earlier, the number of unemployed
persons was 14.9
million, and the jobless rate was 9.7 percent. [BLS]
| White |
7.9% |
| African
American |
15.5% |
| Hispanic |
11.3% |
| Asian** |
7.1% |
| Persons with a disability ** |
15.6% |
| Men
20 years and over |
8.6% |
| Women
20 years and over |
7.7% |
| Teens
(16-19 years) |
24.5% |
| Black
teens |
42.1% |
| Officially
unemployed |
13.5
million |
HIDDEN UNEMPLOYMENT
| Working
part-time because can't find a full-time job: |
8.4
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.) |
6.5
million |
|
Total:
28.4 million (17.8% of the labor force)
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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 2009, the
latest year available, that number was 16.3 million, 16.4 percent
of full-time, full-year workers (estimated from Current
Population Survey, Bur. of the Census, 2010).
In February,
2011, the latest month available, the number of job openings was
3.1 million, "an increase from 2.7 million in January.
The job openings level has trended up since the end of the recession
in June 2009 but remains well below the 4.4 million openings when
the recession began in December 2007." Job
Openings and Labor Turnover Estimates, April 13, 2011.+
Thus there are now more than 9 job-wanters for each available job.
Source:http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/labor/news/2011/01/07/8849/employment-growth-continues-but-too-slowly-to-secure-recovery/
Employment-population
ratio 
Mass
layoffs: Review
of 2010 BLS, 2/11/11
For all of 2010, employers reported 7,158 extended mass layoff
actions, affecting 1,213,638 workers. Compared to 2009, the number
of events decreased by 39 percent and the number of separations
decreased by 42 percent, the first over-the-year decline for both
measures since 2005. The annual average national unemployment
rate increased from 9.3 percent in 2009 to 9.6 percent in 2010,
and private nonfarm payroll employment decreased by 0.8 percent,
or 914,000.
Industry Distribution of Extended Layoffs
In the private nonfarm economy, manufacturing reported the largest
number of separations, despite reaching a program low in 2010
(with annual data available back to 1996). Construction had the
next highest number of separations. Educational services reported
program highs in both layoff events and separations in 2010.
....
+
"The number of job openings in February
(not seasonally adjusted) increased from 12 months earlier for
total nonfarm, total private, several industries, and the Midwest,
Northeast, and South regions. The level decreased over the year
for federal government."
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