MAY 2014 UNEMPLOYMENT DATA*
(U.S.
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS)
OFFICIAL
UNEMPLOYMENT: 6.3%*
A year earlier, the number of unemployed
persons was 11.7 million,
and the jobless rate was 7.5 percent.
[BLS]
| White |
5.4% |
| African
American |
11.5% |
| Hispanic |
7.7% |
| Asian** |
5.3% |
| Persons with a disability** |
12.7% |
| Men
20 years and over |
5.9% |
| Women
20 years and over |
5.7% |
| Teens
(16-19 years) |
19.2% |
| Black
teens |
31.1% |
| Officially
unemployed |
9.8 million |
*If the LFPR were at its pre-recession level, the unemployment
rate in April
2014 would have been 9.9% instead of
6.3%. [See "The Labor Force Participation
Rate and Its Trajectory"]
HIDDEN UNEMPLOYMENT
| Working
part-time because can't find a full-time job: |
7.3
million |
| People
who want jobs but are
not looking so are
not counted in official statistics (of which about 2.1 million**
searched for work during the prior 12 months and were available
for work during the reference week.) |
6.4
million |
|
Total:
23.5 million (14.5%
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, 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 2012,
the latest year available, that number was 18.0 million, 17.5
percent of full-time, full-year workers (estimated from Current
Population Survey, Bur. of the Census, 9/2013).
In
March 2014, the latest month available, the number of job openings
was 4.0 million, "little
changed from 4.1 million in February".
The number of job openings was little changed for total
private and for government. The number of job openings was little
changed in all industries. The West region experienced a decrease
in job openings in March."
Job Openings and Labor Turnover
Summary, May 9, 2014.+
Thus there
are nearly 6 job-wanters for each
available job.
THE MISSING PART OF THE UNEMPLOYMENT STORY
Pivate
Payroll Employment Has Grown For 50 Months
(cbpp 5/2)
Long-Term
Unemployment Near Historic Highs
(cbpp
5/2)
Missing Jobs: How many jobs
we should have had
If Missing Young Workers Were Looking
GDP
Fell Far Below What the Economy
Was
Capable of Producing
+"The
number of job openings (not seasonally adjusted) was little changed
over the year ending in March for total nonfarm, total private,
and government. Over the year, the job openings level
increased in three industries and decreased in three industries.
Over the 12 months ending in March, the number of job openings
increased in the Midwest region but decreased in the Northeast."
(http://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.nr0.htm)
|
