MAY 2015 Unemployment Data--the Full
Count*
(U.S.
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS)
OFFICIAL
UNEMPLOYMENT: 5.5%*
A year earlier, the number of unemployed
persons was 9.8 million,
and the jobless rate was 6.3 percent.
[BLS]
| White |
4.7% |
| African
American |
10.2% |
| Hispanic |
6.7% |
| Asian** |
4.1% |
| Persons with a disability** |
10.1% |
| Men
20 years and over |
5.0% |
| Women
20 years and over |
5.0% |
| Teens
(16-19 years) |
17.9% |
| Black
teens |
30.1% |
| Officially
unemployed |
8.7 million |
*If the LFPR were at its pre-recession level, the unemployment
rate in May
2015 would have been 7.2% 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: |
6.7
million |
| People
who want jobs but are
not looking so are
not counted in official statistics (of which about 1.9 million**
searched for work during the prior 12 months and were available
for work during the reference week.) |
6.1
million |
|
Total:
21.5 million (13.1%
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
March 2015, the latest month available, the number of job openings
was 5.0 million, "little changed from February. .....The job openings level was little changed for total private and government. Job openings decreased in health care and social assistance but increased in arts, entertainment, and recreation. The number of job openings was little changed in all four regions."
Job Openings and Labor Turnover
Summary, May 12, 2015.+ Thus
there are 4.3 job-wanters for
each available job.
Unemployment Rate Vastly Understates Labor Market Weakness
Private
Employment Has Grown For 63 Months
(cbpp 6/5/15)
Modest Wage Growth, cbpp, 6/5/15
LFP Rate nearly back to levels of late 1970's Zero Hedge 5/15
Job Losses Far Exceeded Other Recessions CBPP [and recovered more slowly]
GDP
Fell Far Below What the Economy
Was Capable of Producing CBPP 5/8/15
+"The
number of job openings (not seasonally adjusted) increased over
the 12 months ending in March 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
|
