JUNE 2014 UNEMPLOYMENT DATA*
(U.S.
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS)
OFFICIAL
UNEMPLOYMENT: 6.1%*
A year earlier, the number of unemployed
persons was 11.7 million,
and the jobless rate was 7.5 percent.
[BLS]
| White |
5.3% |
| African
American |
10.7% |
| Hispanic |
7.8% |
| Asian** |
5.1% |
| Persons with a disability** |
12.9% |
| Men
20 years and over |
5.7% |
| Women
20 years and over |
5.3% |
| Teens
(16-19 years) |
21.0% |
| Black
teens |
33.4% |
| Officially
unemployed |
9.5 million |
*If the LFPR were at its pre-recession level, the unemployment
rate in June
2014 would have been 9.6% instead of
6.1%. [See "The Labor Force Participation
Rate and Its Trajectory"]
HIDDEN UNEMPLOYMENT
| Working
part-time because can't find a full-time job: |
7.5
million |
| People
who want jobs but are
not looking so are
not counted in official statistics (of which about 2.0 million**
searched for work during the prior 12 months and were available
for work during the reference week.) |
6.1
million |
|
Total:
23.1 million (14.3%
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 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
April 2014, the latest month available, the number of job openings
was 4.5 million, "up
from 4.2 million in March".
The number of job openings rose for total private and was
little changed for government. In retail trade and in arts, entertainment,
and recreation, the number of job openings increased in April.
The number of openings also increased in the West region."
Job Openings and Labor Turnover
Summary, June 10, 2014.+ Thus
there are more than 5 job-wanters
for each available job.
THE
MISSING PART OF THE UNEMPLOYMENT STORY
Pivate
Payroll Employment Has Grown For 52 Months
(cbpp 7/3)
Missing Jobs: How many jobs
we should have had
GDP
Fell Far Below What the Economy
Was Capable of Producing 6/
+"Over
the 12 months ending in April, the number of job openings (not
seasonally adjusted) rose for total nonfarm and total private,
but was little changed for government. Over the year, the job
openings level increased in several industries and decreased only
in federal government. The number of job openings increased over
the year in three of the four regions: Midwest, Northeast, and
West." (http://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.nr0.htm)
|
