SEPTEMBER
2012 UNEMPLOYMENT DATA*
(U.S.
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS)
OFFICIAL
UNEMPLOYMENT: 7.8%
A year earlier, the number of unemployed
persons was 13.9
million, and the jobless rate was 9.0 percent. [BLS]
| White |
7.0% |
| African
American |
13.4% |
| Hispanic |
9.9% |
| Asian** |
4.8% |
| Persons with a disability** |
13.5% |
| Men
20 years and over |
7.3% |
| Women
20 years and over |
7.0% |
| Teens
(16-19 years) |
23.7% |
| Black
teens |
36.7% |
| Officially
unemployed |
12.1
million |
HIDDEN UNEMPLOYMENT
| Working
part-time because can't find a full-time job: |
8.6
million |
| People
who want jobs but are
not looking so are
not counted in official statistics (of which about 2.5 million**
searched for work during the prior 12 months and were available
for work during the reference week.) |
6.7
million |
|
Total:
27.4 million (16.9% of the labor force)
|
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 2010,
the latest year available, that number was 16.8 million, 17.0
percent of full-time, full-year workers (estimated from Current
Population Survey, Bur. of the Census, 9/2011).
In
August 2012, the latest month available, the number of job openings
was 3.6 million,
"essentially unchanged from July. The number of openings was little changed in all industries except accommodation and food services, where the number decreased. The number of openings was also little changed in all four regions in August. The level of total nonfarm job openings in August was up from 2.4 million at the end of the recession in June 2009. " Job
Openings and Labor Turnover Estimates, October 10, 2012.+
Thus there are now more than 7 job-wanters for each available
job.
http://www.offthechartsblog.org/
Employment-population
ratio 1/1948 to 9/2012
http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3252
+"The number of job openings in August (not seasonally adjusted) increased over the year for total nonfarm and total private, and was little changed for government. Job openings increased over the year for nondurable goods manufacturing, wholesale trade, finance and insurance, and federal government, but
fell in mining and logging. The Northeast and South regions experienced a rise in job openings over the year."
|
