SEPTEMBER
2013 UNEMPLOYMENT DATA*
(U.S.
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS)
OFFICIAL
UNEMPLOYMENT: 7.2%*
A year earlier, the number of unemployed
persons was12.1 million,
and the jobless rate was 7.8 percent. [BLS]
| White |
6.3% |
| African
American |
12.9% |
| Hispanic |
9.0% |
| Asian** |
5.3% |
| Persons with a disability** |
13.1% |
| Men
20 years and over |
7.1% |
| Women
20 years and over |
6.2% |
| Teens
(16-19 years) |
21.4% |
| Black
teens |
35.1% |
| Officially
unemployed |
11.3 million |
*If the LFPR were at its pre-recession level, the unemployment
rate
in July, 2013 would have been 11.0% instead of 7.4%. [See "The
Labor Force Participation Rate and Its Trajectory"]
HIDDEN UNEMPLOYMENT
| Working
part-time because can't find a full-time job: |
7.9
million |
| People
who want jobs but are
not looking so are
not counted in official statistics (of which about 2.3 million**
searched for work during the prior 12 months and were available
for work during the reference week.) |
6.2
million |
|
Total:
25.4 million (15.7% 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
July 2013, the latest month available, the number of job openings
was 3.7 million,
"little changed from June. The number of job openings
was little changed in July in all industries and regions except
professional and business services where the level dropped."
Job
Openings and Labor Turnover Estimates, September 10, 2013.+
Thus there are now nearly 7 job-wanters for each available job.
THE
MISSING PART OF THE UNEMPLOYMENT STORY
Private
Payroll Employment Has Grown For 43 Months cbpp 10/13
Long-Term
Unemployment Remains High
Labor
Force Participation Rate vs. Unemployment Rate
GDP
Fell Far Below What the Economy Was Capable of Producing
+"The
number of job openings in July (not seasonally adjusted) was little
changed over the year for total nonfarm, total private, and government.
Increases in job openings in several industries were offset by
decreases in job openings in several other industries, leading
to little change at the total nonfarm level. In the Midwest region,
the number of job openings rose over the year."
|
