OCTOBER 2012 UNEMPLOYMENT DATA*
(U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS)
OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT: 7.9%
A year earlier, the number of unemployed persons was 13.8
million, and the jobless rate was 8.9 percent. [BLS]
| White |
7.0% |
| African American |
14.3% |
| Hispanic |
10.0% |
| Asian** |
4.9% |
| Persons with a disability** |
12.9% |
| Men 20 years and over |
7.3% |
| Women 20 years and over |
7.2% |
| Teens (16-19 years) |
23.7% |
| Black teens |
40.5% |
| Officially unemployed |
12.3 million |
HIDDEN UNEMPLOYMENT
| Working part-time because can’t find a full-time job: | 8.3 million |
| People who want jobs but are not looking so are not counted in official statistics (of which about 2.4 million** searched for work during the prior 12 months and were available for work during the reference week.) | 6.6 million |
|
Total: 27.2 million (16.8% of the labor force) |
|
Source: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf See also Current Employment Statistics–Highlights October 2012
**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 2011, the latest year available, that number was 17.9 million, 17.6 percent of full-time, full-year workers (estimated from Current Population Survey, Bur. of the Census, 9/2012).
In September 2012, the latest month available, the number of job openings was 3.6 million, “essentially unchanged from August. The number of openings was little changed in all industries except government and professional and business services, where the number decreased. The number of openings was also little changed in all four regions in September. The level of total nonfarm job openings in September was up from 2.4 million at the end of the recession in June 2009. ” Job Openings and Labor Turnover Estimates, November 6, 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 September (not seasonally adjusted) was essentially unchanged over the year for total nonfarm, total private, and government. Job openings increased over the year for nondurable goods manufacturing, finance and insurance, real estate and rental and leasing, health care and social assistance, and federal government, but fell in mining and logging, durable goods manufacturing, and state and local government.The Midwest region experienced a rise in job openings over the year.”