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.”