JUNE 2013 UNEMPLOYMENT DATA*
(U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS)

OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT: 7.6%
A year earlier, the number of unemployed persons was12.7
million, and the jobless rate was 8.2 percent. [BLS]

White	6.6%
African American	13.7%
Hispanic	9.1%
Asian**	5.0%
Persons with a disability**	14.2%
Men 20 years and over	7.0%
Women 20 years and over	6.8%
Teens (16-19 years)	24.0%
Black teens	43.6%
Officially unemployed	11.8 million

 

HIDDEN UNEMPLOYMENT

Working part-time because can’t find a full-time job:	8.2 million
People who want jobs but are not looking so are not counted in official statistics (of which about 2.6 million** searched for work during the prior 12 months and were available for work during the reference week.)	6.6 million
Total: 26.6 million (16.4% 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.

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 April 2013, the latest month available, the number of job openings was 3.8 million, “little changed from March. In April, the number of job openings was little changed in all industries and regions.”Job Openings and Labor Turnover Estimates, June 11, 2013.+

Thus there are now 7 job-wanters for each available job.  

Private Payroll Employment Has Grown For 39 Months cbpp 6/13

Long-Term Unemployment Remains High

Employment-population ratio 1/1948 to 6/2013

GDP Fell Far Below What the Economy Was Capable of Producing

+“The number of job openings in April (not seasonally adjusted) increased over the year for total nonfarm and government and was little changed for total private. Job openings increased over the year for several industries and state and local government. Job openings decreased over the year for information; arts, entertainment, and recreation; and federal government. Job openings were up over the year for the West and little changed in the other regions.”