JUNE 2014 UNEMPLOYMENT DATA*
(U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS)
OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT: 6.1%*
A year earlier, the number of unemployed persons was 11.7 million,
and the jobless rate was 7.5 percent. [BLS]
| White | 5.3% |
| African American | 10.7% |
| Hispanic | 7.8% |
| Asian** | 5.1% |
| Persons with a disability** | 12.9% |
| Men 20 years and over | 5.7% |
| Women 20 years and over | 5.3% |
| Teens (16-19 years) | 21.0% |
| Black teens | 33.4% |
| Officially unemployed | 9.5 million |
*If the LFPR were at its pre-recession level, the unemployment rate in June 2014 would have been 9.6% instead of 6.1%. [See “The Labor Force Participation Rate and Its Trajectory”]
HIDDEN UNEMPLOYMENT
| Working part-time because can’t find a full-time job: | 7.5 million |
| People who want jobs but are not looking so are not counted in official statistics (of which about 2.0 million** searched for work during the prior 12 months and were available for work during the reference week.) | 6.1 million |
| Total: 23.1 million (14.3% 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 April 2014, the latest month available, the number of job openings was 4.5 million, “up from 4.2 million in March”. The number of job openings rose for total private and was little changed for government. In retail trade and in arts, entertainment, and recreation, the number of job openings increased in April. The number of openings also increased in the West region.” Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary, June 10, 2014.+ Thus there are more than 5 job-wantersfor each available job.
THE MISSING PART OF THE UNEMPLOYMENT STORY
Private Payroll Employment Has Grown For 52 Months
(cbpp 7/3)
Long-Term Unemployment Remains Near Historic Highs
(cbpp 7/3)
The Share of the Population with a Job Remains Depressed
(cbpp 7/3)
Missing Jobs: How many jobs
we should have had
GDP Fell Far Below What the Economy
Was Capable of Producing 6/
+“Over the 12 months ending in April, the number of job openings (not seasonally adjusted) rose for total nonfarm and total private, but was little changed for government. Over the year, the job openings level increased in several industries and decreased only in federal government. The number of job openings increased over the year in three of the four regions: Midwest, Northeast, and West.”(http://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.nr0.htm)