JULY 2010 UNEMPLOYMENT DATA*
(U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS)
OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT: 9.5%
A year earlier, the number of unemployed persons was 14.5
million, and the jobless rate was 9.4 percent. [BLS]
White |
8.6%
|
African American |
15.6%
|
Hispanic |
12.1%
|
Asian** | 8.2% |
Persons with a disability ** |
16.4%
|
Men 20 years and over |
9.7%
|
Women 20 years and over |
7.9%
|
Teens (16-19 years) |
26.1%
|
Black teens |
40.6%
|
Officially unemployed |
14.6 million
|
HIDDEN UNEMPLOYMENT
Working part-time because can’t find a full-time job: | 8.5 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.) | 5.9 million |
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 2008, the latest
year available, that number was 17.8 million, 17.1 percent of full-time, full-year workers (estimated from Current Population Survey, Bur. of the Census, 2009).
In June, 2010, the latest month available, the number of job
openings was 2.9 million, little changed from May, according to the BLS, Job Openings and Labor Turnover Estimates, August 11, 2010.+Thus there are now 10 job-wanters for each available job.[Numbers are not comparable with previous months as methods have been revised.]
Comparing Long-Term Unemployment: 1999-2009
NET MONTHLY PRIVATE JOB CREATION, 12/07-4/10
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/labor/news/2010/06/04/7956/the-latest-employment-woes/
Mass layoffs: “Employers initiated 1,851 mass layoff events in the second quarter of 2010 that resulted in the separation of 338,064 workers from their jobs for at least 31 days, according to preliminary figures released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Over the year, both events and separations decreased sharply from program high second quarter levels (with data available back to 1995).”BLS, 8/11/10
….
“REVIEW OF 2009 For all of 2009, on a not seasonally adjusted basis, the total numbers of mass layoff events, at 28,030, and initial claims, at 2,796,456, reached their highest annual levels on record. Among the 19 major industry sectors in the private economy, manufacturing had the most initial claims in 2009 (1,137,106), followed by administrative and waste services (294,709) and construction (205,765). Manufacturing also had the largest over-the-year increase in total annual initial claims (+266,796), with retail trade (+57,283) and administrative and waste services (+48,039) experiencing the next largest increases. Among the major industry sectors, 12 registered series highs for both mass layoff events and initial claims in 2009: mining; construction; wholesale trade; retail trade; transportation and warehousing; finance and insurance; real estate and rental and leasing; management of companies and enterprises; administrative and waste services; health care and social assistance; arts, entertainment, and recreation; and accommodation and food services.
….
Among the 4 census regions, the Midwest reported the highest number of mass layoff initial claims filed during 2009 (892,202), followed by the West and the South. All 4 regions experienced over-the-year annual increases, with the largest increases taking place in the Midwest (+215,611). The Midwest, Northeast, and South also reached program highs for total initial claims in 2009. ….” (BLS, January 27, 2010)
Source: http://www.epi.org/publication/snapshot_20090701/
+ “Even with the gains since July 2009, the number of job openings remained well below the 4.4 million open jobs when the recession began in December 2007.“