AUGUST 2013 UNEMPLOYMENT DATA*
(U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS)
OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT: 7.3%*
A year earlier, the number of unemployed persons was12.5 million,
and the jobless rate was 8.1 percent. [BLS]
| White |
6.4% |
| African American |
13.0% |
| Hispanic |
9.3% |
| Asian** |
5.1% |
| Persons with a disability** |
14.1% |
| Men 20 years and over |
7.1% |
| Women 20 years and over |
6.3% |
| Teens (16-19 years) |
22.7% |
| Black teens |
38.2% |
| Officially unemployed |
11.3 million |
*If the LFPR were at its pre-recession level, the unemployment rate in July, 2013 would have been 11.0% instead of 7.4%. [See “The Labor Force Participation Rate and Its Trajectory”]
HIDDEN UNEMPLOYMENT
| Working part-time because can’t find a full-time job: | 7.9 million |
| People who want jobs but are not looking so are not counted in official statistics (of which about 2.3 million** searched for work during the prior 12 months and were available for work during the reference week.) | 6.3 million |
|
Total: 25.5 million (15.8% 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 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 June 2013, the latest month available, the number of job openings was 3.9 million, “little changed from May. The number of job openings was little changed over the month in all industries and regions.” Job Openings and Labor Turnover Estimates, August 6, 2013.+
Thus there are now nearly 7 job-wanters for each available job.
Private Payroll Employment Has Grown For 42 Months cbpp 9/13
Long-Term Unemployment Remains High
The Share of the Population with a Job
Fell to Levels Not Seen Since the Mid-1980s
GDP Fell Far Below What the Economy Was Capable of Producing
+“The number of job openings in June (not seasonally adjusted) was little changed over the year for total nonfarm, total private, and government. Although the number of total job openings was little changed over the year, several industries experienced increases and several industries experienced decreases. In the Midwest region, the number of job openings rose over the year.”