The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the June 2009 unemployment statistics. The rate is unchanged at 9.5%. The long term unemployment has increased.
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) increased by 433,000 over the month to 4.4 million. In June, 3in 10 unemployed persons were jobless for 27 weeks or more.
What's interesting is the number of people not in the workforce has increased 358,000.
The employment-population ratio, at 59.5 per-
cent, continued to trend down over the month. The employment-population ratio has declined by 3.2 percentage points since the start of the recession in December 2007.
According to Bloomberg of those left with a job, their hours are dropping as well as their wages:
The average work week fell to 33 hours, the lowest level since records began in 1964, from 33.1 hours in May, today’s report showed. Average weekly hours worked by production workers rose to 39.5 hours from 39.4 hours, while overtime held at 2.8 hours. That brought the average weekly earnings down to $611.49 from $613.34.
Workers’ average hourly wages held at $18.53 for a second month. Hourly earnings were 2.7 percent higher than June 2008, the smallest gain since September 2005
The unemployment rate may have jumped 0.1%, but also reported is yet another drop of 467,000 in people who have jobs.
EPI notes 9 years of jobs wiped out (while the population grew):
This is the only recession since the Great Depression to wipe out all jobs growth from the previous business cycle, a devastating benchmark for the workers of this country and a testament to both the enormity of the current crisis and to the extreme weakness of jobs growth from 2000-2007
image source: EPI
Note the graph is not relative to population growth.
Interesting that the number of people dropping out
Interesting that the number of people dropping out of the labor market is within 110,000 of the increase in the number of the unemployed.
That's the type of coincidence that makes me suspect statistical manipulation on the part of the DOL.
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Maximum jobs, not maximum profits.
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Maximum jobs, not maximum profits.
Ya think
"By the skillful and sustained use of propaganda, one can make a people see even heaven as hell or an extremely wretched life as paradise"
The propaganda machine is running full steam, maybe more than I have ever seen it in my lifetime.
I only question which side I will be on.
In my State it is estimated that during the coming week
20,000 people will lose unemployment benefits. So the there you go, government can crow that unemployment has gone down.
Notice I said losing benefits not finding jobs.