SEARCH
Unemployment Reaches 26-Year High of 9.7 Percent |
|
 |
|
Some 216,000 U.S. jobs were cut in August, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data out today. That worsens the unofficial unemployment rate to 9.7 percent, the highest rate since June 1983. The rate was 9.4 percent in July.
If underemployed workers or those who want a job but have given up looking are counted, the broader U.S. unemployment rate stands at 16.8 percent, up from 16.3 percent last month. That means more than 25 million Americans need jobs or full-time work but cannot find it. Worse yet, there now are 5 million long-term unemployed workers, the worst such figure in any recent recession. That means there were nearly six workers looking for every job available.
The 216,000 job loss is the smallest monthly decline since last year. Employers cut 276,000 jobs in July, compared with an average of 691,000 per month in the first quarter.
There is some good news: The economic recovery package has created about 1.2 million jobs, according to an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). Without the stimulus package, the monthly job loss would have been double what it was just six months ago.
Jobs were lost in all other sectors, except for health care, which experienced a small gain. Manufacturing lost another 63,000 jobs in August.
Workers of color were very hard hit. The unemployment rate among African Americans remained steady at 15.1 percent in August and rose slightly to 13 percent for Hispanics.
The broad sweep of the nation’s economic crisis is evident in the slow wage growth. Average hourly wages for production and nonsupervisory workers rose by 10 cents to $18.58. Between December 2008 and June 2009 private-sector wages grew only by 1.3 percent. Meanwhile, production and nonsupervisory workers—representing about 80 percent of employees—have seen their annual wage growth slow drastically to 1.4 percent after a relatively steady growth of 4 percent from 2007 to 2008.
A new report by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), “The Recession’s Hidden Cost,” details what the authors describe as a “remarkable slowdown” in hourly wages, and traces its impact across groups of private-sector workers. EPI economist Heidi Shierholz predicts the jobless rate will reach 10 percent by the end of this year and says the latest jobless figures show that layoffs are continuing, but that employers are not hiring new workers. She says:
The fallout from this recession is an equal opportunity disaster for millions of Americans throughout the labor market, and for the economy as a whole. Those who are out of work are facing longer spells of unemployment and rising competition for scarce job openings as employers continue to downsize.
That’s especially bad news for new college graduates who face the highest unemployment rate in 25 years. At the same time, they are carrying record student loan debt, expensive health insurance costs and an average of $4,100 in credit card debt.
Several economists point out that while this jobs report could have been worse, the numbers confirm the need for a second round of economic stimulus.
7 Comments
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
I know what will help this bad situation let’s give 20 MILLION ILLEGAL ALIENS amnesty that should help out a bunch.
Every year there are tens of thousands of jobs here in America that are not advertised to American job candidates. These jobs are sent out to bodyshops to be filled, often international bodyshops who place foreign workers on American soil. They are increasingly not filled by Americans. Meanwhile, Americans are looking high and low for work, with little success. Even if the Americans looking for work somehow find out about the jobs, there is no legal requirement in most cases that the company consider the American or his/her application. Instead, the American can be bypassed in favor of a foreign worker. This is true even if an American is still in the job! This has been going on for at least a decade. At the very end of 1999, the yearly cap for these foreign workers was raised to nearly 200 thousand, and left there for three years during our last big recession. I met foreign workers here in my classes who were working in specialties where I knew Americans in those same specialties who were out of work! Why are we continuing to do this? What must we do to make sure that Americans get first crack at the tens of thousands of openings every year that are preferentially and non-competitively filled with foreign workers?
Whey working people lose their jobs people start to suffer immediately!
What is organized labor proposing as federal legislation
to “bail out” millions of working people across the country who need help NOW!!!
WHAT GREAT PROPOSALS AND RESOLUTIONS WILL THE AFL-CIO PROPOSE AT THE PITTSBURGH CONVENTION???
WILL OBAMA BE ASKED ABOUT THE CRITICAL NEEDS OF IMPOVERISHED AND DESTITUTE WORKING PEOPLE?
DON’T LET OBAMA GET AWAY WITH ANOTHER SLICK SPEECH THAT HAS ONLY BAMBOOZLED WORKING PEOPLE WITH EMPTY WORDS OF “CHANGE” BUT ONLY SUPPORTED WALL STREET, BANKS, CORPORATE WAR MONGERS, ETC. AT THE EXPENSE
OF THE NEEDS OF THE PEOPLE.
1. Immediate and indefinite extension of unemployment benefits until workers can find living wage jobs.
2. Housing relief: Section 8 housing relief massively extended to help unemployed workers.
3. Food stamps. Massively extended including all people in need,
even SSI recipients now excluded, including undocumented workers and families.
4. Organized labor demand establishment of national non-profit corporations in areas where need is great but private companies fail to meet needs of consumers. (Housing construction for example as previously posted on this blog, to set up union organized. home construction. for example.)
5. WHERE ARE THE BILLIONS AND TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS NEEDED TO BAIL OUT THE SCHOOLS, HOSPITALS, AND WORKING PEOPLE OF THIS COUNTRY? HAS OBAMA SMILINGLY GIVEN EVERYTHING AWAY TO THE WALL STREET GANGSTERS?
By the time big-business and corporate investors get around to hiring workers, only after their huge profits and million dollar salaries are assured, working people and their families will living on the streets, with no food, shelter, health care etc. WE WILL BECOME A TOTALLY DESTITUTE THIRD WORLD COUNTRY.
Here is one small example of what is happening right now!
Who in organized labor (only 10 percent of Democrats are pro-labor) gives a damn???
New Jersey’s largest city cuts water to working class households
By William Moore
4 September 2009
The city government of Newark, New Jersey announced last week that it would begin shutting off water service to 1,600 of the roughly 5,000 property owners who owe more than $1,000 on their municipal water bills. These delinquencies are not primarily of major property owners, but individual homeowners and owners of small residential and commercial properties.
Figures from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics for June show unemployment in Newark, the state’s largest city, rose from 13.4 percent in the previous month to 14.3 percent, the highest level in 15 years. Newark’s unemployment rate is nearly double that of two years ago and 33 percent higher than the same time last year. The city, part of the New York City metropolitan area, has a population of about 280,000, and is one of the poorest major cities in the U.S.
…
The water crackdown comes as the city has suffered a significant budget deficit. As a result, it has chosen to squeeze money from those who can least afford to pay. It has already cut off service to hundreds of locations. There are also allegations, reported by CNN, that the city is being much more lenient with major corporate accounts that are also delinquent on their water bills. The Newark administration is headed by Mayor Cory Booker, a supposed rising star in Democratic Party circles who counts himself as one of President Obama’s major backers.
full article here:
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2009/sep2009/newa-s04.shtml
JerryWells,I’m not an Obama fan but for your information he is President not King. I’m also not a real big fan of the AFL-CIO as it is currently being run.It will do little good for the AFL-CIO to demand anything from him. There is little to nothing under his control he can sign bills or veto bills. He can not make any changes on his own.Until the people of this country quit sending the same people back to Washington time after time, nothing is going to change.
Perhaps as unemployment continues to rise, we might take a look at history and utilize what has worked in the past. During the great depression of the thirties there were NRA and WPA work programs.
If there were another stimulus package, perhaps it could include a DIRECT stimulus to the people needing it the most. The Unions could direct the skilled labor and jobs corps could train simpler skill tasks.
Direct payment from the government to the working people. Yes, it’s a social program but temporary based on the condition of the economy.
Recently the nine major banks who evidently didn’t need the money, gave out twenty three BILLION dollars in bonuses. How many thirty thousand dollar a year jobs could that money have created?
If the stimulus was sent out in the form of paychecks, 100% of it would be spent stimulating the economy making car payments, house payments and paying the rest of the bills rather than draining the states dry of unemployment.
I would love to know who the bigwigs think pays for the infrastructure, services, and everything else that makes America a great place to live? Our good fortune was financed and predicated on middle class salaries, which are drying up rapidly. For that, we need decent JOBS.
Now that the Federal judge has refused any delay in implementation of mandatory E-Verification system for all government contractors. It is time to impose federal mandated standards on every state and local government as well, not to forget every business nationwide. But not on a voluntary basis anymore? For once the open border, globalists lawsuits have been finally apposed by the courts. But we cannot, must not allow them to gain the advantage again, as they have in the past. We must in addition fight against any path to citizenship. It will be a running battle against special interest groups contrary to unemployed citizens and legal residents. In 1986 the immigration control and reform act became law, but was undermined, mismanaged and severely under funded. What we had was an important piece of legislation that was disregarded and used fraudulently. GOOGLE–NUMBERSUSA & JUDICIAL WATCH FOR MORE DETAILS.
Instead of moving towards another controversial new immigration reform law, the legislators can author amendments to the Simpson/Mazzoli bill? First and foremost it requires no more Amnesties? Next! Follow the example of Australia’s and now the United Kingdom’s strong opposition to mass immigration. Overwhelmed by slack laws, Britain and Australia have addressed the massive problem, by allowing only the well educated, tradesman and professional people into each nation. Unlike ourselves the US politicians have catered to big business—IN CORPORATE WELFARE–and covertly removed any serious enforcement at the borders or ports of entry. Years of intentional apathy and self indulgence has allowed the tolerant invasion of destitute foreign workers and families, costing taxpayers trillions of dollars in welfare benefits. The Border States specifically have succumbed to millions of illegal occupiers who have drained government treasuries
A public option in health care can never be, while taxpayers are forever opening their wallets to supporting the poor of other lands? We cannot afford to subsidize foreign workers anymore? The bill has no restriction in the wording to authenticate a persons legal status. Personally, I want a single payer system to stop the profiteering by insurance companies, but I don’t want to be taxed for underwriting illegal immigrants and their families? Even if they add an amendment declining illegal immigrants from the health care bill, they will still be included if the Democrats enact another path to citizenship? Then what about the others on the opposite side of our weak fence, they will hear the Amnesty bell chiming and rush for the border, or enter as tourists in an airport.
Allowing people into America as guest workers to work in agriculture became a parody. Given amnesty in 1986 they moved away from the fields and moved to higher paying jobs bring in their immediate family members. In 1986 the 3.5 million legalized people fraudulently materialized to be 5 million. Today under labor laws the guest workers who enter under special visas, are supposed to return to their country of origin? This of course never happens and therefore hundreds of thousands disappear into America and then farmers must import more to pick fruits and vegetables. Mandatory E-Verify, to control illegal immigration on a nationwide grand scale would drive foreign aliens from the workplace, when they are identified.
The career politician’s who cheat taxpayers by prostituting their services to big business, must not stay in Washingtonto defy public voices ever again. A POSSIBLE REWARD FOR REPORTING SUSPECTED EMPLOYERS OF ILLEGAL ALIENS, CALL THE IRS HOTLINE 1-800-829-0433 GOOGLE their website! The IRS does not take kindly to employers that seek to evade taxes by paying cash for day labor as this is especially common practice at construction sites. Call up the politicians you voted for at 202-224-3121 and tell them NO MORE AMNESTIES!. YES TO A PERMANENT E-VERIFY! BUILD THE ORIGINAL TWO-TIER FENCE! ENFORCE THE 1986 (IRCA) IMMIGRATION LAW THAT’S ON THE BOOKS. DON’T OVERPOPULATE AMERICA!
Copy, Paste and distribute freely