‘Economy Track’ Tells Story Behind the Numbers
The nonprofit Economic Policy Institute (EPI) has launched an interactive tool for anyone interested in looking beneath current economic data to find out what’s really happening with jobs and the economy. The new online feature, “Economy Track,” offers easy-to-understand charts built on government statistics and enhanced with exclusive EPI data.
For example, Economy Track illustrates how unemployment is higher for African Americans and Hispanics than for whites, higher for men than for women, and much higher for blue-collar workers than for those with white-collar jobs.
Users can focus on unemployment and underemployment trends by state, race/ethnic group, gender, occupation and education level.
September Jobless Rate: Even Worse Than It Looks
September’s jobs numbers are worse than we thought even a few hours ago. After a couple of months of encouraging news, the latest report took a decided turn for the worse.
The basic data show that the nation lost 263,000 jobs in September, after falling 463,000 in June, 304,000 in July and 201,000 in August. The official unemployment rate now is 9.8 percent, a figure exceeded in awfulness only by the unofficial jobless rate: 17 percent.
In fact, the number of unemployed rose “only” by 214,000 because 571,000 people abandoned the labor market.
U.S. Unemployment Rate Now 9.4 Percent
In May across the nation, 345,000 jobs were lost, worsening the U.S. unemployment rate to 9.4 percent, according to data released today by the Department of Labor.
There are now 14.5 million jobless U.S. workers, a number that doesn’t reflect the severity of the problem. If those who are underemployed or who want a job but have given up looking are counted, the broader U.S. unemployment rate stands at 16.4 percent—more than
25 million Americans who need jobs or full-time work but cannot find it.
The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) increased by 268,000 over the month to 3.9 million and has tripled since the start of the recession in December 2007.
Recession Bad for All, Really Bad for Black Men
This info just out today from the Center for American Progress:
The recession is taking a toll on most Americans and has resulted in job losses not seen in almost 25 years, but black men have felt its effects particularly hard.
Black men have long faced limited employment prospects and disproportionately low rates of unemployment. Even as the economy thrived and the participation of low-skilled women in the labor force increased over the last two decades, many black men remained largely disconnected from the labor market. While the unemployment rate among black men has declined dramatically over the last few decades, the level of workforce participation among African-American men has not increased and remains stagnant. The current degree of job loss among black men is particularly alarming. These losses will likely only increase as the economic crisis deepens.
30,000 Jobs Lost a Day in March
The bloodletting of U.S. jobs continues at an unprecedented pace: In March, the number of jobless workers worsened by 663,000, to 13.2 million, and the unemployment rate rose to 8.5 percent. That’s about 30,000 jobs lost for each work day in March.
In its monthly jobs report, the Labor Department sums up the latest data, which paint a dire picture of the labor market:
Since the recession began in December 2007, 5.1 million jobs have been lost, with almost two-thirds (3.3 million) of the decrease occurring in the last five months.
Economic Policy Institute (EPI) economist Heidi Shierhotz doesn’t mince words about the shockingly bad unemployment rate:
This morning’s unemployment report offered no hint of light at the end of the tunnel. Instead, it showed that the labor market is still in its darkest months.
No Solar Sweatshops or Wal-Mart Windmills
When it comes to making the connection between how union membership can benefit low-wage workers, create green jobs and, ultimately, bolster the nation’s sinking economy, Ian Kim gets it.
Kim is director of the Green-Collar Jobs Campaign at the Los Angeles-Oakland-based Ella Baker Center for Human Rights. He says President Obama’s economic recovery package offers the opportunity to connect low-wage workers with quality union jobs—quality “green jobs.” In Kim’s words:
We’re not talking about solar sweatshops or Wal-Mart windmills.
Reich: Enact Employee Free Choice Quickly to Help the Economy
Former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich has some advice for those looking for answers about how to make our economy work for everyone: restore the freedom to form unions, and give workers the bargaining power they need to improve their own lives.
In a recent op-ed in the Los Angeles Times, “The Union Way Up,” Reich says the nation can get out of our economic slump and on the road to a sustainable economy by passing the Employee Free Choice Act:
The sooner it’s enacted, the better—for U.S. workers and for the U.S. economy…making it easier for all Americans to form unions would give the middle class the bargaining power it needs for better wages and benefits. And a strong and prosperous middle class is necessary if our economy is to succeed.
