Unemployment Reaches 26-Year High of 9.7 Percent
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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.
247,000 Jobs Lost in July; Without Recovery Package, Would Be Far Worse
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U.S. jobs lost in July totaled 247,000, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data out today, with the unofficial unemployment rate now at 9.4 percent compared with 9.5 percent in June, the first improvement in the pace of job loss since June 2008.
The July jobless rate, while much better than economists predicted, still means 14.5 million U.S. workers are without jobs. And if the underemployed or those who want a job but have given up looking are counted, the broader U.S. unemployment rate stands at 16.3 percent, more than 25 million Americans who need jobs or full-time work but cannot find it. Jobs were lost in all sectors, except for education, health care, leisure and government, which all experienced small gains.
More frightening, the July job figures would have been far worse without the economic recovery package, which has helped to slow the pace of job loss to less than half of what it was just six months ago. From May to July, job losses averaged 331,000 per month, compared with losses averaging 645,000 per month from November to April.
Get Economic Recovery Information at the Working for America Institute
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With billions in federal economic recovery funds available for job training and education, the AFL-CIO Working for America Institute is the go-to place for union leaders seeking the latest information on training and workforce development opportunities. Through a series of Web announcements, webinars and conference calls, the institute is keeping the union movement abreast of the opportunities to better educate the nation’s workforce and rebuild the middle class.
The institute offers a practical new guide to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. For example, the latest posting announces some $220 million in new training grants for health care and high-growth industries. The U.S. Labor Department defines high growth and emerging industries—in addition to health care—as fields such as information technology, advanced manufacturing, wireless and broadband deployment, transportation and warehousing and biotechnology.
Unions, Allies: Once in a Lifetime Opportunity to Create Jobs of the Future
California Labor Federation communications organizer Rebecca Greenberg reports on the organization’s Building Workforce Partnerships conference.
Economic stimulus, green jobs, energy efficiency…these are terms workers have been hearing quite a bit about lately. This week in San Jose, Calif., unions, government, business and environmentalists joined leading economists at the California Labor Federation’s annual Building Workforce Partnerships conference to address the potential of jointly addressing economic security, energy independence and government stimulus to build a fundamentally stronger economy for America’s workers.
