U.S. Economy Is 11.5 Million Jobs Short, EPI Says (CHART)

Even though the unemployment rate remained flat at 9.6 percent in September, the labor market would now need to add a total of about 11.5 million jobs to restore the pre-recession rate, according to analysis from Heidi Shierholz, an economist with the Economic Policy Institute.

The economy lost about 95,000 jobs last month, including temporary Census workers. Not including Census positions, roughly 18,000 jobs were lost, as the private sector addition of 64,000 jobs couldn't offset the 83,000 jobs cut by state and local governments, whose unusually severe deficits have lead analyst Meredith Whitney to predict that the next major financial crisis will come from municipal debt defaults. The state and local cuts included 58,000 teaching jobs.

The true numbers could be even worse. As HuffPost's Shahien Nasiripour notes, the reported numbers of jobs lost in July and August were revised up after the initial reports.

According to Shierholz's analysis, the economy is down about 8.1 million jobs from where it was when the recession began, in December 2007. Considering population growth, the economy should have added 3.4 million jobs during the recession, Shierholz notes. To fully recover, the country would need to add 11.5 million jobs. Check out the EPI's chart:

That's a huge number, and population growth continues to make it bigger. To fully recover in five years, Shierholz says, the country would need to add 300,000 jobs "every month for that entire period."

Comments

[TRRoughRider]

09:37 AM on 10/13/2010

What do you expect when the majority of average consumers have been rap-ed and continue to be of their disposable income and savings by predatory corporations that had way with the GWB Administration. For every cause there is an effect and it is going to take many years for the effect to reverse itself.

[JustDavid]

09:46 PM on 10/12/2010

What is the definition of a job? I have this feeling that they are counting people who are working as having a job. NOT! A job should allow you to exist in its environment. Many people working in the silicon valley and elsewhere are living in their cars....That is not a job.

I don't believe most americans are aware that people in other industrialized nations make much more money than they do, have more vacation time, better health care, etc. I cannot for the life of me understand why the anti-union, anti-working people, pro-billionaire Republicans are so against people who choose to make their living by being productive in the USA. How more un-american can you get!

[spinotter11]

10:01 AM on 10/16/2010

It's all about money. The United States has always had more of a frontier mentality than other developed nations. In many countries it would not be possible politically to perpetrate the crimes against the population that we have witnessed especially in the past two years. But it seems as if corporations and politicians are permitted to do almost anything to add another zero to the bottom line. They probably don't wish us dead, as long as we are cheap, subservient tools.

[gerald4]

04:08 PM on 10/12/2010

Millions of people could be employed for a short term to build high speed rail, iunfrastructure, and other things if the USA had national wealth available to spend for this endeavor.

The USA private sector must re-create the industries that create national wealth before the US government can sell more US bonds to pay for these expenses without destroying the US economy with deficit spending.

But US citizens have already spent the wealth accumulated by previous generations of US citizens to pay for imported products made in foreign countries and for US Federal Government Expenses.

There is no more gold in Ft. Knox and the US is running out of title to privately owned businesses, factories, casinos, hotels, farms, land, ports, breweries, refineries, forests, ports, breweries, refineries, and other privately owned assets located in the USA that were created by previous US generations that foreigners are willing to buy with (redeem for) the US Dollars and US Bonds they got (earned obtained) by manufacturing things for US consumers.

[SimonDeNavarro]

12:45 PM on 10/12/2010

33.4 billion a year for 300,500 green jobs in Germany, so stimulus(700 bil) could have created about 6 million jobs. However it would be bad for BP.

http://www.smh.com.au/business/germanys-green-light-for-energy-20100713-109go.html

[gerald4]

12:38 PM on 10/12/2010

What is wrong with the US government continuously borrowing back US dollars from individual citizens and businesses in the industrialized nations and spending those US dollars to pay US citizens to do things such as re-build the infrastructure in order to stimulate the economy?

The US government does not really borrow US dollars from US banks or foreign individuals to pay for its expenses that are greater than the taxes that they collect.

The US congress periodically passes laws that authorize the Federal Reserve Board (FED) which is a Special Purpose Government Entity created by the Federal Reserve Act via Chairman Ben Bernanke to buy some paper and then print a bunch of new interest bearing paper currency instruments (US Bonds) in varying amounts with the promise of US government repaying these loans in US dollars at the future dates specified (when they become due).

This congressional authorized amount of US debt instruments (US Bonds, T-bills, etc.) that is in excess of the value of the Gold Reserves stored at Ft. Knox is normally referred to as the "National Debt" or "Sovereign Debt".

The FED then auctions off and sell these freshly printed paper US Bonds, and other Debt Instrument Securities at periodic US Federal Reserve Bank public bid auctions AT DISCOUNTS LESS THAN CURRENT VALUE AND/OR PRESENT WORTH, that mathematically converts to higher than the interest rates stated on the bond face.

[gerald4]

12:44 PM on 10/12/2010

But wait a minute, these citizens and businesses in the industrialized foreign nations do not loan the US dollars that US citizens paid for the imported products that US citizens consumed back to the US government to spend on various government expensed, they buy freshly printed paper US bonds at Federal Reserve Auctions (at a discounts less than face value and/or present worth) in return for the US dollars that they earned buy making and selling consumer goods to US citizens.

Foreign entities only buy these freshly printed paper US Bonds that the HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO VALUE, only because they are redeemable for title to privately owned businesses, factories, casinos, hotels, farms, land, ports, breweries, refineries, forests, ports, breweries, refineries, and other privately owned assets located in the USA that were created by previous US generations instead of redeeming these US dollars with US Gold from Ft. Knox.

We are running out of assets that foreigners can buy with their freshly printed paper US Bonds and US dollars, so the US government borrowing "power" will disappear and we will have to start producing the things that we need so support our lives.

[gerald4]

01:15 PM on 10/12/2010

After the industrial foreign entities have redeemed their freshly printed paper US Dollars and Bonds for title to everything of value in the USA, these foreign industrial entities will not buy any more of these freshly printed paper US Bonds, or they will only pay a tiny fraction of a penny on the dollar for these freshly printed paper US Bonds.

This will cause the US dollar to lose all of its purchasing power, and then your life savings in US dollars might only last you a few weeks, and your paycheck might only buy one loaf of bread, and even the Billionaires assets will only last a few weeks!

Foreign entities will soon own everything of value in the USA as they trade their US bonds and US dollars earned by manufacturing US consumer products for title to assets located in the USA. Foreigners will then become the major (or maybe the only) source of employment for US citizens.

The USA population will then become employees; possibly indentured servants; or maybe even beg to become slaves owned by the foreign countries and/or foreign individuals that will own everything of value in the USA in the very near future if the US government continues to destroy the US economy.

US citizens might have no options if they want to feed their families? Our children and our grandchildren might also have to change to the religion (probably not Christian) of the business owner if they want a job.

[gerald4]

12:28 PM on 10/12/2010

In the couple of decades after WWII the USA was generating wealth as indicated by the accumulation of Gold at Ft. Knox!

US citizens were employed making things that US companies exported to foreigners in return for the foreigners gold.

US citizens now continuously pay US dollars to people and companies in the industrial nations (through Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and the other imported/distributor/retailers) with US dollars to manufacture and supply the imported products that US citizens consume (instead of US citizens producing these products ourselves).

This creates a constant flow of US dollars from the USA to foreign industrial nations.

This process needs to be reversed before foreigners own everything of value in the USA.

[abbyrose86]

11:50 PM on 10/12/2010

Gerald, while I do not agree with your economic philosophy and analysis...I DO appreciate your thoughtful commentary.

YOUR comments provide a positive method of debate on real issues, for that I thank you.
:)

[gerald4]

04:36 PM on 10/13/2010

I appreciate your commentaries also.

[ALiberalKidd]

12:18 PM on 10/12/2010

There really should be some very angry Americans but it is not these “anti black Obama” clowns in this so-called tea party, because they were co conspirators in the decades of conservative rule that destroyed this nation. The greater majority of fair minded Americans whom hold a higher sense of fairness and justice should be the ones out in the streets demanding truth, justice, and real change from Obama, democrats, republicans, and corporate America.

[drbslurp]

12:23 PM on 10/12/2010

Where do people get the idea that the Tea Party is racist??

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

12:29 PM on 10/12/2010

Being obsessed with race is how the left operates. They see a black man and people opposed to him. They fail to see the opposition to the policies that have sent us deeper into the economic abyss that he implemented. What is even more sinister, is the operatives on the left know that the Tea Party is opposed to his policies, not him as a black man, but they would gain little support if they acknowledged that and need to stir the base of African Americans who voted 95% for Obama.

[ALiberalKidd]

02:01 PM on 10/12/2010

Being racially conservative : historically opposing affirmative action, civil rights, and all others actions geared toward poor African Americans, this is not an idea but a historic reality. Racist, Strom Thurmond is the father of all forms of modern conservatism/"tea party kinds," and opposition to all things black is its legacy. Racial opposition is the only constant in southern or any others who self describe themselves as conservative.

The tea party was contrived in racial opposition to America's first black president, but had the tea party convened and intervene in all those years when Henry Kissenger and conservatives republicans were destroying this country then maybe they would have some legitimacy!

[ALiberalKidd]

12:17 PM on 10/12/2010

America is deep under water thanks to all those great, racially conservative, trickle down social engineers with their decades of scheming, in their little polluted “think tanks!” They schemed to undermine American workers and economy in exchange for cash kick backs! In the land of our great savor (China), these looser would have either committed suicide or been executed. Millions of Americans are suffering because of the evil deeds of double agent like Henry Kissinger and his peers.

Contrary to the lie that politicians, the media, and suppose experts sold, even doing good times, there are not enough jobs for every American to work simultaneously. This is was why it was so important and humane to make sure that there would always be a good quality and solid safety design for the poor, under employed, or unemployed. However, to the devil this was a "too Liberal" concept!

Furthermore, instead of holding these liars to account we are still allowing them to speak and travel around the world as heroes.

"Education is the key" is another condescending/ stalling lie to try and cover-up the bleak truth about this economy. Now politicians and corporate agents will push and try to force blue collar workers into working for birth to death, without the kinds of long vacations and breaks all congress takes!

[OldTulsan]

11:16 AM on 10/12/2010

Lawrence Mishel, Economic Policy Institute, and David M. Walker, President of the Pete G. Peterson Foundation wrote the following op-ed that states a stimulus to create jobs is okay.

Pete Peterson is the driving force behind the movement to cut or eliminate entitlements, aka the Cat Food Commission...

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0210/33444.html
Opinion: Address jobs now and deficits later - Lawrence Mishel and David M. Walker - POLITICO.com

"President Barack Obama is in a difficult position when it comes to deficits. Today's high deficits will have to go even higher to help address unemployment. At the same time, many Americans are increasingly concerned about escalating deficits and debt. What's a president to do?

The answer, from a policy perspective, is not that hard: A focus on jobs now is consistent with addressing our deficit problems ahead.

The difficulty is that many politicians and news organizations often cast deficit debates as a dichotomy: You either care about them or you don’t.

But this is rarely accurate. The fact that the two of us, who have philosophical differences on the proper role of government, find much to agree on about deficits is a testament to the importance of dropping this useless dichotomy and finally talking about deficits in a reasonable way..."

Or we can keep 20% real unemployment and watch more raw sewage in our rivers, more bridges collapse, ad nauseum.

[rosiebond007]

11:12 AM on 10/12/2010

Focus on the corporations who are not hiring while hoarding money.

US corporations should register, manufacture and pay taxes here - otherwise they are simply NOT an American company.

[drbslurp]

12:24 PM on 10/12/2010

And, if the anti-biz climate continues - they'll all move overseas

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

12:31 PM on 10/12/2010

And if they are not American based then do you stop the products from entering the country? What is your point?

[TParrish]

04:22 PM on 10/12/2010

I can't speak to rosiebond007's point, but I can speak to A point. The corporations in question have, for the past eight years, been given huge tax cuts and incentives (to the point that many of them pay zero taxes in this country) as incentives to increase their job creation. The took said tax cuts and used the money to move jobs offshore...while paying zero taxes in this country.

I don't get a free ride. You don't get a free ride. They should not get a free ride either.

[gerald4]

11:06 AM on 10/12/2010

Why would any US business build a factory and make their product in the USA if they can make that same product in a foreign country using labor that might only cost a tiny percentage of the labor and environmental cost of using US citizens, and the foreigners are usually better workers, do not complain, do not take sick days off, and are generally more thankful for their employment.

I believe that real wealth is created and/or acquired ONLY when the members of a family (or a nation, city-state, island, tribe, etc.) plant, grow and/or harvest something of commercial value from the earth; extract something of commercial value from the earth; provide professional services (medical, legal, dental, engineering, architecture, accounting, land surveying, technology, etc.); collects of payment for patent and copyright uses; manufactures or constructs something of commercial value that is consumable or permanently useful for rental income; and then trades, sells, leases or rents these items and/or services to parties outside of their family, in return for a net transfer of gold, currency or commodities from other parties outside of their family into their own family.

The members of that family can then reflect their real wealth and financial security with the net positive accumulation of grain, gold, cattle, jewels, land, buildings, factories, commodities and/or other marketable products for reserve use in times of emergency and/or also to raise the standard of living for the members of that family.

[gerald4]

11:01 AM on 10/12/2010

US citizens have elected both Republican and Democratic congressmen and senators who created the "FREE TRADE" laws that generally did not exist several decades ago when the USA was a successful industrial giant.

Both major parties are in favor the free trade legislation, which has destroyed US, industries and the industrial employment opportunities for the average US working person by allowing, causing, and economically requiring our businesses to take advantage of the lower labor and environmental costs available in various foreign countries?

The businesses across this nation are creating new permanent jobs, but these jobs are located in foreign nations because of the existing US government trade laws, labor laws, and the US environmental laws that were created by both major political parties in the last few decades.

These laws have made creating jobs in the USA un-economical.

Labor and environmental costs are almost always much less expensive in foreign nations.

[duhtruth]

10:52 AM on 10/12/2010

Not bad. Obama really did a lot of bad work in a year and a half! And the Rethugs are going to replace these jobs ASAP! LOL!!!!

[gerald4]

10:44 AM on 10/12/2010

Maybe the US congressmen and US senators for the past 40 years that created these "FREE TRADE" laws that destroyed the US industries and the US jobs should be put on trial for treason.

The USA is not in a military war with the industrialized nations of the world, where acts of treason are defined by law, but the USA is in an economic war where the future of the USA can be almost as devastated by losing the economic war as Japan and Germany were after they lost the WWII military war.

The US International Trade Deficit must be corrected by any means possible! This is the basic structural economic foundation problem that will destroy the US economic miracle

The USA is losing the Economic War! The USA must re-industrialize, or become a third world nation of mostly unemployed beggars after the US government destroys the purchasing power of the US dollar.

The USA has lost the World Technology Leadership! The USA must change the emphasis of our education systems back to technology and science if the USA wants to compete in the world with technology.

[2garen]

11:13 AM on 10/12/2010

It just goes to show you that "FREE TRADE" is not free at all. It has cost us dearly.
This is all stemmed from a pay for play type of political game that started with the Reagan Administration.
Maybe we need to go back to see how the seeds of this damage started to grow.

[OldTulsan]

11:20 AM on 10/12/2010

The NASA budget cuts are killing thousands of jobs in areas in which we still had technology leadership.

One reason for lack of STEM college students is the risk of getting a degree in a STEM subject, only to discover those jobs have been offshored or given to foreigners on H-1B, or L-1 non-immigrant work visas.

http://www.guba.com/watch/3000025799/30-days-Outsourcing-in-India
30 days Outsourcing in India - GUBA Video

The "star" is Chris Jobin, a programmer whose job was outsourced to India. He traveled to India and stayed for 30 days as an employee of a call center.

The candidates for President favor H-1B visas:

http://www.infoworld.com/t/tech-industry-analysis/clinton-mccain-and-obama-h-1b-visas-830
Clinton, McCain and Obama on H-1B visas | Tech industry analysis - InfoWorld

ANY job that can be done at a desk or a computer can be done overseas for much, much less; e.g.:

o architect
o radiologist
o accountant
o engineer
o car designer

If the U.S. had an industrial policy that put the interests of its own citizens first, then more college students mught consider majoring in a STEM subject.

There is a FREE Job Destruction Newsletter at:

http://www.jobdestruction.com/

[UncleHomer]

10:40 AM on 10/12/2010

And where can we get several million new jobs?

The same place we can get the TRILLIONS of dollars we need to pay down the national debt.

But backing President Obama's drive for alternative fuels.

We spend close to a billion dollars a day on imported oil to fuel our cars and trucks when we could be driving them with fuel we create right here.

We could supply 95% of our petroleum needs with bio mass production of Hemp alone.

[Ragnar Danneskjold]

12:34 PM on 10/12/2010

And where would we grow all this hemp? How much would it cost per unit vs. oil or gas or conventional fuel? How much would it cost to build the infrastructure to support this development plan? Who would pay for it? Is it practical? Prove it can be done efficiently and competitively and you might have your wish... until then it is a pipe dream.

[SimonDeNavarro]

12:38 PM on 10/12/2010

You never know until you try,