The March Employment Report was again pumped as another victory in the war against unemployment. But for millions of long-term unemployed, it's still a brutal battle to find work. That's why it's unfortunate that most main stream media outlets and politicos seem incapable of understanding, or chose to ignore the "real" unemployment numbers.
The BLS reported that unemployment (U3) for March was 8.8%, which is a slight improvement from February's 8.9%. 216,000 jobs were created, but that's a relatively small monthly number of jobs for what is supposedly a strong economic recovery from the Great Recession. In comparison, during the 2004 economic recovery, 338,000 jobs were created in March.
The Obama administration and media mouthpieces seem preoccupied with the U3, 8.8% measure of unemployment, but you need to dig into the numbers to reveal the "real" state of unemployment.
A disconnected news media conveniently forgets to mention that the US needs to create about 125,000 jobs a month to simply keep up with new entrants to the workforce. If you subtract 125,000 from 216,000 jobs created in March, you end up with 91,000 "extra" jobs for 13.5 million unemployed.
Underemployment remained quite high at 15.7%, or 8.2 million workers who want full-time work, but are forced to work part-time jobs of 34 hours a week or less. Yes, full-time work is considered 35 hours or more per week, although many "real world" workers consider jobs of less than 40 hours a week as part-time.
But what was most striking about the March jobs report was the continuing increase in the number of long-term unemployed. According to the BLS, March showed 1,899,000 workers who have been out of work for 99 weeks or more, an increase of 127,000 from February. The real 99er population is growing quickly and shows no signs of abating.
NELP estimates (PDF) that "throughout 2010, 3.9 million unemployed workers exhausted all of their unemployment benefits without finding new work." Exhausting unemployment benefits also includes those unemployed that exhausted benefits after 60, 73, 79, or 93 weeks, so NELP's estimate is larger than the BLS estimate for those out of work 99 weeks or more.
Not only are more unemployed out of work 99 weeks or longer, but those out of work 52 and 27 weeks or more are increasing as well. Those out of work 27 weeks or more now accounts for a record 45.5% (6.14 million) of all unemployed, while for those out of work 52 weeks or more the rate is 31.5% (4.25 million) of all unemployed; again a record high.
The participation rate is another employment issue rarely discussed on the national media stage. According to the BLS, "the participation rate is the share of the population 16 years and older working or seeking work."
The labor force participation rate was unchanged, 64.2%, the same as the previous two months. This is the lowest labor participation rate since March 1984.
The March Employment Report showed some job gains, but not nearly enough jobs were created to put a dent in the long-term unemployment problem. Media talking heads and politicians looking for 2012 votes touted the March jobs report as a winner, but it was a loser for millions of increasingly desperate long-term unemployed who are struggling without jobs or unemployment benefits. Let's not hang those "Mission Accomplished" banners just yet...
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NOT TRUE - Look at the CPS on the BLS website and come back to me and tell me the truth.
"UI extension is now a dead issue."
TRUE - And there was never a chance that it would pass, ever since Max Baucus said that 99 weeks was enough.
"McDonalds is hiring 50,000 folks at $85 a week (before deductions), so prosperity is returning."
The situation is marginally better than it was on average, although improving very slowly. I don't know what value your obvious sarcasm brings to the whole situation, except to assuage your own feelings, presumably. Assuage away.
Here's how the unemployment rate is calculated:
http://mollysmiddleamerica.blogspot.com/2011/02/how-unemployment-rate-is-calculated.html
Also, there are now more people officially unemployed (about 14,000,000) than there are people who are collecting benefits (about 8,770,000).
The job market you want to return to will never be there. The job market has changed. I'm tired of 99ers and other liberals complaining because they thing they are entitled to a job. You are not. No matter how much you believe you are, there is never going to be a job that hires you because YOU believe YOU deserve it.
99'rs, how many weeks of unemployment do you guys want? I got it, Untill the jobs come back. Realize they aren't coming back.
I understand your ability to highlight one individual and complain how this American has lost their job. But at the end of the day, realize the job market has shifted.
Please don't tell the jobless that they need to start their own business. Not everyone is a great entrepreneur. Even most of us who think we ARE entrepreneurs fail at trying to get a business off the ground. First, it takes a good business idea for a product/service that people are willing to pay money for. Then, it takes capital that most don't have. Then, it takes great organizational and management skills that few people have. Finally, it takes really good LUCK.
Should the jobless move to China, where the jobs are? Someday the Chinese will also be out of work, because businesses are becoming more and more automated (they don't NEED many employees). So what happens to all the unemployed? This is going to be a larger and larger issue as time goes on. (Read "The Lights in the Tunnel" by Martin Ford for one perspective on this issue.)
If you actually bothered to communicate with many long-term unemployed people (not just the lazy brother-in-law who is abusing the system), you would realize that most of the long-term unemployed have been looking frantically for work since they were laid off. They probably tried to get a similar job during the first weeks of unemployment, then, as the weeks went on, they expanded their search. As more and more months went by, they applied to retail, minimum wage, only to be told they were "overqualified".
Right now there are millions of people who are unemployed (officially 14,000,000) and only 8.770,000 are getting benefits. That should serve to prove that the reason that people are unemployed isn't because they are getting lazy on the government dole, but that there are NO jobs... still. Why else would someone lose his/her home, experience serious financial distress, and not work?
You talk about "the job market has changed". The oldest among us are hit the hardest by long-term unemployment. In March, the average person 20 to 24 years old was unemployed for 32 weeks. The average person 55 to 64 years old was unemployed 52 weeks. 52 weeks.
Your point in terms of this article is.....??
Don't forget sales taxes, for instance. Unemployed people still buy things and when they do, they pay taxes (unless they're dealing on the black market). Also don't forget taxes on intrest and dividends. You pay those whether you're employed or not.
It's probably more accurate to write that 99ers don't pay income taxes because they didn't work.
But if your total income is very low due to long-term unemployment (you do have to pay taxes on unemployment insurance), you may not have to pay taxes on dividends and interest.
You got that right! I fact I'd go further and state that Obama seldom exerts himself for anything other that assiduously currying favor with his rich pals.
It's called "mass immigration". Game over.
Because they are unemployed, they don't have the money to make large (or perhaps even small) campaign contributions. That means that unless they volunteer in large numbers to assist campaigns and convince politicians that they will vote as a group, they and their needs largely will be ignored.
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf
I guess those people can just starve.......... Afterall the GOP thinks everyone without a job is lazy......
http://www.examiner.com/unemployment-in-rochester/states-cutting-unemployment-benefits-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly-h-r-589
F&F
http://www.nelp.org/
National Employment Law Project
But the conception that the long-term unemployed are "lazy, not willing to take low-paying jobs, not competent, etc." is very, very disturbing, especially since older people, many with advanced degrees, many who have decades of great work experience, are over-represented among the long-term unemployed.
http://mollysmiddleamerica.blogspot.com/2011/02/how-unemployment-rate-is-calculated.html
I'm not sure at all that most of them will never help someone else if they can. I know that, if our situation improves, I will be more compassionate.