Subscribe to Dollars & Sense magazine. Recent articles related to the financial crisis. Mixed Jobs Report for January (BLS)The Bureau of Labor Statistics has released its employment numbers for January. It is a mixed report: the official unemployment rate fell from 10.0% to 9.7%, yet the economy lost 20,000 non-farm jobs. This means that the decline in the rate of unemployment has to do with people who aren't (fully) employed but aren't counted as unemployed (i.e. they have become discouraged or marginally attached). The BLS also revised upward its estimate of the number of jobs that were lost in Dec. 2009, from 80,000 up to 150,000. Here are the basics from the BLS:THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION -- JANUARY 2010 Read the full report. Labels: Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs, unemployment Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). December Job Numbers (BLS)The Bureau of Labor Statistics came out with its Employment Situation report today. The unemployment rate stayed the same at 10.0%, but 85,000 jobs were lost in December. Here are the basics of the report:Nonfarm payroll employment edged down (-85,000) in December, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 10.0 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment fell in construction, manufacturing, and wholesale trade, while temporary help services and health care added jobs. Read the full report. Labels: Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). Wednesday's Recommended ReadingOn China's stimulus, by a (sort-of) insider. Interesting how the author faces up to some serious problems, but disconcerting insamuch as no mention is given to the likely environmental impact of the massive infrastructure-building program, especially in its more extravagantly wasteful aspects (dirty airports to nowhere, etc).The FT's Krishna Guha on the future of central banking. Substitute class analysis at a couple of major points and you could be getting somewhere... Ambrose Evans-Pritchard on Bernanke's re-appointment. He makes several of the points other commentators, like Stephen Roach have, but with a wider perspective, and more style: His reflex is to see any fall in demand as an outside shock to be corrected by extra stimulus. What he does not accept is that the adrenal glands of the economic system have been depleted by perpetual credit stimulus, giving the world a form of Addison's Disease. Labels: Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, Ben Bernanke, Bureau of Labor Statistics, central banking, Federal Reserve, Krishna Guha, Yu Yongding Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). Labor Leader To Head New York FedYves Smith thinks it's a gimmick, but one that may have some unexpected consequences.Tuesday, August 25, 2009 Naked Capitalism Labor Leader Chosen to Head of New York Fed Board of Directors Joseph Stiglitz has said that labor should have a voice in the setting of interest rate policy. Is this change at the New York Fed, teh appointment of the AFL-CIO's Denis Hughes as the replacement to ex Goldman co-chairman Steve Friedman as chairman of the New York Fed, a step in that direction? If it proves to be, it will only be by dint of miscalculation. This is clearly an image-burnishing move by the Fed, throwing a bone to critics, But letting labor into the tent may have unexpected consequences, simply by allowing someone who has not drunk the financial services industry Kool-Aid more influence (Hughes was on the board, but as vice chairman). This appointment is only until year-end, but if the Fed continues to be under political pressure, it isn't hard to imagine this appointment being extended. The Journal's Deal Journal voices the opposite possibility, that labor is being co-opted. The branding of labor as monolithic and radical is a bit of a canard. In the 1930s, the old AFL, which was a craft union, was comparatively conservative and regarded more favorably than upstart and aggressive CIO, for instance. From the Wall Street Journal (hat tip reader LeeAnne): Denis Hughes, president of the New York state branch of the AFL-CIO, had been serving as acting chairman of the New York Fed board since May, when Stephen Friedman stepped down from the position. Mr. Friedman, a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. chairman and adviser to President George W. Bush, had faced questions about his purchases of Goldman stock while serving on the New York Fed's board. The Fed decision formalizes Mr. Hughes's role as chairman through the end of 2009. The Fed board in Washington will announce in November or December who will serve as chairman in 2010. Columbia University President Lee Bollinger was named deputy chairman, a position that Mr. Hughes previously held. Mr. Bollinger has been a New York Fed director since January 2007. The New York Fed chairmanship typically has gone to prominent Wall Street executives or academics. The ascension of a labor leader is a new twist for the New York Fed and a sign of the public pressure the Fed has been under to loosen its close ties to Wall Street. Labels: AFL-CIO, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Denis Hughes, Federal Reserve, Monetary Policy, Naked Capitalism, Yves Smith Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). Squeezing Both Ends of the Labor MarketThese two recent pieces focus on disturbing developments in labor markets. Ambrose Evans-Prithchard zeroes in on unbelievable global undercapacity rates, and on troubling disinflationary readings, in spite of massive money creation schemes undertaken in the US, UK and Japan. Surely tongue-in-cheek, he actually ends his piece "Back to socialism anybody (The only objection I'd have to this deals with the "back to")?"The second piece, posted on Time Magazine's "The Curious Capitalist" blog, fleshes out Evans-Pritchard's view by looking at developments on the high end of the labor market, and specifically on Silicon Valley. The essential insight here is that the demand for talent may be forcing technology companies to redouble their efforts in an increasingly competitive market by attempting to initiate ever-larger labor-saving technological advances. It also makes the key point that the wage gap in this country goes far beyond Wall Street. Taken together, the picture that emerges is one in which a geographical form of labor arbitrage (playing off workers in one part of the world against others in other parts of the world) is being reinforced by technology that both increases the market power of the highest-paid while reducing that of just about everyone else. This is hardly a novel insight, but it's instructive to revisit it now and then. And, with data like these, the picture of thew underlying trend seems to become more well-defined all the time. Labels: Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, bailout, Bureau of Labor Statistics, financial crisis, labor arbitrage, overproduction, technology, The Curious Capitalist Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). July U6 Measure of Unemployment: 16.3%Along with Friday's readings of 247,000 jobs lost in July (far less than expected), and the slight movement downward in the official unemployment rate to 9.4% from 9.5%, the Bureau of Labor statistics also released the less publicized U5 and U6 readings, which attempt to flesh out the woefully incomplete (the official figure doesn't include so-called "discouraged workers," who aren't actively looking for jobs, etc) official number, by taking into account various categories of underemployment (part-time workers looking for full-time work, etc.). U5 came in at 10.7% and U6 at 16.3%. It should be mentioned that both these figures represent improvements upon June's readings of 10.8% and 16.5%, respectively. Here's a link to the BLS numbers, which also provides short summaries of the different measures.Labels: Bureau of Labor Statistics, economic indicators, unemployment rate Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). Male Worker Jobless Rate In June: 10.6 PercentA summary of today's BLS report from Bob Feldman:The official "seasonally adjusted" unemployment rate for male workers in the United States over 16 years-of-age increased from 10.5 percent to 10.6 percent between May 2009 and June 2009, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The official "seasonally adjusted" unemployment rate for white male workers increased from 9 percent to 9.2 percent between May 2009 and June 2009. For all U.S. workers, the "not seasonally adjusted" jobless rate increased from 9.1 percent to 9.7 percent between May 2009 and June 2009. The official "not seasonally adjusted" jobless rate for Black female workers over 20 years-of-age also increased from 11.1 percent to 11.7 percent between May 2009 and June 2009; and the official "not seasonally adjusted" jobless rate for all Black workers increased from 14.7 percent to 15.3 percent during this same period. The official "not seasonally adjusted" rate for all Black male workers over 20 years-of age was still 16.1 percent in June 2009. The official "not seasonally adjusted" jobless rate for Black youth between 16 and 19 years-of-age increased from 40.1 percent to 45 percent between May 2009 and June 2009, while the "not seasonally adjusted" unemployment rate for Hispanic or Latino youth was still 30.1 percent during this same period. The official "not seasonally adjusted" jobless rate for white youth between 16 and 19 years-of-age also increased from 21.1 percent to 25 percent between May 2009 and June 2009. Between May 2009 and June 2009, the official "not seasonally adjusted" jobless rate for Hispanic or Latina women jumped from 10.5 percent to 11.5 percent, while the "not seasonally adjusted" unemployment rate for Asian-American workers jumped from 6.7 percent to 8.2 percent during this same period. The official "seasonally adjusted" unemployment rate for all Hispanic and Latino workers in the United States in June 2009 was 12.2 percent. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' July 2, 2009 press release: "Nonfarm payroll employment continued to decline in June (-467,000)... Job losses were widespread across the major industry sectors, with large declines occurring in manufacturing, professional and business services, and construction ... "The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) increased by 433,000 over the month to 4.4 million. In June, 3 in 10 unemployed persons were jobless for 27 weeks or more... "Employment in manufacturing fell by 136,000 over the month… Within the durable goods industry, motor vehicles and parts (-27,000), fabricated metal products (-18,000), computer and electronic products (-16,000), and machinery (-14,000) continued to lose jobs in June. "In June, employment in construction fell by 79,000, with losses spread throughout the industry…Mining employment fell by 8,000 in June... "Employment in the professional and business services industry declined by 118,000 in June... Within this sector, employment in temporary help services fell by 38,000 in June... "Retail trade employment edged down in June (-21,000)…Over the month, job losses continued in automobile dealerships (-9,000). Employment continued to fall in wholesale trade (-16,000). "In June, financial activities employment continued to decline (-27,000)…In June, employment declined in credit intermediation and related activities (-10,000) and in securities, commodity contracts, and investments (-6,000). "The information industry lost 21,000 jobs over the month… "Employment in federal government fell by 49,000 in June, largely due to the layoff of workers temporarily hired to prepare for Census 2010..." --b.f. Labels: Black jobless rate, Bob Feldman, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Latino jobless rate, real unemployment rate Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). Real Unemployment Rate Now 16.4%We just posted John Miller's article on the real unemployment rate—adjusted to include involuntarily part-time workers and "discouraged" workers. The May numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, using the bureau's expanded "U-6" rate, show an astonishing 16.4% rate of unemployment. As Miller points out, "no bout of unemployment since the last year of the Great Depression in 1941 would have produced an adjusted."Of course, many groups of workers have already been facing official unemployment rates in the double digits—in some cases even higher than the adjusted rate of 16.4%: As of May, unemployment rates for black, Hispanic, and teenage workers were already 14.9%, 12.7% and 22.7%, respectively. Workers without a high-school diploma confronted a 15.5% unemployment rate, while the unemployment rate for workers with just a high-school degree was 10.0%. Nearly one in five (19.2%) construction workers were unemployed. In Michigan, the hardest hit state, unemployment was at 12.9% in April. Unemployment rates in seven other states were at double-digit levels as well.Another measure of how this downturn compares to other post-war recessions: "The current downturn has pushed up unemployment rates by more than any previous postwar recession," from 4.9% at the start of the recession to the current (official) rate of 9.4%—an increase of 4.5 percentage points. The only post-war recession to rival the current one, the 1982 recession, had a peak official unemployment rate of 10.8%. But that was only 3.4 percentage points above the starting rate of 7.4%. And as Miller points out, "topping the 1982 recession's peak rate of 10.8% is now distinctly possible." Read the full article. Labels: Bureau of Labor Statistics, real unemployment rate, unemployment Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). Latino Jobless Rate Jumps To 12.7% In MayA summary of today's BLS report from Bob Feldman:The official "seasonally adjusted” unemployment rate for Latino workers in the United States increased jumped from 11.3% to 12.7% between April 2009 and May 2009, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The official "seasonally adjusted" unemployment rate for white male workers also increased from 8.5% to 9% between April 2009 and May 2009. For all U.S. male workers over 16 years-of-age, the officially "seasonally adjusted" jobless rate increased from 10% to 10.5% between April 2009 and May 2009. For all U.S. workers, the "seasonally adjusted" jobless rate increased from 8.9% to 9.4% between April 2009 and May 2009. The official "not seasonally adjusted" jobless rate for Black female workers over 20 years-of-age also increased from 10.5% to 11.1% between April 2009 and May 2009; and the official "not seasonally adjusted" jobless rate for all Black workers increased from 14.4% to 14.7% during this same period. The official "seasonally adjusted" rate for all Black male workers over 20 years-of age was still 16.8% in May 2009. The official "not seasonally adjusted" jobless rate for Black youth between 16 and 19 years-of-age increased from 33.5% to 40.1% between April 2009 and May 2009, while the "not seasonally adjusted" unemployment rate for Hispanic or Latino youth increased from 26.5% to 31% during this same period. The official "not seasonally adjusted" jobless rate for white youth between 16 and 19 years-of-age also increased from 18.8% to 21.1% between April 2009 and May 2009. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' June 5, 2009 press release: "...Employment fell by 345,000 in May...Steep job losses continued in manufacturing... "The number of unemployed persons increased by 787,000 to 14.5 million in May... "The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) increased by 268,000 over the month... "...The employment-population ratio, at 59.7%, continued to trend down... "Manufacturing employment fell by 156,000 in May...Three durable goods industries—motor vehicles and parts (-30,000), machinery (-26,000), and fabricated metal products (-19,000)—accounted for about half of the overall decline in factory employment...Mining shed 11,000 jobs in May... "Employment in construction decreased by 59,000 in May...In May, employment fell in nonresidential specialty trade contractors (-30,000) and in residential construction of buildings (-11,000)... "Retail trade employment was down by 18,000 in May...Employment in wholesale trade fell by 22,000 over the month... "Financial activities employment continued to decrease in May (-30,000). Securities lost 10,000 jobs and real estate lost 9,000...Employment in information decreased by 24,000 in May... " --b.f. See the full June 5th BLS "Employment Situation Report." Labels: Bob Feldman, Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs, Latino jobless rate, unemployment Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). April-to-May Job Loss: 532,000The ADP National Employment Report covers "nonfarm private employment" and comes out a bit in advance of Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The current report revises upward by 54,000 the estimate of job losses in March-to-April job loss, and estimates April-to-May job loss at 532,000. So it appears that, even before the massive job losses that should follow the bankruptcy of GM, the U.S. economy is still shedding more than half a million jobs a month. So much for "green shoots."Our July/August issue will include an "Economy in Numbers" by John Miller on unemployment, comparing the official unemployment rate (currently 8.5% as of March) with the BLS's broader alternative U-6 measure, which also includes marginally employed and unwillingly part-time workers. John says: "[T]opping the 8.9% peak unemployment rate of the 1973-75 recession or even the 10.8% peak rate in the 1982 recession is now only a matter of time." And that's for the official rate; the U-6 rate is already at 15.6% for March. Here's the abstract of the ADP report: The ADP National Employment Report See the pdf of the full report. Labels: ADP, Bureau of Labor Statistics, real unemployment rate, unemployment Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). Real Unemployment at Record HighThe Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the "official" unemployment rate for April is 8.9%, a stunning jump from 4.8% just a year earlier. It is the highest jobless rate since the glory days of the Reagan Revolution in 1983. The country lost 539,000 jobs last month, which reporters are scrambling to put a happy face on by saying that "analysts had predicted a loss of 600,000," although this difference is more than offset by the 72,000 temporary government jobs associated with the 2010 census.Over 4 million million jobs have been lost in the past six months, and over 5 million during the last 16 straight months of job losses. However, to get back to pre-recession/depression rate (if things magically started recovering like last week) we would need to add 7 million jobs, to account for the growth in the population. The real story, of course, is much grimmer. The official BLS rate (shown in line U3 of the monthly reports) only counts those actively seeking work. Line U6 of that same report, however, gives a more accurate picture of the state of unemployment. This rate stands at 15.8% for April 2009, up from 8.9% a year earlier. (All the info comes from the BLS website). The U6 number includes the following:
--d.f. Labels: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Daniel Fireside, economic meltdown, real unemployment rate, recession Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). BLS March Unemployment DataThe Bureau of Labor Statistics released it's initial estimate of the unemployment rate for March 2009 today. Here is the beginning official summary:THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: MARCH 2009 Here's the full summary. Bob Feldman dug out some of the details for us here: Black Male Worker Jobless Rate: 16.4 Percent In March Labels: Bureau of Labor Statistics, recession, unemployment Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). Black Male Jobless Rate: 16.1% in FebruaryFrom Bob Feldman; includes key excerpts from today's BLS report.Black Male Worker Jobless Rate: 16.1 Percent In February The official "not-seasonally adjusted" unemployment rate for Black male workers over 20 years of age in the United States increased from 15.8 percent to 16.1 percent between January 2009 and February 2009, while the "seasonally adjusted" unemployment rate for Black male workers increased from 14.1 percent to 14.9 percent, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data (http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t02.htm ) . The "not-seasonally adjusted" jobless rate for all Black workers over 20 years of age increased from 13.4 percent to 13.8 percent during this same period, while the "seasonally adjusted" jobless rate for all Black workers increased to 13.4 percent. For all U.S. workers, the "not-seasonally adjusted" jobless rate jumped from 8.5 percent to 8.9 percent between January 2009 and February 2009, while the "seasonally adjusted" jobless rate for all U.S. workers increased to 8.1 percent. The "not-seasonally adjusted" unemployment rate for white male workers also increased from 8.3 percent to 9 percent between January 2009 and February 2009. The "not-seasonally adjusted" jobless rate for Hispanic or Latino male workers increased from 11 percent to 12.1 percent between January 2009 and February 2009. Between January 2009 and February 2009, the "seasonally adjusted" jobless rate for Black youth between 16 and 19 years-of-age increased from 36.5 percent to 38.8 percent, while the "seasonally adjusted" jobless rate for white youth between 16 and 19 years-of-age was 19.1 percent. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' March 6, 2009 press release: "The number of unemployed persons increased by 851,000 to 12.5 million in February... "Among the unemployed, the number of job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs increased by 716,000 to 7.7 million in February... "The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or more) increased by 270,000 to 2.9 million in February... "In February, the number of persons who worked part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers) rose by 787,000, reaching 8.6 million...This category includes persons who would like to work full time but were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find full-time jobs... "There were 731,000 discouraged workers in February, up by 335,000 from a year earlier. Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe no jobs are available for them... "Total nonfarm payroll employment dropped by 651,000 in February... "Employment in professional and business services fell by 180,000 in February. The temporary help industry lost 78,000 jobs over the month....In February, job declines also occurred in services to buildings and dwellings (-17,000), architectural and engineering services (-16,000), and business support services (-12,000). "Widespread job losses continued in manufacturing in February (-168,000). The majority of the decline occurred in durable goods industries (-132,000), with the largest decreases in fabricated metal products (-28,000) and machinery (-25,000). Employment in nondurable goods manufacturing declined by 36,000 over the month. "The construction industry lost 104,000 jobs in February... "Employment in truck transportation declined by 33,000 in February...The information industry continued to lose jobs (-15,000)... "Employment in financial activities continued to decline in February (-44,000).... In February, job losses occurred in real estate (-11,000); credit intermediation (-11,000); and securities, commodity contracts, and investments (-8,000). "Retail trade employment fell by 40,000 over the month...In February, employment decreased in automobile dealerships (-9,000), sporting goods (-9,000), furniture and homefurnishing stores (-8,000), and building material and garden supply stores (-7,000). Employment in wholesale trade fell by 37,000 over the month, with nearly all of the decline occurring in durable goods. "Employment in leisure and hospitality continued to trend down over the month (-33,000), with about half of the decrease in the accommodation industry (-18,000)..." --b.f. Labels: Black jobless rate, Bob Feldman, Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs, recession, unemployment Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). Unemployment Picture Yet WorseIt is getting tedious (not to mention scary) to have to keep relaying yet-worse news on employment. But here it is:
Labels: Bureau of Labor Statistics, jobs, Michigan, Rhode Island, unemployment Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). Job Losses ComparedDollars & Sense collective member and Bentley University economist Bryan Snyder sent us this rather disturbing graph, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data (including data from last Friday's jobs report), requesting that we post it to the blog with the following question: "Stare at this image for a few minutes...if you see a 'sailboat' or a 'tax cut,' chances are you are a Republican." Click on the image for a better view. Bryan just told me it's from Nancy Pelosi's website, and that he first saw it last night on Rachel Maddow's show. Labels: Bryan Snyder, Bureau of Labor Statistics, recession, unemployment Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). Black Male Jobless Rate: 15.8% In JanuaryAs bad as the general official unemployment numbers are, the real jobless rate for Black males appears to have no bottom. From Bob Feldman.The official "not-seasonally adjusted" unemployment rate for Black male workers in the United States jumped from 13.8 percent to 15.8 percent between December 2008 and January 2009, while the "seasonally adjusted" unemployment rate for Black male workers increased to 14.1 percent, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data. The "not-seasonally adjusted" jobless rate for all Black workers increased from 11.7 percent to 13.4 percent during this same period, while the "seasonally adjusted" jobless rate for all Black workers increased to 12.6 percent. For all U.S. workers, the "not-seasonally adjusted" jobless rate jumped from 7.1 percent to 8.5 percent between December 2008 and January 2009, while the "seasonally adjusted" jobless rate for all U.S. workers increased to 7.6 percent. The "not-seasonally adjusted" unemployment rate for white male workers also increased from 6.8 percent to 8.3 percent between December 2008 and January 2009. Between December 2008 and January 2009, the "seasonally adjusted" jobless rate for Black youth between 16 and 19 years-of-age increased from 33.7 percent to 36.5 percent, while the "seasonally adjusted" jobless rate for white youth between 16 and 19 years-of-age was 18.4 percent. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' February 6, 2009 press release: "In January, job losses were large and widespread across nearly all major industry sectors." ... "Both the number of unemployed persons (11.6 million) and the unemployment rate (7.6 percent) rose in January." ... "The civilian labor force participation rate, at 65.5 percent in January, has edged down in recent months." ... "Total nonfarm payroll employment fell sharply (-598,000) in January...In January employment declined in nearly all major industries." ... "Manufacturing employment fell by 207,000 in January, the largest 1-month decline since October 1982. In January, durable goods manufacturing lost 157,000 jobs, with notable decreases in fabricated metal products (-37,000), motor vehicles and parts (-31,000), and machinery (-22,000). Employment in nondurable goods manufacturing declined by 50,000 over the month." ... "Construction lost 111,000 jobs in January... Employment fell across most component industries over the month." ... "The temporary help industry lost 76,000 jobs in January... Professional and technical services lost 29,000 jobs in January." ... "Retail trade employment fell by 45,000 in January... In January, employment declined in automobile dealerships (-14,000), building material and garden supply stores (-10,000), department stores (-9,000), and furniture and home furnishing stores (-7,000). Over the month, wholesale trade employment fell by 31,000." ... "Transportation and warehousing lost 44,000 jobs in January...In January, employment fell in truck transportation (-25,000), support activities for transportation (-9,000), and couriers and messengers (-4,000)." ... "Employment in financial activities declined by 42,000 over the month...In January, job losses occurred in securities, commodity contracts, and investments (-15,000) and in credit intermediation (-10,000)" --b.f. Labels: Black jobless rate, Bob Feldman, Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). Union Membership Rises Again in 2008 (BLS)Just in from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Hat-tip to Doug Henwood at lbo-talk. As Doug pointed out, two years in a row of increases (after years and years of decline) is pretty impressive, especially under a Republican administration.UNION MEMBERS IN 2008 In 2008, union members accounted for 12.4 percent of employed wage and salary workers, up from 12.1 percent a year earlier, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The number of workers belonging to a union rose by 428,000 to 16.1 million. In 1983, the first year for which comparable union data are available, the union membership rate was 20.1 percent, and there were 17.7 million union workers. The data on union membership were collected as part of the Current Population Survey (CPS). The CPS is a monthly survey of about 60,000 households that obtains information on employment and unemployment among the nation's civilian noninstitutional population age 16 and over. Some highlights from the 2008 data are:
Read the whole report. Labels: Bureau of Labor Statistics, unions Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). Black Male Jobless Rate In Dec. 2008: 13.4%From Bob Feldman; this repeats some of what we reported a couple of days ago, but it bears repeating...The "seasonally adjusted" official unemployment rate for Black male workers in the United States over the age of 20 jumped from 12.1% to 13.4% between November and December 2008, according to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data. In addition, the official jobless rate for Black youth between 16 and 19 years old in the United States increased from 32.2% to 33.7%, while the unemployment rate for white youth increased from 18.4% to 18.7%. The official jobless rate for Hispanic or Latino workers in the United States also increased from 8.6% to 9.2% between November and December 2008. The Bureau of Labor Statistics also summarized the December 2008 employment situation in the United States for all U.S. workers in the following way in its January 9, 2009 press release: Nonfarm payroll employment declined sharply in December, and the unemployment--b.f. Labels: Black jobless rate, Bob Feldman, Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment Please consider donating to Dollars & Sense and/or subscribing to the magazine (both print and e-subscriptions now available!). |
