The Unemployment Rate Fell Slightly In October To 4.1%

The Labor Department released it monthly unemployment report on Friday. It showed the economy produced about 165,000 jobs in October. While not great, that was better than past months, and caused the unemployment rate to drop from 4.2% to 4.1%.

Here are the relevant statistics for October:

SIZE OF THE CIVILIAN WORK FORCE:

170,683,000

OFFICIAL NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED WORKERS:

7,068,000

OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:

4.1%

DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN OF OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT:

Adult men...............3.9%

Adult women...............3.6%

Teens (16-19)...............13.9%

Whites...............3.7%

Blacks...............6.6%

Asians...............2.8%

Hispanics...............4.7%

Less than HS diploma...............5.8%

HS graduate...............3.8%

Some college...............3.9%

Bachelor's deg or more...............2.6%

NUMBER OF MARGINALLY-ATTACHED WORKERS (unemployed by not counted):

1,639,000

MORE REALISTIC NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED (official + marginally-attached):

8,707,000

MORE REALISTIC UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:

5.1%

Unemployment Rate Rises Slightly In September To 4.2%

The Labor Department released it September unemployment report on Friday. It showed the economy only produced about 29,000 new jobs in September - far below what is considered a healthy number for a good economy. That helped push the unemployment rate up to 4.2%.

Here are the relevant statistics for September.

SIZE OF THE CIVILIAN WORK FORCE:

170,262,000

OFFICIAL NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED WORKERS:

7,109,000

OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:

4.2%

DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN OF OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT:

Adult men...............3.9%

Adult women...............3.6%

Teens (16-19)...............14.5%

Whites...............3.6%

Blacks...............7.0%

Asians...............2.9%

Hispanics...............4.7%

No HS diploma...............4.3%

HS graduate...............4.4%

Some college...............3.6%

Bachelor's deg or more...............2.5%

MARGINALLY-ATTACHED WORKERS (unemployed but not counted):

1,468,000

MORE REALISTIC NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED (marginally-attached + official):

8,577,000

MORE REALISTIC UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:

5.03%

The Unemployment Rate Remains At 4.1% For The Month Of August

The Labor Dapertment's unemployment report for August was released a few days ago. It showed the economy had produced about 162,000 new jobs - a big improvement over last month. There was also 115,000 newly unemployed person, so the unemployment remained at 4.1% (for the second month in a row). 

Here are the relevant statistics for August:

SIZE OF THE CIVILIAN WORK FORCE:

169,777,000

OFFICIAL NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED WORKERS:

7,031,000

OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:

4.1%

DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN OF OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT:

Adult men...............4.0%

Adult women...............3.5%

Teens (16-19)...............14.!%

Whites...............3.7%

Blacks...............6.0%

Asians...............3.2%

Hispanics................4.8%

No HS diploma...............4.7%

HS graduate...............4.4%

Some college...............3.7%

Bachelor's deg. or more...............2.7%

MARGINALLY-ATTACHED WORKERS (unemployed but not counted):

1,704,000

MORE REALISTIC NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED (official + marginally-attached):

8,735,000

MORE REALISTIC UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:

5.15%

The Unemployment Rate Fell To 4.1% In July Even Though The Economy Lost Jobs

The Labor Department released its monthly unemployment report on Friday. It showed the unemployment rate fell by 0.1% in July to 4.1%. But that is not a cause for celebration. The economy actually lost 23,000 jobs during the month. The only reason the unemployment rate fell was because the civilian work force also shrunk - by about 264,000.

Here are the relevant statistics for the month of July:

SIZE OF THE CIVILIAN WORK FORCE:

169,094,000

OFFICIAL NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED WORKERS:

6,916,000

OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:

4.1%

DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN OF OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT:

Adult men...............3.9%

Adult women...............3.7%

Teens (16-19)...............12.1%

Whites...............3.6%

Blacks...............6.3%

Asians...............4.0%

Hispanics...............4.6%

No HS diploma...............5.4%

HS graduate...............4.0%

Some college...............3.6%

Bachelor's deg. or more............... 2.7%

NUMBER OF MARGINALLY-ATTACHED WORKERS (not employed but no longer counted):

1,806,000

MORE REALISTIC NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED (marginally-attached + official):

8,722,000

MORE REALISTIC UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:

5.16%

The U.S. Labor Force Is Shrinking (And That's Not Good)

Robert Reich comments on our shrinking labor force:

This month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the labor participation rate — the percentage of people of working age who are working or actively looking for work — is now down to 61.5 percent. That’s 0.6 percentage points lower than it was at the first of the year.

 

In other words, the U.S. economy has lost 1 million workers since January.

 

It’s the lowest level of labor participation in 50 years outside the pandemic.

The official unemployment rate is 4.2 percent, which is considered relatively good. But don’t be fooled. That’s 4.2 percent of people who are working or actively seeking work. If you add in all the people who are no longer working or seeking work, the official rate would be far higher. 

What accounts for the disappearance of so many workers? Some baby boomers have taken early retirement. Some workers have been caught up in Trump’s undocumented dragnet.

But the biggest reason is the scarcity of stable, well-paying jobs.

 

Lots of people have concluded it’s not worth it. The cost commuting to — or paying for childcare in order to hold down — a shitty and insecure job has led them to give up on paid work altogether. They’re living more simply, moving in with parents or friends or adult children, or just doing without. 

The best measure of how America is doing isn’t the unemployment rate, or the stock market, or the rate of economic growth, or the inflation rate, or the average wage. 

It’s how well most Americans are living. The reality is that most Americans are struggling. 

Unemployment Went Down To 4.2% In June (In Spite Of Poor Job Creation)

Because of the holiday this weekend, the Labor Department released the June unemployment report a day early. The report showed the economy produced an anemic 57,000 jobs in June. That was not good, but the unemployed rate dropped from 4.3% to 4.2% anyway - mainly because the civilian workforce had 720,000 fewer workers (also not good).

Here are the relevant statistics for the month of June:

SIZE OF THE CIVILIAN WORK FORCE:

169,358,000

OFFICIAL NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED WORKERS:

7,094,000

OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:

4.2%

DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN OF OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT:

Adult men...............3.9%

Adult women...............3.7%

Teens (16-19)...............14.6%

Whites...............3.6%

Blacks...............6.6%

Asians...............3.9%

Hispanics...............5.2%

NO HS diploma...............5.5%

HS graduate...............4.2%

Some college...............3.6%

Bachelor's deg. or more...............2.7%

NUMBER OF MARGINALLY-ATTACHED WORKERS (unemployed but no longer counted):

1,761,000

MORE REALISTIC NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED (marginal-attached + official):

8,855,000

MORE REALISTIC UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:

5.2%

The Unemployment Rate Remained Steady At 4.3% For May

The Labor Department released its unemployment report for May on Friday. It showed the economy produced about 172,000 new jobs in May. While not great, that was better than the last several months. And it was good enough to keep the unemployment rate steady at 4.3 (for the third month in a row).

Here are the relevant statistics for May.

SIZE OF THE CIVILIAN WORK FORCE:

170,078,000

OFFICIAL NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED WORKERS:

7,307,000

OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:

4.3%

DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN OF OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT:

Adult men...............4.0%

Adult women...............3.8%

Teens (16-19)...............14.7%

Whites...............3.8%

Blacks...............6.6%

Asians...............3.8%

Hispanics...............5.0%

No HS diploma...............6.0%

HS graduate...............4.4%

Some college...............3.6%

Bachelor's deg. or more...............2.7%

NUMBER OF MARGINALLY-ATTACHED WORKERS (unemployed but no loner counted):

1,723,000

MORE REALISTIC NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED WORKERS (official + marginally-attached):

9,030,000

MORE REALISTIC UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:

5.3%

The Unemployment Rate Stays At 4.3% For Second Month In A Row

The Labor Department released its monthly unemployment report on Friday. It showed the economy produced about 115,000 jobs in April. While not great, that was enough to keep the unemployment rate at 4.3%.

Here are the relevant statistics for the month of April:

SIZE OF THE CIVILIAN WORK FORCE:

169,995,000

OFFICIAL NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED WORKERS:

7,373,000

OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:

4.3%

DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN OF OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT:

Adult men...............4.0%

Adult women...............3.9%

Teens (16-19)...............14.4%

Whites...............3.7%

Blacks...............7.3%

Asians...............3.3%

Hispanics...............5.0%

NO HS diploma...............6.4%

HS graduate...............4.7%

Some college...............3.2%

Bachelor's deg. or more,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,2.8%

NUMBER OF MARGINALLY-ATTACHED WORKERS (unemployed but no longer counted):

1,792,000

MORE REALISTIC NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED WORKERS (official + marginally-attached):

9,165,000

MORE REALISTIC UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:

5.39%

The Unemployment Rate For March Was Down Slightly To 4.3%

 

The Labor Department released its unemployment report for March on Friday. It showed some improvement. The economy produced 178,000 new jobs - not great, but much better than the previous few months. That was enough to lower the unemployment rate to 4.3%.

Here are the relevant statistics for March:

SIZE OF THE CIVILIAN WORK FORCE:

170,087,000

OFFICIAL NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED WORKERS:

7,239,000

OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:

4.3%

DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN OF OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT:

Adult men...............3.8%

Adult women...............4.0%

Teens (16-19)...............13.7%

White...............3.6%

Black...............7.1%

Asian...............3.7%

Hispanic...............4.8%

No HS diploma...............5.9%

HS graduate...............4.7%

Some college...............3.6%

Bachelor's deg or more...............2.8%

NUMBER OF MARGINALLY-ATTACHED WORKERS (unemployed but not counted):

1,944,000

MORE REALISTIC NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED WORKERS (official + marginally-attached):

9,183,000

MORE REALISTIC UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:

5.4%

The Unemployment Rate Climbs To 4.4% As The Economy Loses 92,000 Jobs

The Labor Department released its unemployment report for February on Friday. It was not good news. Instead of the economy adding jobs, it actually lost about 92,000 jobs in February. That raised the unemployment rate to 4.4% for the month.

Here are the relevant statistics for February:

SIZE OF THE CIVILIAN WORKFORCE:

170,483,000

OFFICIAL NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED WORKERS:

7,571,000

OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:

4.4%

DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN OF OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT:

Adult men...............4.0%

Adult women...............4.1%

Teens (16-19)...............14.9%

Whites...............3.7%

Blacks...............7.7%

Asians...............4.8%

Hispanics...............5.2%

No HS diploma...............5.6%

HS graduate...............4.8%

Some college...............3.5%

Bachelor's deg. or more...............3.0%

NUMBER OF MARGINALLY-ATTACHED WORKERS (unemployed but not counted):

1,619,000

MORE REALISTIC NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED WORKERS (official + marginally-attached):

9,190,000

MORE REALISTIC UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:

5.39%

Unemployment Rate For January Drops Slightly To 4.3%

 

The Labor Department released its unemployment report for January on February 11th (blaming the delay on the government shutdown). It showed the economy produced about 130,000 new jobs. That's better than the last few months, but still short of what is expected in a healthy economy. It was good enough though to reduce the unemployment rate to 4.3% for the month.

Here are the relevant statistics for January:

SIZE OF THE CIVILIAN WORK FORCE:

171,882,000

OFFICIAL NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED WORKERS:

7,362,000

OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:

4.3%

DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN OF OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT:

Adult men...............3.8%

Adult women...............4.0%

Teens (16-19)...............13.6%

Whites...............3.7%

Blacks...............7.2%

Asians...............4.1%

Hispanics...............4.7%

No HS diploma...............5.2%

HS graduate...............4.5%

Some college...............3.6%

Bachelor's deg. or more...............2.9%

NUMBER OF MARGINALLY-ATTACHED WORKERS (unemployed but not counted):

1,671,000

MORE REALISTIC NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED WORKERS (official + marginally-attached):

9,033,000

MORE REALISTIC UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:

5.26%

The Unemployment Rate For December Fell Slightly To 4.4%

The Labor department released its unemployment report for December on Friday. The economy remained sluggish, producing only about 50,000 new jobs. The unemployment rate for December was 4.4% (about 0.1% below November).

Here are the relevant statistics for December:

SIZE OF THE CIVILIAN WORK FORCE:

171,495,000

OFFICIAL NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED WORKERS:

7,503,000

OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:

4.4%

DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN OF OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT:

Adult men...............3.9%

Adult women...............3.9%

Teens (16-19)...............15.7%

Whites...............3.8%

Blacks...............7.5%

Asians...............3.6%

Hispanics...............4.5%

No HS diploma...............5.6%

HS graduate...............4.0%

Some college...............3.8%

Bachelor's degree or more...............2.8%

NUMBER OF MARGINALLY-ATTACHED WORKERS (unemployed but no longer counted):

1,758,000

MORE REALISTIC NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED (official + marginally-attached):

9,261,000

MORE REALISTIC UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:

5.4%

With Poor Job Growth The November Unemployment Rate Rises To 4.6%

The Trump administration did not issue a Labor Department report for October (using the shutdown as an excuse to avoid it). But the November report was released a week late on Tuesday, and it was not a good one. The economy produced only about 64,000 new jobs (far below what a good economy produces), and the unemployment rate rose by 0.2% over September to a high of 4.6% (the highest rate in nearly four years). 

Here are the relevant statistics for November:

SIZE OF THE CIVILIAN WORK FORCE:

171,571,000

OFFICIAL NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED WORKERS:

7,831,000

OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:

4.6%

DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN OF OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT:

Adult men...............4.1%

Adult women...............4.1%

Teens (16-19)...............16.3%

Whites...............3.9%

Blacks...............8.3%

Hispanics...............5.0%

Asians...............3.6%

No HS diploma...............6.8%

HS graduate...............4.4%

Some college...............3.5%

Bachelor's deg. or more...............2.9%

NUMBER OF MARGINALLY-ATTACHED WORKERS (unemployed but not counted):

1,825,000

MORE REALISTIC NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED WORKERS (official+marginally-attached):

9,656,000

MORE REALISTIC UNEMPLOYMENT RATE:

5.6%

About 218,000 Workers Filed For Unemployment Last Week

The Labor Department released its weekly unemployment report on Thursday. It showed about 218,000 workers filed for unemployment benefits in the week ending on September 20th. Here is the official Labor Department statement:

In the week ending September 20, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 218,000, a decrease of 14,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 231,000 to 232,000. The 4-week moving average was 237,500, a decrease of 2,750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 240,000 to 240,250.

About 231,000 Workers Filed For Unemployment Last Week

The Labor Department released its weekly unemployment report on Thursday. It showed about 231,000 workers filed for unemployment benefits in the week ending on September 13th. Here is the official Labor Department statement:

In the week ending September 13, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 231,000, a decrease of 33,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised up by 1,000 from 263,000 to 264,000. The 4-week moving average was 240,000, a decrease of 750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised up by 250 from 240,500 to 240,750. 

About 263,000 Workers Filed For Unemployment Last Week

The Labor Department released its weekly unemployment report on Thursday. It showed about 263,000 workers filed for unemployment benefits in the week ending on September 6th. Here is the official Labor Department statement:

In the week ending September 6, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 263,000, an increase of 27,000 from the previous week's revised level. This is the highest level for initial claims since October 23, 2021 when it was 268,000. The previous week's level was revised down by 1,000 from 237,000 to 236,000. The 4-week moving average was 240,500, an increase of 9,750 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised down by 250 from 231,000 to 230,750. 

Job Creation Remains Very Low As Unemployment Rises To 4.3% In August

The Labor Department released its unemployment report for August on Friday. It showed the economy only produced 22,000 jobs for the month. That makes four months in a row that job creation has been extremely low. The poor job creation contributed to a rise in the number of unemployed workers by about 148,000. The unemployment rate for August was 4.3% - the highest rate in more than a year. 

Here are the relevant statistics for August:

SIZE OF THE CIVILIAN WORK FORCE

170,778,000

OFFICIAL NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED WORKERS

7,384,000

OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

4.3%

DEMOGRAPHIC BREAKDOWN OF OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT

Adult men...............4.1%

Adult women...............3.8%

Teens (16-19)...............13.9%

Whites...............3.7%

Blacks...............7.5%

Asians...............3.6%

Hispanics...............5.3%

No HS diploma...............6.7%

HS graduate...............4.3%

Some college...............3.2%

Bachelor's degree or more...............2.7%

NUMBER OF MARGINALLY-ATTACHED WORKERS (unemployed but not counted)

1,836,000

MORE REALISTIC NUMBER OF UNEMPLOYED WORKERS (official + marginally-attached)

9,220,000

MORE REALISTIC UNEMPLOYMENT RATE

5.4%

About 237,000 Workers Filed For Unemployment Last Week

The Labor Department released its weekly unemployment report on Thursday. It showed about 237,000 workers filed for unemployment benefits in the week ending on August 30th. Here is the official Labor Department statement:

In the week ending August 30, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 237,000, an increase of 8,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 229,000. The 4-week moving average was 231,000, an increase of 2,500 from the previous week's unrevised average of 228,500.

 

About 229,000 Workers Filed For Unemployment Last Week

The Labor Department released its weekly unemployment report on Thursday. It showed about 229,000 workers filed for unemployment benefits in the week ending on August 23rd. Here is the official Labor Department statement:

In the week ending August 23, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 229,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's revised level. The previous week's level was revised down by 1,000 from 235,000 to 234,000. The 4-week moving average was 228,500, an increase of 2,500 from the previous week's revised average. The previous week's average was revised down by 250 from 226,250 to 226,000. 

About 235,000 Workers Filed For Unemployment Last Week

 

The Labor Department released its weekly unemployment report on Thursday. It showed about 235,000 workers filed for unemployment benefits in the week ending on August 16th. Here is the official Labor Department statement:

In the week ending August 16, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 235,000, an increase of 11,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 224,000. The 4-week moving average was 226,250, an increase of 4,500 from the previous week's unrevised average of 221,750.