The national unemployment rate cracked 10 percent for the first time in 26 years, as noted in Slog’s patented Morning News. But it’s really a lot worse than that. When you count people who have given up looking for jobs or have settled for part time jobs, the rate jumps to 17.5 percent, the worst since the government began tracking the broader numbers in 1994. The New York Times has an interesting couple of interactive diagrams of the statistics.
In “glimmer of hope” unemployment news, President Obama signed a bill granting a federal extension for as much as 20 further weeks of unemployment benefits this morning, boosting the maximum benefits possible to just over two years.
One thing to watch for is that as people become more hopeful they will more from the given-up group and into the job seeking group. At that point we may see a bump up in the base number and a decrease in the broader measure.
While breaking ten is not good, the pace of job loses has slowed dramatically. Employment is a trailing indicator and usually peaks a few months or more after the end of a recession. If the current good numbers coming out are part of a trend we could see that number start to come down by the end of the year or first part of next.
the troll posted this fascinating disturbing little factoid with the morning news 8 hours ago.
Could we get an update on the unemployed folks Slog was following several months ago?
Extending unemployment benefits to Two Years isn’t a “glimmer of hope”.
It’s a resigned surrender to despair.
Do any Slog unpaid interns draw unemployment?
Are recent college grads considered part of these statistics, or just people who had jobs and lost them?
And the right-wing idiots who populate much of my shitty Florida town still rant and rave about how everyone on unemployment drives Cadillacs and own plasma TVs and are simply too lazy to get jobs.
I wonder how much of a statistical blip was caused by the extension of unemployment benefits to 99 weeks, since our system only counts those people as unemployed who have benefits and are actively looking for work …
JOURNALISM FAIL:
Wouldn’t it be important to note that Seattle’s own Jim McDermott sponsored this Bill? Every time I look at the Stranger, I’m reminded why I switched to reading Publicola.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/05…
Accounting standards were made to be broken.
The unemployment rate didn’t increase because of legislation passed yesterday.
@8 recent college grads are not counted in either number. Also not counted are those that retired because they could not find another job. Also not counted are those who lost their jobs and never filled for unemployment.
The real number is closer to 20%
@14 for the correct measurement win.
and it’s more like 40 percent if you’re African American.
@ 14,
And don’t forget minors. They don’t count minors who lost their jobs, because minors are considered dependents of their parents and their income is considered ‘disposable’, whether that is true or not.