Unemployment Rate rises to 10.2% – worst since 1983.
America’s unemployment rate rose to 10.2% – the highest since 1983. The rate is provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and was much worse than expected. It appears that employers are still cutting payroll in spite of an improving economy. BLS reported that the rate had increased from 9.8% in September to 10.2 % in October. It is the highest that this rate has been since April 1983. Economists had forecast an increase to 9.9%.
There was also a net loss of 190,000 jobs in October, according to the Labor Department, an improvement from a revised estimate of 219,000 job losses in September. However, economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast a loss of only 175,000 jobs in October. This was the 22nd straight month of job losses. Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (10.7 per- cent) and whites (9.5 percent) rose in October. The jobless rates for adult women (8.1 percent), teenagers (27.6 percent), blacks (15.7 percent), and Hispanics (13.1 percent) were little changed over the month. The unemployment rate for Asians was 7.5 percent, not seasonally adjusted. The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) was little changed over the month at 5.6 million. In October, 35.6 percent of unemployed persons were jobless for 27 weeks or more.
It appears that that the Government’s efforts to create jobs via the stimulus package has had little effect. The Obama administration claims to have created 640,000 jobs via the stimulus. But that is modest compared to the close to 8 million jobs that have been lost since the start of the recession. At this rate, it appears that it will be Spring of 2010 before we can see a uptick in hiring.
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Since the government can’t solve the problem, it’s time the people start facing unemployment with their own ingenuity:
http://bit.ly/ozqT6
(satire)