Mar 6, 2009 6:24 pm US/Central
Reality Check: Unemployment Numbers
The U.S. unemployment rate surged in the last month to 8.1 percent. It's the highest level in 25 years.
The federal government reported Monday the number of unemployed Americans is now at 12.5 million workers.
The numbers are even worse than expected.
Gone are 4.4 million jobs since January last year, and
half of those jobs gone in just the last three months.
IN FACT...
Unemployment is creeping upward for men (8.1 percent), women (6.7 percent), Caucasians (7.3 percent), blacks (13.4 percent) and Hispanics (10.9 percent).
The hard reality: the economy is bleeding jobs at a rate we haven't seen in 60 years.
It's TRUE.
Harry Truman was President in 1949.
In October of that year 500,000 U.S. steelworkers went on strike, pushing up the jobless numbers.
A record until now.
Last month alone,
the U.S. lost 681,000 jobs
HERE'S WHY that's so troubling.
The U.S. needs to
create 100,000 jobs a month to keep up with the growing workforce.
But these unemployment numbers mean the economy is
losing an average of 345,000 jobs every month.
And one more thing you NEED TO KNOW.
The labor conditions may be even worse than we know.
We're just looking at straight unemployment numbers.
If we include workers forced into part time jobs,
the rate of unemployed or underemployed workers is 14.8 percent.
That's Reality Check.
To check the resources on this Reality Check click on the links below:
Bureau Of Labor Statistics: Employment Situation Summary
The Truman Administration During 1949: A Chronology
Bureau Of Labor Statistics
Forbes: February Payrolls Fall 651,000; Unemployment At 8.1 percent
Wall Street Journal: Recession Job Losses Top Four Million
Northstar Opens Despite Efforts To Block
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