The November 2010 monthly unemployment figures are out. The official unemployment rate increased to 9.8% and the total jobs gained were 39,000, with 39,500 of those jobs being temporary. Yes, you read that right, there were more temporary jobs created than the finally tally of jobs.
The ADP report for November 2010 it out and ADP is reporting a gain of 93,000 private sector jobs. This is the biggest job gain in 3 years. Even more encouraging, the October private sector jobs numbers were revised, from 43,000 to 82,000. That's almost double what was originally reported. Now don't get your panties all in a bunch, this still is not enough to lower unemployment.
Initial weekly unemployment claims dropped to 407,000 this week. That's close to the magic number, 400,000 or below, needed to start creating jobs. This is the lowest number since July 2008, over two years. Initial weekly unemployment claims is a volatile number, subject to revisions.
The House of Representatives on Thursday voted down a measure that would have reauthorized extended unemployment insurance for another three months, leaving no clear path forward to prevent the benefits from lapsing as scheduled on Nov. 30.
Without a reauthorization, the Labor Department estimates that two million long-term unemployed will prematurely stop receiving benefits before the end of the year.
"I think it's a sad moment," said Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.) after the vote. "It appalls me that the Republicans keep pitching and pitching and pitching the tax cuts for the rich and won't join in a bill to help people keep their homes and not have to live in their cars."
The bill was brought to the floor under a "suspension of the rules," meaning it required approval from two-thirds of the House. It failed 258 to 154, with mostly Democratic support. Twenty-one Republicans voted in favor and 11 Democrats voted nay.
Remember this only covers (if they were extended) 48% of the workforce. Most can't even qualify to obtain unemployment benefits due to being self-employed, temporary and so on.
The October 2010 monthly unemployment figures are out. The official unemployment rate stayed the same at 9.6% and the total jobs gained were 151,000, with 34,900 of those jobs being temporary.
ADP's private unemployment report for October is showing +43,000 private sector jobs were gained for the month. Additionally last month's dismal report was revised, for only a -2,000 private sector job loss. ADP is predicting lethargic job gains for the near future. We are too.
Employment gains of this magnitude are not sufficient to lower the unemployment rate.
Forced part-time work is at epidemic levels. Below is a graph of those forced into part-time jobs because they cannot get a full time one. This data goes back a decade.
The September 2010 monthly unemployment figures are out. The official unemployment rate stayed the same at 9.6% and the total jobs lost were -95,000. -159,000 government jobs were lost and private sector jobs increased by +64,000, with 16,900 of those jobs being temporary. -77,000 of the government jobs lost were temporary Census jobs. U6, or the broader unemployment measurement, jumped up to 17.1%.
AMERICA and Europe face the worst jobs crisis since the 1930s and risk ''an explosion of social unrest'', the International Monetary Fund has warned.
''The labour market is in dire straits. The Great Recession has left behind a wasteland of unemployment,'' said IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn at an Oslo jobs summit with the International Labour Federation.
A joint IMF-ILO report said 30 million jobs had been lost since the crisis, three-quarters in richer economies. Global unemployment has reached 210 million. ''The Great Recession has left gaping wounds. High and long-lasting unemployment represents a risk to the stability of existing democracies,'' it said.
The study cited evidence that victims of recession in their early 20s suffer lifetime damage and lose faith in public institutions. A new twist is an apparent decline in the ''employment intensity of growth'' as rebounding output requires fewer extra workers. As such, it may be hard to re-absorb those laid off even if recovery gathers pace. The world must create 45 million jobs a year for the next decade to tread water.
How does this square the IMF demanding austerity measures, gutting employment benefits, wages and security? It doesn't.
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