If you want to find information about the unemployment rate; this is one place to check. There is lots of information about the unemployment rate on the internet, but it is all over the place. I have searched around for unemployment information and added it into this post.
I hope that you can also find what you want. But please let me know if there is some information that you would like to see here and I will try to add it.
This post is broken down into the following categories:
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Unemployment in the United States
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The Underemployment Rate
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Unemployment rates by State and compared to other developed countries
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The Unemployment Rate by Occupation
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Unemployment in all Countries of the World
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Unemployment in the United States
The unemployment rate for September 2010 is 9.6%.
Here is the unemployment rate from 2006 until now– this is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). You can see that the rate really popped up in 2008 and 2009 and that the U.S maintained a high unemployment rate in 2010. This graph shows in a nutshell exactly why Obama and the Democrats are going to have trouble in with mid-term elections. It is always an over-generalization to blame the president for the entire economic situation; but with the Democrats holding the Presidency and having large majorities in both houses of congress, they can’t escape public ire over increasing unemployment.
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The Underemployment Rate
The underemployment rate for September 2010 is 17.1.
The unemployment rate isn’t just that number that you hear on the radio once a month. There are actually several different ways to calculate it. One of these ways is called the Underemployment rate.
The underemployment rate is a difficult to measure statistic that is calculated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The BLS calls this unemployment measure; U-6. Because of the difficulty of objectively quantifying exactly who is underemployed- this isn’t an official measure. However the graph is still useful in comparing the data over time.
Underemployed workers include three groups of people
- Unemployed workers who are actively looking for work—this is the official unemployment rate.
- Involuntarily part-time workers who want full-time work but have had to settle for part-time hours.
- Marginally attached workers who want a job, but have given up looking for one.
Underemployment has jumped to nearly 18% and has stayed there since the middle of 2009.
Unemployment and Underemployment from 2000
Unemployment Rates by State and Country
Here is the August 2010 unemployment rate by State and also for the other developed countries. Think good things about Norway, Austria, North Dakota and South Dakota.
And think unemployment hardship when you think about Spain, Slovakia, Nevada, Ireland and Michigan.
Male and Female Unemployment
Male workers have been hit much harder than female workers have. This might be the first time in American history that there have been so many more unemployed males.
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The Unemployment Rate by Occupation
As you probably already know; the construction sectors is hit very hard by this recession. As you can see on the chart below; unemployment has hit some sectors far harder than others. This information is also from the BLS.
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Unemployment in all Countries of the World
Here is the unemployment rates by all of the countries of the world according to the CIA Factbook:
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This site is very skewed and does not preset data without extreme bias. You start by showing the Obama inauguration a full 12 months early. Also, you only provide the last 3 years of Bush’s presidency (Jan 2006 – Dec 2008) when he was in office for 8 years.
Unemployment rates are a trailing indicator when measuring economic data. So trying to paint a picture that an administration is immediately responsible for an increasing unemployment rate is ludicrous. When Obama took office the rate was climbing and had already passed 7.5%.
Bobby D
Thanks for pointing out the error in my first table. I corrected that table to properly show Obama’s time as president starting on January 2009 and not on January 2008. I think, however that you misinterpret my point; I probably didn’t explain it clearly enough.
I wasn’t trying to blame Obama for the unemployment rate; rather I was trying to explain why he and the Democrats were going to have the trouble that they had during the recent elections.
People tend to blame the party in power for any economic problems.
There is a political truism that goes— “when things go well, the president generally gets too much credit, and when things don’t go well, the president usually gets too much blame.” http://www.backbenchmedia.com/defense-obamas-budget-deficit/
I think that we could criticize several recent presidents on their handling of the economy. But in my opinion, the current unemployment situation is much greater than any president’s ability to solve.
I believe that we might be entering a time when there will be high structural unemployment. There are several changes occurring both in our country and around the world that just might keep the U.S. unemployment rate high when the economy turns around.
I want to write about it sometime, but I am planning to write about the vital and urgent subject of hockey goons first.
Jim
Thanks for the quick correction. I do apologize for the quick judgment. When I saw the first error I read more into things that I should have.
Don’t worry about it Bobby D. I’m happy that you commented and pointed out my error. Please feel free to do it again if you see other errors. And some of my posts have been too strident and judgmental.
I am seeing an unfortunate trend in America’s political discourse. The general dialogue is becoming more and more negative and vulgar over time; and this is neither good for the country nor helpful to people’s thinking.
I have decided to turn over a new leaf and not be personally critical of politicians and others who have the burden of making big decisions. When I strongly disagree with an individual, I will criticize the decision not the person. Frankly however; articles that attack the other side are both easier to write and more interesting to read, even when they over-simplify the problem.
I strongly disagree with much of Obama’s policies because I have libertarian leanings. But I don’t want to criticize him personally since I really don’t want his responsibilities. After John Adams left the presidency he once said, “No man who ever held the office of president would congratulate a friend on obtaining it.” It has to be one tough job, and I couldn’t take the criticism that Obama or Bush have taken.
However, I am opposed to the ever increasing power of the federal government which has grown under both Republicans and Democrats since at least the 1890’s and William McKinley. I strongly oppose the stimulus package, government control of healthcare and cap and trade pushed by the Democrats.
However there is much to criticize on the Republican side also. They controlled Congress and the Presidency up to 2006, but what did they do about free market healthcare or immigration reform or the national debt? Why can’t they look at cutting the defense budget, if only a little? Why do Republicans such as Mitch McConnell have to be dragged into supporting earmark reform?
But, like I said, taking shots at politicians is easy, analyzing the details is hard.
Where do you find your statistics and what is YOUR type of employment? I’ve been around awhile and watched our country go to hell under ronald reagan the great, also. High unemployment there in 1982-1984. Though it is difficult to do for some people, go to websites that have dry, boring statistics, like the U.S. Dept of Labor. Does your underemployment involve teens who work for the fast food industry or retail? Does it involve people who actually only want to work part-time? Older people on social security? Make work jobs for developmentally disabled? College students?
To the rest of the people who whine about government involvement in ‘running’ our lives. They need to stop and think about the simple things the government does for us that we take for granted. Safe food, safe water, safe banks, safe housing, safe medication, public education, good roads, safe bridges, and the list just goes on and on. Get a life, get a grip and make sure you personally understand that it is easier to sit around and complain than to actually get out and do something. You needn’t reply to or post this, but you need to know that there are a lot of things the government does that are good, and that are not in the constitution.