Unemployment is still listed at 9.6 percent although according to United States Department Of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics release of their Employment Situation Summary, there was a net loss of 95 thousand jobs.
Nonfarm payroll employment edged down (-95,000) in September, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 9.6 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Government employment declined (-159,000), reflecting both a drop in the number of temporary jobs for Census 2010 and job losses in local government. Private-sector payroll employment continued to trend up modestly (+64,000).
Something I remind readers of every time because it is worth noting and remembering, is why the number of unemployed is really higher, or better phrased, the people unemployed but need work, that are not counted into the 9.6 percent figure, is missing from the equation.
About 2.5 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force in September, up from 2.2 million a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.) These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. (See table A-16.)
The AP makes this point:
The unemployment rate held at 9.6 percent last month, the Labor Department said Friday. The jobless rate has now topped 9.5 percent for 14 straight months, the longest stretch since the 1930s.
Reuters highlights how the numbers in previous months ended up being adjusted after the initial reports:
The government revised data for July and August to show 15,000 more jobs lost than previously reported.
By the numbers- States( including DC) with Unemployment higher than the national average.
Arizona- 9.7%
California- 12.4%
DC- 9.9%
Florida- 11.7%
Georgia- 10.0%
Illinois- 10.1%
Indiana- 10.2%
Kentucky- 10.0%
Michigan- 13.1%
Mississippi- 10.0%
Nevada- 14.4%
North Carolina- 9.7%
Ohio- 10.1%
Oregon- 10.6%
Puerto Rico- 15.6%
Rhode Island- 11.8%
South Carolina- 11.0%
Data obtained from the United States Department of Labor, Local Area Unemployment Statistics.
More economic bad news from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), via Wall Street Journal:
The federal government recorded a budget deficit of just slightly less than $1.3 trillion in fiscal 2010, the second-worst mark since 1945, the Congressional Budget Office said Thursday.
The congressional scorekeeper said the total deficit recorded in the just completed fiscal year was only $125 billion less than the record high of $1.4 trillion set in fiscal 2009.
The federal government's fiscal year ends on Sept. 30.
The deficit in fiscal 2010 was equal to 8.9% of U.S. gross domestic product, well above the long-run target of 3% that is considered by most economists to be sustainable.
Politically this is all bad news for Democrats being this unemployment report will be the last one before the November 2, 2010 midterm elections.
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