The following table summarizes some of the labor statistics and compares the current situation (May 2013) with the employment situation when the recession started (December 2007) - and also the worst numbers during the recession.
Even though the noninstitutional population has increased by over 12 million, the labor force has only increased by 1.7 million since December 2007. This decline in the participation rate has been a key topic, and some of the decline in participation was due to demographics - and some due to economic weakness.
Nonfarm payrolls are up 6.3 million from the trough, but still 2.35 million below the December 2007 levels. Private payrolls are up 6.9 million from the depth of the recession, but still 1.8 million below the pre-recession level.
And the unemployment rate has fallen about halfway back to the pre-recession level.
However the numbers of unemployed, part-time for economic reasons, marginally attached, and long term unemployed have not improved as much. Whereas the headline unemployment rate is about halfway back to the pre-recession level, the U-6 unemployment rate is less than 40% of the way back to the pre-recession level.
This is a reminder we need to look at more than just payroll jobs and the unemployment rate. There are still millions of workers unemployed or underemployed - and this says nothing about weak wage growth. There is still a long way to go.
| Employment Statistics (Thousands or Percent)1 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| May-13 | Dec-07 | Worst | |
| Civilian noninstitutional population (16 and over) | 245,363 | 233,156 | --- |
| Civilian labor force | 155,658 | 153,936 | --- |
| Total nonfarm Payroll | 135,637 | 137,983 | 129,320 |
| Private Payroll | 113,789 | 115,606 | 106,850 |
| Unemployment Rate | 7.6% | 5.0% | 10.0% |
| Unemployed | 11,760 | 7,664 | 15,382 |
| Part-Time for Economic Reasons | 7,904 | 4,638 | 9,103 |
| Marginally Attached to Labor Force2 | 2,164 | 1,395 | 2,809 |
| Discouraged Workers2 | 780 | 363 | 1,318 |
| U-6 Unemployment rate3 | 13.8% | 8.8% | 17.1% |
| Unemployed for 27 Weeks & over | 4,357 | 1,327 | 6,704 |
1 The payroll numbers are from the Current Employment Statistics (establishment survey), and the remaining numbers are from the Current Population Survey (household survey).
2 BLS: "Discouraged workers are a subset of persons marginally attached to the labor force. The marginally attached are those persons not in the labor force who want and are available for work, and who have looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months, but were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. Among the marginally attached, discouraged workers were not currently looking for work specifically because they believed no jobs were available for them or there were none for which they would qualify."
3 BLS: "Total unemployed, plus all marginally attached workers plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of all civilian labor force plus all marginally attached workers"
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