U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Table A-15. Alternative measures of labor underutilization
[Percent]
[….]
U-3 Total unemployed, as a percent of the civilian labor force (official unemployment rate)
Not seasonally adjusted
Oct. 2020 6.6
Sept. 2021 4.6
Oct. 2021 4.3
Seasonally adjusted
Oct. 2020 6.9
June 2021 5.9
July 2021 5.4
Aug. 2021 5.2
Sept. 2021 4.8 Oct. 2021 4.6
[…]
Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 531,000 in October, and the unemployment rate edged down by 0.2 percentage point to 4.6 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Job growth was widespread, with notable job gains in leisure and hospitality, in professional and business services, in manufacturing, and in transportation and warehousing. Employment in public education declined over the month.
Senator Roy Blunt @RoyBlunt
Republicans warned that Democrats’ enhanced unemployment benefits would make it harder to get people back into the workforce. That’s exactly what has happened. 1:08 PM · Sep 16, 2021
The is much hilarity in the responses:
Except… that’s not true at all: [….]
You don’t get to pat yourself on the back when you hurt people for no good reason. That you wanted hurting people to have a justification isn’t its own justification.
[….]
Tell me lies… tell me sweet little lies…
[….]
That’s not what happened
1 in 500 American’s has died from Covid
Dead people don’t come back to jobs
If they’re not dead they’re quarantining after exposure, or staying home with their kids who are quarantining after definitely being exposed almost daily at school. Does anyone *not* know someone who has missed work because they either tested positive or had to quarantine?
I’m not buying it. An extra $300 a week is not the issue. That’s basically the equivalent of a $7.50 an hour job for 40 hours a week. Not only that, states who have already terminated the benefit have not seen an increased number of people going to work.
You didn’t care when you were dishing out tax breaks to the rich… but now you’re worried about spending???? Please
[….]
Continued Claims for Unemployment Insurance is the lowest it’s been in over 12 months, below 4M with a work force of over 150M yea, that’s what’s causing the labor shortage.
SMH
No state that terminated expanded unemployment benefits has experienced an uptick in unemployment. This is yet another lie.
Employees will come back to work when employers pay them a living wage.
Missouri stopped them months ago. So what’s the cause now?
Right, just pointing fingers without offering solutions.
Roy Blunt (r) continues to be…Roy Blunt (r).
Funny because where in enhanced unemployment benefits have ended (now everywhere but in many states some weeks ago), persons have not been flocking back to fill jib vacancies. Your simplistic partisan logic fails again!
How many people who have benefited & not back at work have you talked with? Any surveys of these scofflaws?
The National Federation of Independent Unemployed People had no comment.
Not to be blunt Roy, but does your party ever tell the truth? About anything?
No. This has been another edition of Short Answers to Simple Questions.
That’s a lie. Missouri stopped the covid unemployment benefits early. Still I see hundreds of help wanted signs. White Castle has a sign paying $15/hour. Just retire please.
Sorry Roy, wrong again on all counts. The minimum wage isn’t enough to put yourself in contact with the idiots who refuse to vaccinate, it’s that simple
“…In order to address workforce shortages across the state, Governor Mike Parson today directed the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations (DOLIR) to notify the U.S. Department of Labor that Missouri will end participation in all federal pandemic-related unemployment insurance programs effective Saturday, June 12 at 11:59 p.m….” – May 11, 2021
….The FPUC program provides that those eligible for at least one dollar of unemployment compensation benefits during the week will receive an additional $300 per week as a federal supplement. Claimants do not need to take any additional action to receive this supplemental payment….
For those interested in doing the math, after removing the federal supplemental unemployment benefit, the maximum benefit from the state is the equivalent of $8.00 an hour for a 40 hour week. The minimum living wage for a single adult in Missouri has been calculated at around $13.72 an hour. Poverty wages are at around $6.13 an hour. Add children, day care, transportation, etc. and you get a very different number.
“Qu’ils mangent de la brioche.”
This morning, from Vicky Hartzler (r):
Rep. Vicky Hartzler @RepHartzler
Missouri is ready to take off and boom economically but can’t due to labor shortages and misguided priorities from the leadership in DC.
I applaud @GovParsonMO’s decision in taking the necessary steps to turn our state’s “Help Wanted” signs into proudly “Open for Business.”
[….] 8:24 AM · May 12, 2021
It’s all about the cruelty.
Some of the responses:
Missouri does not have the infrastructure to “boom economically”. Two decades of GOP control of the state legislature has made sure of that.
If $300/wk is causing a job shortage, then those jobs are paying poverty wages. If a job can’t compete with the dole, the job isn’t worth it.
Thank goodness the voters approved the minimum wage increase, right?
yep. those people bringing home a maximum of *$620* a week are really gaming the system.
Wow. Can you imagine hating people that voted you into office this much?
Would either of you work for tips? There is no supplemental PPP included in them. Schedule an actual town hall and talk to those constituents. Do your job for once.
Total nonfarm payroll employment fell by 20.5 million in April, and the unemployment rate rose to 14.7 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The changes in these measures reflect the effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and efforts to contain it. Employment fell sharply in all major industry sectors, with particularly heavy job losses in leisure and hospitality.
[….]
In April, the unemployment rate increased by 10.3 percentage points to 14.7 percent. This is the highest rate and the largest over-the-month increase in the history of the series (seasonally adjusted data are available back to January 1948). The number of unemployed persons rose by 15.9 million to 23.1 million in April. The sharp increases in these measures reflect the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and efforts to contain it…
[….]
In April, unemployment rates rose sharply among all major worker groups. The rate was 13.0 percent for adult men, 15.5 percent for adult women, 31.9 percent for teenagers, 14.2 percent for Whites, 16.7 percent for Blacks, 14.5 percent for Asians, and 18.9 percent for Hispanics. The rates for all of these groups, with the exception of Blacks, represent record highs for their respective series.
[….]
Table A-15. Alternative measures of labor underutilization
U-3 Total unemployed, as a percent of the civilian labor force (official unemployment rate) – [April 2020] 14.7%
U-6 Total unemployed, plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force – [April 2020] 22.8%
Thanks for nothing, Donald.
Bad combover. Check. Too long red tie. Check. Orange spray tan. Check. Tiny hands. Check. Cluelessness. Check…
Representative Vicky Hartzler (r) has yet to take to Twitter to highlight the positive news:
We’re not holding our breath.
[….]
Heh. We’ll, Representative Hartzler (r) finally did comment yesterday via Twitter:
Rep. Vicky Hartzler @RepHartzler
June jobs report sadly showed 49 out of the past 50 months more people DROPPED OUT of job search than found a job. 12% unemployment really. 6:46 AM – 9 Jul 2014
That’s a reference to U-6, a U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics “alternative measure of labor utilization” which includes “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”. U-3, which is the “official unemployment rate”, is currently 6.1%.
Representative Hartzler’s (r) tweet prompted a response:
Uh, we already knew that. Representative Hartzler (r) probably does, too. The spin manufactured through the republican party hierarchy probably doesn’t allow for acknowledging facts like that.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics provides easy access to historical data sets. The following graph shows the U-6 rate from January 2001 (when George W. Bush took office as President) through June of 2014. The red line indicates January 2009, when Barack Obama took office as President.
U-6 from January 2001 to present. Historical data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
One might note that the long term trend of U-6 during the Obama Administration is down. One might also note that there was an uptick during the first term of the George W. Bush administration and then a catastrophic rise at the end of the second term as the economy collapsed. The spin manufactured through the republican party hierarchy probably doesn’t allow for acknowledging facts like that.
Representative Hartzler (r) continued, via Twitter:
Gallop: Unemployment rose to 9% mid-February. Food stamp use is at all time high. True unemployment rate may be over 15%. 9:26 AM – 22 Feb 12
“….True unemployment rate may be over 15%.”
The unemployment statistic which has been consistently utilized by everyone and is reported in the media as the unemployment rate is the U-3. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has “[a]lternative measures of labor underutilization”, one, the U-6, which includes the “[t]otal unemployed, plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force”. The U-6 is always a higher number.
The seasonally adjusted U-6 was 16.4% in September 2011 and 15.1% in January 2012.
It’s interesting that Representative Vicky Hartzler (r) is just discovering (or is it spinning?) these standards.
….Has the economy really deteriorated just like that?
Nah, don’t worry.
As The Bonddad Blog pointed out last week, this Gallup data isn’t seasonally adjusted (in fact it says that in the chart right up there).
Since it’s not seasonally adjusted, you have to look at it year over year, and guess what.
And guess what, a year ago Gallup was at 10% and BLS was at 9.0%. So with Gallup now being at 9%, you could surmise that BLS will stand at 8.0%, another solid drop….
[emphasis added]
We’ll find out when the BLS releases the next monthly report.
Meanwhile, Representative Hartzler (r) is either an idiot, or thinks everyone else is, or both.
