A look at unemployment numbers

The National Employment Law Project released a report today looking at the unemployment crisis in America. Some of the numbers in the report are simply staggering and reveal just how bad things have gotten for those left behind by a faltering economy. The report begins:

Our nation today is mired in one of the worst labor markets since the Great Depression. Thre are currently nearly 15 million Americans unemployed, with the unemployment rate hovering at or just under 10 percent for nearly a year. At the end of May, nearly half of those unemployed (46 percent) have been out of work and actively seeking a job for at least six months, a post-World War II record high. Currently, there are nearly five workers actively searching for work for every job available, compared to just one and a half job searchers per job opening before the Great Recession began.

Worse still, the labor market problems we see right now will be with us for some time. The massive employment hole left by the Great Recession will take years to fill. If we added 218,000 private sector jobs each month from now on—the highest monthly payroll increase seen so far this year in the private sector—it would still take almost five years to fill the hole. That’s why ensuring that unemployment insurance reaches the unemployed remains a critical component of any serious effort to help stem the harmful effects
of this recession and to help the American economy recover.

1.2 million workers have already lost their unemployment since June 4, when Congress failed to extend federal emergency unemployment benefits. A similar number will lose their unemployment benefits in July if Congress fails to restore the extension.

The lapse of these benefits not only affects those who are already unemployed, it can also increase the number of jobless people by lowering consumer spending and reducing demand. The NELP notes that unemployment benefits put an additional $6.8 billion into the economy every month; removing that stimulus means higher unemployment.

For every dollar spent on unemployment benefits, according to the Congressional Budget Office, up to $2.10 in spending is triggered throughout the economy.