Long-term Unemployment (updated)
On July 2nd, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Employment Situation Summary for June of 2010. Following is the first paragraph: Total nonfarm payroll employment declined by 125,000 in June, and the unemployment rate edged down to 9.5 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The decline in payroll employment reflected a decrease (-225,000) in the number of temporary employees working on Census 2010. Private-sector payroll employment edged up by 83,000. The drop of 125,000 in nonfarm payroll employment put the number of nonfarm payroll jobs at 130.47 million, just about the same level that existed in December of 1999. Hence, we have gone 10 and a half years with no job growth. Perhaps more disturbing, however, has been the growth in long-term unemployment. On this topic, the December report stated the following: In June, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) was unchanged at 6.8 million. These individuals made up 45.5 p...