Unemployment in the US

United States Unemployment Rate at 9.10 percent The unemployment rate in the United States was last reported at 9.1 percent in September of 2011. From 1948 until 2010 the United States' Unemployment Rate averaged 5.70 percent reaching an historical high of 10.80  percent in November of 1982 and a record low of 2.50 percent in May of 1953. The labour force is defined as  the number of people employed plus the number unemployed but seeking work. The non labour force includes  those who are not looking for work, those who are institutionalised and those serving in the military.  This page includes: United States Unemployment Rate chart, historical data and news. 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The increase in employment partially reflected the return to payrolls of about 45,000 telecommunications workers who had been on strike in August. In September, job gains occurred in professional and business services, health care, and construction. Government employment continued to trend down. The number of unemployed persons, at 14.0 million, was essentially unchanged in September, and the unemployment rate was 9.1 percent. Since April, the rate has held in a narrow range from 9.0 to 9.2 percent. Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rates for adult men (8.8 percent), adult women (8.1 percent), teenagers (24.6 percent), whites (8.0 percent), blacks (16.0 percent), and Hispanics (11.3 percent) showed little or no change in September. The jobless rate for Asians was 7.8 percent, not seasonally adjusted. The number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks and over) was 6.2 million in September. These individuals accounted for 44.6 percent of the unemployed. Total nonfarm payroll employment edged up by 103,000 in September. Since April, payroll employment has increased by an average of 72,000 per month, compared with an average of 161,000 for the prior 7 months. Employment in professional and business services increased by 48,000 over the month and has grown by 897,000 since a recent low in September 2009. Health care employment continued to expand in September, with an increase of 44,000. Construction employment increased by 26,000 over the month, after showing little movement since February. Employment in information was up by 34,000 over the month due to the return of about 45,000 telecommunications workers to payrolls after an August strike. Manufacturing employment changed little in September (-13,000) and has been essentially flat for the past 2 months. Within retail trade, employment declined in electronic and appliance stores (-9,000) in September. Government employment continued to trend down over the month (-34,000). Local government employment declined by 35,000 and has fallen by 535,000 since September 2008. The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for July was revised from +85,000 to +127,000, and the change for August was revised from 0 to +57,000. Unemployment Rate Definition The labour force is defined as the number of people employed plus the number unemployed but seeking work. The participation rate is the number of people in the labour force divided by the size of the adult civilian noninstitutional population (or by the population of working age that is not institutionalised). The nonlabour force includes those who  are not looking for work, those who are institutionalised such as in prisons or psychiatric wards, stay-at home  spouses, kids, and those serving in the military. The unemployment level is defined as the labour force minus the number of people currently employed. The unemployment rate is defined as the level of unemployment divided by the  labour force.  The employment rate is defined as the number of people currently employed divided by the adult  population (or by the population of working age). In these statistics, self-employed people are counted as employed. Variables like employment level, unemployment level, labour force, and unfilled vacancies are called stock variables  because they measure a quantity at a point in time. They can be contrasted with flow variables which measure a  quantity over a duration of time. Changes in the labour force are due to flow variables such as natural population  growth, net immigration, new entrants, and retirements from the labour force. Changes in unemployment depend on:  inflows made up of non-employed people starting to look for jobs and of employed people who lose their jobs and look  for new ones; and outflows of people who find new employment and of people who stop looking for employment. When looking at the overall macroeconomy, several types of unemployment have been identified, including: Frictional unemployment — This reflects the fact that it takes time for people to find and settle into new jobs. If 12  individuals each take one month before they start a new job, the aggregate unemployment statistics will record this  as a single unemployed worker. Technological change often reduces frictional unemployment, for example: the internet  made job searches cheaper and more comprehensive.  Structural unemployment — This reflects a mismatch  between the skills and other attributes of the labour force and those demanded by employers. If 4 workers each  take six months off to re-train before they start a new job, the aggregate unemployment statistics will record this as  two unemployed workers. Technological change often increases structural unemployment, for example:  technological change might require workers to re-train.  Natural rate of unemployment — This is the summation  of frictional and structural unemployment. It is the lowest rate  of unemployment that a stable economy can expect to achieve, seeing as some frictional and structural unemployment is  inevitable. Economists do not agree on the natural rate, with estimates ranging from 1% to 5%, or on its meaning — some  associate it with "non-accelerating inflation". The estimated rate varies from country to country and from time to time. Demand deficient unemployment — In Keynesian economics, any level of unemployment beyond the natural rate is most  likely due to insufficient demand in the overall economy. During a recession, aggregate expenditure is deficient causing the  underutilization of inputs (including labour). Aggregate expenditure (AE) can be increased, according to Keynes, by  increasing consumption spending (C), increasing investment spending (I), increasing government spending (G), or  increasing the net of exports minus imports (X?M). {AE = C + I + G + (X?M)} (source: wikipedia) Courtesy: Trading Economics