Employers trimmed fewer jobs in August than they did the prior month, but the unemployment rate jumped to a 26-year high, the government reported Friday.
There was a net loss of 216,000 jobs in the month, according to the Labor Department. That was the fewest jobs lost since August 2008 and lower than a revised loss of 276,000 jobs in July. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com predicted a loss of 230,000 jobs in August.
The unemployment rate, which in July fell for the first time in 15 months, turned higher again, jumping to 9.7% from 9.4% in July. This is the highest the unemployment rate has been since June 1983. Economists forecast that the jobless rate hit 9.5% in August.
The unemployment rate is based on a survey of households while the payroll estimate comes from a survey of employers. That can explain why unemployment rose even though there were fewer job cuts.
Still, even with the lower level of losses in August, 6.9 million jobs have been cut from payrolls since the start of 2008.
The report also showed that there were 9.1 million workers limited to part-time jobs because they couldn’t find full-time positions, up 278,000 from the month before.
That number of so-called underemployed workers had been falling over the past two months, leading to hopes that employers who had been cutting their staff’s hours were at least bringing people back on full time.
Many economists think that adding hours for employees is an important precursor to actual hiring. So the increase in involuntary part-time workers may be viewed as disappointing.
Despite automakers ramping up production to meet demand for fuel-efficient vehicles sparked by the Cash for Clunkers program, auto plants and auto parts makers lost nearly 15,000 jobs in August.
There was a 5,000 job increase at auto dealers though, ending a string of 21 months of job losses in that industry. Manufacturers outside the auto sector lost an additional 50,000 jobs, however.
The construction sector shed another 65,000 jobs as well. That loss came despite signs that building starts and home sales have been improving in recent months and increased spending on public works projects tied to the government’s economic stimulus package.
(Source: CNN Business)
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9 Responses
Is this rise in unemployment unexpected or was this the predicted outcome of Obama’s policies so that more and more of the American citizenry are going to rely on the government for some type of monetary support?
An excuse to print more money.
Welcome to the era of the new Jimmy Carter.
#1, it is neither. While no one should expect anything different from Obama, this is Bush and Cheney’s mess, although it was not a mess for them personally. If anyone could fix this in eight months, the problem would not have happened to this extent to begin with. You and I were robbed by the rich. Remember, even with Obama, a poor person is now (who is a legal American) is not more able to afford a dental appointment, but those millions of dollars were released in a blink of an eye and sent up to Wall Street for parties, bonuses, and whatever.
Democrat or Republican, both are an illusion. We have an oligarchy and are ruled by plutocrats. Goodbye free enterprise…hello feudal system.
#1 Bubby
Yes, it was all part of a grand scheme. Bush was in on it too, that’s why he left the country’s economy in such ruins. You see, even the great GWB was secretly indoctrinated into Obama’s socialist Marxist evil team, and they meet weekly in a secret location underneath Dick Cheney’s bunker.
Another twisted figure reported by CNN. Why didn’t they mention that the Federal Reserve said the real unemployment rate is about 16%!!!!!?? This number includes everyone out of a job… not just people collecting Unemployment.
Anyone who wants to do factual research will discover that the true number is 16.9%. Without going into great detail, the government does not take into account many factors such as people who gave up looking for jobs, assuming incorrectly that more small business are starting up, etc.
#7, or the underemployed who found new jobs, NOT parallel to what they were doing, but jobs that were below their proper level of experience and pay.
wow, so if you include the ‘underemployed’ you get close to 1 in 5 Americans who are not making what they should be making.
THat is very severe.
Americans can’t be too happy with the fact that instaed of dealing with this problem or even talking about it – the administration is looking to take over healthcare.