Unemployment rate higest in 26 years
Department of Labor statistics released today show that job losses have held relatively steady, with 467,000 lost in the month of June. That brings the national unemployment rate up a tenth of a percentage point from May, to 9.5 percent.
Still, that slight jump puts the country at its highest rate of unemployment in 26 years. All told, the number of people collecting payroll has dropped by 6.5 million since the recession officially began in December 2007. Of those, 4.4 million are now considered “long-term unemployed,” up 433,000 across the month of June.
As Arthur Delaney reports in the Huffington Post today, this effectively obliterates the gains of the Bush-era, speculation-driven boom. Did someone say massive correction?
Heidi Shierholz, an economist with the Economic Policy Institute, said that the loss of 6.5 million jobs since the start of the recession combined with the growth of the workforce means that the gains of the previous business cycle have been completely blown away.
“This is the only recession since the Great Depression to wipe out all jobs growth from the previous business cycle, a devastating benchmark for the workers of this country and a testament to both the enormity of the current crisis and to the extreme weakness of jobs growth from 2000-2007,” said Shierholz in a statement.
via Unemployment Rate Hits 9.5 Percent As Economy Sheds 467,000 Jobs In June.
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It’s sucks, what more can you say other than that. I think we’re seeing more than a massive correction going on, but a real remaking of some of the basics of our economy, it’s terrible that so many have to suffer for the folly of others. The simple truth is we’ve spent the last 30 years ignoring the foundation of our economic house and now the roof has caved in.
It certainly seems as though that “real remaking of some of the basics of our economy” is what the economy is demanding. I only hope that we have the wherewithal to listen, to restructure accordingly.
wherewithal and the guts! There are a lot of powerful people well vested in maintaining the status quo.
In response to another comment. See in context »There is added insult here, taxpayers are financing the recovery of wall street and losing their jobs while cnbc guys are celebrating the end of the recession because stocks are up and at Goldman Sachs salaries and bonuses are back on track.