Long-term Unemployment Still Too High
Patrick Tyrrell /
The stock market reacted favorably this morning when it was announced that the number of people on payrolls fell by 36,000 in February, better than the 50,000 loss expected by economists. The unemployment rate held steady at 9.7%, also slightly better than expected.
Another indicator that may have received less attention is the 15-Week unemployment rate—the percent of the labor force that has been unemployed for 15 weeks or longer and is still looking for employment. In December, 2007 this statistic stood at only 1.6%. In February, 2010, it was 363% higher at 5.8%. This, after three “stimulus” bills during the time frame is proof that the idea that we can “spend our way out of recession” is for the birds. In fact, after rising the astronomical 363%, the rolls of those unemployed 15 weeks or more has only declined by 147,000 since it peaked in November of 2009 at 8 million 976 thousand people looking for work. (more…)