|
A Close Look at Unemployment |
|
|
|
|
Written by Kenneth D'Amica
|
|
Wednesday, 04 June 2008 03:43 |
|
As of April 2008 there were 7.6 million unemployed people in the United States, out of a total workforce of 153 million people. Of those unemployed, roughly half are classified as “job losers,” people who lost their job or completed a temporary job, by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The remaining half is made up of “job leavers,” people who have left their job voluntarily and are searching for a replacement, “new entrants,” who are seeking a job for the first time, and “re-entrants,” who are seeking a job after a period of not participating in the labor force.
The number of “job losers” behaves cyclically with respect to the shaded areas denoting recessions. This number increased 21 percent from April 2007 to April 2008, though the current level is still well below the historic highs that have accompanied recessions. Unemployment due to other factors has remained stable.
|
e.g. the chart presented is only meaningful if the number of people in the total workforce has remained flat between 1967 and 2007.