The number of Real Unemployed Persons decreased by 419,000 to 18.6 million.
The Real Unemployment Rate increased by 0.2% to 11.8%.
In addition to the 18.6 million Real Unemployed Persons at September 30, there are another 3.8 million persons who, while also saying they want jobs, have not looked for work in the past twelve months. Solely because they haven’t looked, these persons are not included among the marginally attached workers; if included, then September’s Real Unemployment Rate of 11.8% increases to 13.8%, a figure more than twice the official BLS rate of unemployment.
]]>
The number of Real Unemployed Persons decreased by 351,000 to 19 million.
The Real Unemployment Rate increased by 0.2% to 12.0%.
In addition to the 19 million Real Unemployed Persons at August 31, there were another 4.2 million persons who, while also saying they want jobs, have not looked for work in the past twelve months. Solely because they haven’t looked, these persons are not included among the marginally attached workers; if included, then August’s Real Unemployment Rate of 12.0% increases to 14.3%, a figure more than twice the official BLS rate of unemployment.
]]>
From now until Election Day, please SHARE at least one UCubed post with your Facebook friends every day. It takes a second. But that simple act can alter the dynamics of these midterm elections.
Right now, 84 percent of all Americans disapprove of the job Congress is doing … 72 percent disapprove of the job the GOP’s Congressional leaders are doing … and only 22 percent support the Tea Party.
And yet, polls give an edge to the GOP Establishment. So few Americans intend to vote this year the GOP could win by default.
And the fault will be ours.
That’s why the animated cartoons and zany photos UCubed produces are designed to drive up voter turnout and drive those reptiles from power.
Some posts will be silly. Some will be serious. Most will be humorous. And you’ll know which ones your friends and family will like and are likely to share with their friends. So keep hitting that SHARE button.
One flick of your finger – your index finger – is all it takes.
In Unity — Strength,
Rick
Rick Sloan
UCubed President
Visit UCubed’s Spanish Facebook page at www.facebook.com/UniondeDesempleados
]]>
- The number of Real Unemployed Persons dincreased by 313,000 to 19.4 million
- The Real Unemployment Rate increased by 0.1% to 12.2%.
Note: In addition to the 19.4 million Real Unemployed Persons at July 31, there were another 4.4 million persons who, while also saying they want jobs, have not looked for work in the past twelve months. Solely because they haven’t looked, these persons are not included among the marginally attached workers; if included, then July’s Real Unemployment Rate of 12.2% increases to 14.6%, a figure more than twice the official BLS rate of unemployment.
]]>
• The number of Real Unemployed Persons decreased by 115,000 to 19.0 million
• The Real Unemployment Rate decreased by 0.1% to 12.1%.
Note: In addition to the 19.0 million Real Unemployed Persons at June 30, there were another 4.7 million persons who, while also saying they want jobs, have not looked for work in the past twelve months. Solely because they haven’t looked, these persons are not included among the marginally attached workers; if included, then June’s Real Unemployment Rate of 12.1% increases to 14.6%, a figure still more than twice the official BLS rate of unemployment.
]]>
• The number of Real Unemployed Persons decreased by 181,000 to 19.2 million
• The Real Unemployment Rate decreased by 0.1% to 12.2%.
Note: In addition to the 19.2 million Real Unemployed Persons at May 31, there were another 4.9 million persons who, while also saying they want jobs, have not looked for work in the past twelve months. Simply because they haven’t looked, these persons are not included among marginally attached workers; if included, then May’s Real Unemployment Rate of 12.2% increases to 14.8%, a figure still more than twice the official BLS rate of unemployment.
]]>
Note: In addition to the 19.4 million Real Unemployed Persons at April 30, there were another 3.9 million persons who, while also saying they want jobs, have not looked for work in the past twelve months. Simply because they haven’t looked, these persons are not included among marginally attached workers; if included, then April’s Real Unemployment Rate of 12.3% increases to 14.4%, a figure more than twice the official BLS rate of unemployment.
A debate now rages within the Federal Reserve over inflation. Should the inflation target be less than 2 per cent per year, remain at 2 percent per year or be allowed to grow to 4 percent per year? It is a macroeconomic debate that only the investor class follows closely. But the unemployed have a huge stake in that debate, too.
Oddly, the investor class keeps asking the equivalent of how many angels can dance on the head of a pin. They argue whether or not unemployment has dropped low enough. And that’s inane. The official unemployment rate (6.7 percent), the U-6 rate (12.7 percent) and the real unemployment rate (14.7 percent) which includes those who haven’t looked for a job in a year – all three are too far from full employment (4 percent).
Once again, the investor class is asking the wrong question. They should be asking how many pins are being manufactured.
We need more pins – places for the unemployed to go to work – and that takes more investment, public and private, new ventures, new businesses and newly-empowered consumers with money in their pockets. That can only happen if the banks, brokers, venture capitalists and corporate titans start investing in America again instead of shipping capital to the four corners of the earth to avoid paying taxes or make a few more basis points in profit.
America faces a molasses slow recovery. Job growth averaged 174,000 per month in 2011; 186,000 per month in 2012; 194,000 per month in 2013; and 177,000 for the first three months of 2014. None of those figures come close to population growth which averaged 218,000 Americans per month since the start of the Great Recession.
Our workforce grew from 153.1 million in 2007 to 155.8 million today. That’s anemic growth. What should frighten the Federal Reserve are two facts. First, real unemployment stands at 23.8 million including, as explained above, those who haven’t looked for a job in the last year. Second, the number of Americans not-in-the-workforce has exploded from 78.7 million in 2007 to 91.6 million today – an increase of 13.1 million.
Do the math. Real unemployment plus not-in-the-workforce equals 36.9 million Americans! Talk about depressing. Actually, that IS what keeps depressing this economy. Subtract that many consumers and the engine of growth sputters and comes to a halt eventually.
So, for America’s NOT working class, the Federal Reserve internal debate boils down to abandoning its efforts to stimulate the economy in order to keep non-existent inflation pressures in check. In reality, low inflation means lower interest rates and, consequently, the lowest incentives to invest in new industries, new ventures and new businesses. Quick and fast investors may like low inflation to protect their assets but their incessant greed is throttling our economy.
Since most Federal Reserve decisions are not felt immediately, the internal debate is really about what the economy will look like in late 2015 and early 2016. It will play havoc with presidential campaigns. But, far more dangerous, will be the microeconomic impacts of the Federal Reserve’s shift from a jobs advocate to an inflation fighter.
What little hope the long-term unemployed had of ever getting a job that matches their skills will vanish if the inflation hawks win the debate inside the Federal Reserve. So tell the Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen not to shift focus until we reach full employment. Tell her your story. Tell her what it is like to be unemployed for six months, 12 months, 24 months or more.
From her past speeches and current actions, Janet Yellen has been on our side. We need to give her the ammunition she needs to win this debate. So write her today.
In Unity — Strength,
Rick
Rick Sloan
UCubed President
]]>
In the last 28 days, Facebook reports that UCubed reached 11 million people in the United States, 896,000 in Canada, 455,000 in Australia and 405,000 in India. We also reached over 50,000 Facebook users in eight more nations: Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, Brazil, New Zealand, Germany and South Africa.
Who knew?
All told UCubed is reaching folks in 45 countries… even in nations like Iceland and Nepal.
We used to brag about how many people saw our posts in Chicago, New York and Los Angeles. Last month, we reached 345,000 in those three cities. But now, our top 45 cities include London; Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Edmonton in Canada; Chennai and Bangalore in India; and Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide in Australia.
UCubed reached as many folks in London as it did in Los Angeles (100,000) last month. At the lower end, we reached as many users in Adelaide as in Charlotte, NC (31,000).
Unfortunately, Facebook metrics limits us to the top 45 countries and cities. But it also shows us the 45 languages spoken. So we know that UCubed posts are being seen by 1,600 folks who list their primary language as Catalan, Persian and Estonian. All the way up to the 14.3 million English speakers and everything in between, including three versions of Chinese.
Again, who knew?
Last year, the International Labour Organization (ILO) estimated that 197 million people were unemployed worldwide and another 38 million had dropped out of the labor market. The ILO also tracks the rate of unemployment across the globe. From Mauritania at 30.9 percent in 2013 to Cambodia at .03 percent – yeah, right – their data depends on “published national sources.” And we know how accurate those national sources can be.
And yet, the simple fact is that a global jobs crisis exists.
That jobs crisis depresses local and national economic growth because those quarter billion people consume fewer goods and services. It depresses the individual because they become stigmatized by right-wing politicians and ignored by center- and left-wing ones. As their unemployment lingers indefinitely, they become more and more isolated from workplace colleagues, neighbors, friends and neighbors. They become chained to their fates.
Or, as President Franklin Roosevelt once said, “We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. Necessitous men are not free men. People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.”
Perhaps, it is time to realize that “necessitous men” led the Arab Spring, drove the politics of India, Ireland and Italy, marched in Greece, Portugal and Spain, and seethed in Iran, Jordan, Turkey and Macedonia. And foremost among those “necessitous men” were the jobless women who stood up for themselves and their families.
But nowhere, not here in the United States nor in the Russian Federation, are the unemployed to be taken for granted. They are not accidental tourists. They are survivors whose scars run long and deep. And, like their grandparents and great grandparents from the Great Depression, their memories of being jobless will dictate their politics for decades to come.
So let’s hope that UCubed continues to reach across the globe. And that our message – Let’s make Democracy work for us – resonates on every continent.
In Unity — Strength,
Rick
Rick Sloan
UCubed President
However, as we not each month, these BLS figures do NOT reflect real unemployment, because they do not include:
- Marginally attached workers are workers who “while wanting and available for jobs, have not searched for work in the past four weeks but have searched for work in the past twelve months.” Currently included among them are 0.8 million discouraged workers who did not look for work specifically because “they believe there are no jobs available or none for which they would qualify.”
- Underemployed workers cannot find full-time jobs or have had their hours cut back.
In February 2014, the number of Real Unemployed Persons decreased by 137,000 to 19.9 million and the Real Unemployment Rate decreased by 0.1% to 12.6%.
NOTE: In addition to the total 19.9 million Real Unemployed Persons at February 28, there were another 3.8 million persons who, while also saying they want jobs, have not looked for work in the past twelve months. Because they haven’t looked, these persons are not included among marginally attached workers; if they are included, then February’s Real Unemployment Rate of 12.6% increases to 14.7%.
]]>