MarketWatch: Unemployment rate jumps to 5.7%, 4-year high

[marmar]

Unemployment rate jumps to 5.7%, 4-year high
Nonfarm payrolls fall by 51,000 in July, 7th straight drop
By Rex Nutting, MarketWatch


WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Nonfarm payrolls fell for the seventh straight month in July while the unemployment jumped to 5.7%, a four-year high, the Labor Department reported Friday.

Nonfarm payrolls fell by 51,000 in July, led by losses in manufacturing, construction, retail and temporary help.

Since December, 463,000 jobs have been lost, the strongest signal that the economy is in a recession.

Economists surveyed by MarketWatch expected payrolls to shrink by 70,000 and for the unemployment rate to rise to 5.6% from 5.5% in June. See Economic Calendar.

Payrolls in May and June were revised higher by 26,000.

Average hourly earnings rose by 6 cents, or 0.3%, to $18.06. Average pay is up 3.4% in the past year, far less than the 5% rise in consumer prices.

Total hours worked in the economy fell by 0.4 percentage points in July. The number of workers who held part-time jobs who wanted to work full-time surged by 5.5% in July to 5.6 million. .....(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/unemployment-rate-rises-57-4-year-high/story.aspx?guid=%7B752CAB21%2DA428%2D4226%2DA503%2DB3EE1D0014A7%7D

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. Double that number...

And you are on the way to the real number. Gamed data.

[ikojo]

2. Totally true, one is counted as unemployed by the government

only if one qualifies to receive unemployment benefits. Many full time workers and most part time workers do not qualify. Also, if one has exhausted one's unemployment benefits and no longer "on the rolls" then one is not counted as unemployed.

[fasttense]

3. And all the other unemployed people not included in that 5.7% -

"The unemployment for teenagers jumped by 2.2 percentage points to 20.3%. "The summertime influx of youth into the labor market was about the same as last year," said Keith Hall, commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics. "However, fewer young people were able to find jobs." An alternative measure of unemployment that includes people too discouraged to look for work rose to 10.3% from 9.9%."

Another interesting statistic The labor-force participation rate remained at 66.1%.

The labor force participation rate is the percentage of working-age persons in an economy who:

Are employed
Are unemployed but looking for a job

Typically "working-age persons" is defined as people between the ages of 16-64. People in those age groups who are not counted as participating in the labor force are typically students, homemakers, and persons under the age of 64 who are retired. In the United States the labor force participation rate is usually around 67-68%.

But now the participation rate is barely above 66%. That's about 3 to 6 million people no longer participating in the job market - interesting and convenient.