Yesterday the Department of Labor, Bureau or Labor Statistics (BLS) released the March 2013 Employment Situation report. The BLS each month tracks the unemployment statistically during the month through surveying of households. The March Employment Situation posted a national unemployment rate of 7.6%. March continued the trending down of unemployment. This month the downward trend was largely due to civilian labor force declining by 496,000.
Job creation during March was at a low of 88,000 jobs that were added to the economy. Of the 88,000 jobs created the industry leaders adding jobs during March were Health Care adding 23,000 jobs while construction for the second month in a row added jobs totaling 18,000 in March. Retail trade employment declined by 24,000 jobs in March.
With a national unemployment rate at 7.6% this means there are 11.7 million jobless Americans without a job. Of that number the Employment Situation reports there are 4.6 million who have been been jobless for 27 weeks or more and are deemed long term unemployed. This group of long term unemployed represent 39.6 percent of the total national unemployment.
Not counted in the March national unemployment rate are 7.6 million involuntary part time workers because they cannot find full time work or because their hours worked have been cut. Another category not counted in the national unemployment rate are the 2.3 million persons who are considered marginally attached to the labor force. This group is not counted as unemployed because they have not searched for work in the last four weeks. Among the marginally attached workers there are 803,000 discouraged workers who has simply given up because they do not believe there is a job out there for them.
When you add the 11.7 million unemployed, 7.6 million involuntary part time workers and 2.3 million discouraged workers the sum is 21.6 million Americans either unemployed or underemployed. This is slightly lower than the previous month and points to a national unofficial unemployment rate of 13.9 %.
To view the full report can go to http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm. The next national Employment Situation report will be released by the Labor Department on May 3, 2013 that will cover April 2013.
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