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On August 7, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its unemployment report for July. The unemployment rate was 9.4 percent in July, a slight change from the 9.5 percent in June. The small decrease was, however, better than the 9.6 percent that economists had predicted. The economy continued to lose jobs, but the rate of decline is beginning to slow.
Employment showing signs of improvement
Jobs were added in education, healthcare, government, leisure, and hospitality. Even though employment in these industries is still below 2008 levels, the trend is still a positive one for the economy. Industries that lost the most jobs were manufacturing, construction, retail, transportation, fincance, and business and professional services. The good news is that these industries' job losses are less than in previous months.
Areas of concern remain
The unemployment rate, although slightly lower for July, does not count the number of discouraged workers or workers who are marginally attached to the labor force. Discouraged workers are those who have given up looking for a job, and workers who are marginally attached to the labor force have looked for a job in the past 12 months but not in the past 4 months. Workers in both these categories increased during July. This type of unemployment, although not reflected in the unemployment rate, is particularly harmful to an economic recovery because it represents workers who have simply given up. This segment of the population is difficult to attract back into the labor force.
Another area of concern is the number of workers who are unemployed long-term, which is more than 27 weeks. This type of unemployment also rose in July, indicating that workers are having a harder time finding new jobs. The longer workers go without jobs, the harder it becomes to find one. For tips on finding a job during a recession, click here.
For more information about the economic recovery, click here.
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