Happy Labor Day – If You Have a Job

Posted by marykeating on September 7, 2009 under Unemployment compensation | Be the First to Comment

The headlines continue to report, cautiously, that we are out of the recession.  But the effects of the recession are still with us.  And the recovery has not extended to job creation, at least not yet.

Today’s New York Times explains that unemployment data can be misleading since the percentage of the unemployed counts only those who are actively searching for work.  The article focuses on four people, typical of many, who lost their jobs and after numerous fruitless searches for new work, have essentially given up.  They may stay home with the kids, go back to school, retire, or simply hang on until times get better.  Others are working part-time, but would work full time if they could. If the jobless rate included the “discouraged” and the “marginally attached to the labor market” categories, unemployment would stand at 11%, rather than 9.7%.
The last local report from the Bureau of Labor Standards for Baltimore/Towson is from May; so it does not show any bright spots.  For those employed though, state-wide average compensation rose by 2.5% from June 2008 to June 2009.