Unemployment

State Employment and Unemployment Rates- September 2012

October 29, 2012 by Tim McMahon

Unemployment Rates by State-

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has released the individual state unemployment rates and once again NORTH DAKOTA has the lowest unemployment rates… literally begging for employees. They have “man camps” where men from all over the country are showing up and parking RV’s and cashing in on the high paying jobs available in the pipeline industry. And because the pay is so good it is driving up the wages everywhere else as Denny’s and McDonalds have to pay $15/hr in order to attract employees. Stories abound of labor being so scarce that Walmart quit stocking shelves and just places the pallets straight on the floor in the aisles and people grab the stock straight from the pallet.

On the other end of the spectrum we have Nevada where the gambling industry is hurting and they have 11.8% unemployment. This is followed by Rhode Island, California and New Jersey at 10.5%, 10.2% and 9.8% respectively.

Source: BLS Data is based on Unemployment rates for selected states, seasonally adjusted, September 2012

The full Unemployment Data for all 50 States plus D.C. is:

Was Jack Welch Right on Twitter? Are Unemployment Numbers “Unbelievable”?

October 9, 2012 by Tim McMahon

Jack Welch on Twitter: Unbelievable Jobs Numbers

Unemployment Numbers “Surprisingly Good”-

On Friday, October 5th, just two days after the first Presidential debate the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the unemployment data for September, which were “surprisingly good”. The experts were not expecting such a large drop. The Seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 8.3% in July and had fallen to 8.1% in August and then the unemployment numbers for September came in at a shocking 7.8%.

Upon hearing these numbers, Jack Welch sent a Tweet from his Twitter account that has enraged Democrats. He said,

Jack Welch

@jack_welch
Unbelievable jobs numbers..these Chicago guys will do anything..can’t debate so change numbers.

Jack Welch has an amazing resume, the former CEO of General Electric, a best-selling author, a lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management and the founder of the Jack Welch Management Institute, etc.

Media Pounces on Jack Welch for Twitter Comments

But of course, that didn’t stop the Media from pouncing all over him. Huffington Post called his Tweet “Demented” and of course, the White House dismissed him as “ludicrous”.

“That’s a ludicrous comment. No serious person believes that the Bureau of Labor Statistics manipulates its statistics,” said Alan Krueger, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.

I don’t know where Mr. Krueger has been over the last 20 years, but John Williams of Shadowstats.com has made quite a name for himself disbelieving BLS numbers for some time now. And we have published several articles about how the Unemployment numbers don’t match up with the Employment numbers. See: Employment vs. Unemployment and Is the Government Fudging Unemployment Numbers? We published both of these articles long before the Presidential debate and Jack Welch’s Tweet.

As a matter of fact, James Dale Davidson founder of the National Taxpayers Union and author of Blood in the Streets, The Sovereign Individual, and most recently Brazil Is the New America: How Brazil Offers Upward Mobility in a Collapsing World wrote many years ago that he believed that Bill Clinton was fudging BLS numbers. So accusations of BLS fudging are nothing new.

As a matter of fact, it might be [Read more…] about Was Jack Welch Right on Twitter? Are Unemployment Numbers “Unbelievable”?

Worldwide Unemployment Rates

October 6, 2012 by Tim McMahon

Unemployment Rates Around the World

Worldwide unemployment rate have started to moderate with the notable exceptions of France and Italy.

The worldwide unemployment rate seems to indicate a bit of improvement as unemployment has been trending down over the most recent months that data is available. Unfortunately, it takes several months to collect the data from around the world so the most recent data is July 2012. The best performing country was Japan with an unemployment rate of only 3.9%. At 5.2% and 5.3% respectively we have Australia and the Netherlands. Germany was at 5.7%, Canada had 6.3% unemployment, Sweden had 7.4%, the U.S. had 8.3%, France was at 10.0% and Italy had 10.8% unemployment.As you can see [Read more…] about Worldwide Unemployment Rates

How to Land a Temp to Permanent Job

October 1, 2012 by Guest Contributor

A temp job helps you make money and gain experience. Such work can also help you build a solid resume. If you perform well in your temp work, the employer may hire you or consider you for a future permanent position.

What if the temp job requires you to work in different departments of the company?

Great, you have even brighter temp to permanent job prospects. It’s because you can get hands-on experience in diverse areas and the opportunity to work for (and thus impress) several different managers who may have the need and authority to hire someone.

With a temp job, you’ll develop references to give to another employer, if the temp-to-perm avenue doesn’t work out. Further as a person with skill and experience, you will be the first choice for the temp agency for future temp work.

Tips to Landing a Temp to Permanent Job

1) Begin your Work on Time: Punctuality gives you a high grade on the temp score card. If for some reason, however, you are unavoidably late to work: Did you miss the train? Or, are you stuck in a traffic jam? Call your temp agency and the company and inform them of your situation. Of course, you should also tell them what time you will make it to the office. As far who you should call first, always follow the instructions given to you by [Read more…] about How to Land a Temp to Permanent Job

6 Basic Budgeting Tips for the Unemployed

September 17, 2012 by Marie Into

Across the United States today, more than nine percent of adults are unemployed. Without a job, you might be receiving benefits from the government or living off of savings. Either way, you will be on a limited budget. Even small expenses can add up, taking away from your security and your finances. If you are unemployed, here are a few basic budgeting tips to help stretch every dollar.

Budgeting Tip #1: Get Rid of Unnecessary Expenses

Make a list of all the things that you spend money on in an average day, week or month. While the necessary items are things like the mortgage, the car or utilities, there are likely a lot of things that you can cut from your spending. Luxury coffees each day, eating out in restaurants or paying for cable are things that you can eliminate right away to reduce your spending. [Read more…] about 6 Basic Budgeting Tips for the Unemployed

May Unemployment Statistics by State

June 25, 2012 by Tim McMahon

U.S. Unemployment Rate by State

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has released their Unemployment rates by State. So we can see how the various states compare. From the chart below we can see that California, Nevada, North Carolina, New Jersey, Washington D.C., and Rhode Island are all doing worse than the national average. New York, Connecticut, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Colorado, Idaho, New Mexico, Washington and Oregon are all average in their unemployment rates while the remainder are above average.

How the Unemployment Rates of Various States Compare

Nevada continued to record the highest unemployment rate among the states at 11.6 percent in May. Rhode Island and California posted the next highest rates, 11.0 and 10.8 percent, respectively. North Dakota again registered the lowest jobless rate, 3.0 percent, followed by Nebraska, 3.9 percent.

South Dakota, 4.3%, Vermont 4.6%, and Oklahoma at 4.8% were all below 5%. While New Hampshire, [Read more…] about May Unemployment Statistics by State

How U.S. Unemployment Rates Compare to other OECD Countries

March 16, 2012 by Tim McMahon

Unemployment rates in the U.S. in January were 8.3%
See: Unemployment Rate Chart
Which is very similar to the average Unemployment rate in other OECD countries. The OECD area average unemployment rate was 8.2% in January 2012, having remained basically unchanged throughout 2011. The Euro area was significantly higher at 10.7% reaching a record high since the start of the global financial crisis. It has continued to move higher since June 2011 while the U.S. has decreased from 9.1% to 8.3% during the same period.

Austria remains lower than the rest of the Euro area (and the U.S.) with an unemployment rate of 4.0%, Luxembourg has a rate of 5.1% and Germany has 5.8% compared to other Euro area countries like the Slovak Republic at 13.3%, Slovenia 8.2% and Finland 7.5%. The dubious honor of the highest unemployment rate in the OECD goes to Spain with an unemployment rate of 23.3%.

Among non-European OECD countries, the unemployment rate fell slightly in Australia (to 5.1%), Mexico (to 4.8%) while it increased slightly in Japan (to 4.6%) and Korea (to 3.2%).

New data for February 2012 show that the unemployment rate for the United States was stable at a seasonally adjusted 8.3% (following five consecutive monthly declines) while it fell by 0.2 percentage point in Canada (to 7.4%).

Unadjusted U-3 unemployment in the U.S. in February was 8.7%
See: U-6 Unemployment Rate for information on the broader unemployment rate calculation.

Do You Know the Tricks to Making Money After You Lose Your Job?

January 25, 2012 by Guest Contributor

Millions of consumers suffered job loss and unemployment after the recent economic meltdown in the US. The way you manage your financial situation will determine whether a job loss and unemployment is a temporary set back or it is a potentially life-changing disaster. The decisions you make now might have an immense impact on your financial future. Therefore, if you are unemployed then you should start looking for a way out to make money so that you do not incur overwhelming debt and enroll in a debt relief program.

When you are unemployed, you still have to pay rent, utilities, as well as health costs and to top it all somehow afford groceries. Unemployment benefits will not last for long, so there’s little cushion.

There are ways for the unemployed to pick up some additional money and avoid complicating their financial situation. Here are a few financial strategies to help you stay afloat and maintain your pride: [Read more…] about Do You Know the Tricks to Making Money After You Lose Your Job?

The Difference a Degree Makes in Unemployment Levels

November 18, 2011 by Tim McMahon

The Difference a College Degree Makes

We’re always told by our parents that we need a good education in order to get a good job. And that we will make more money if we have a good education. But these days we hear of unemployed college graduates camping out in New York city and protesting Wall Street because they can’t find jobs. So let’s take a look at the numbers and compare the unemployment rate based on eduation level. In the following chart we will look at four educational levels. The first level are those people with less than a High School education. The second level are those with a High School diploma. The third level are those with some college education or an associates degree. And finally those with a Four Year College Degree.

As we can see from the chart above, obviously the unemployment rate is the highest for those with the least education… as we would expect. Logically if you were an employer you would lay off the least educated employees first because they are more readily replaceable. We can even tell by the numbers the actual difference a high school education makes. The average unemployment rate for the period from 1992 through October 2011 for High School graduates was 5.5% while the average for those who didn’t graduate from High School was 9.2%. So simply by getting a High School education, you decreased your odds of being unemployed drastically with the actual difference being 3.7%. But if you look at the chart you will see that a High School education was even more valuable than that. The real benefit of being able to get a job is when jobs are scarce, so even though the average difference was 3.7% during bad times, i.e. when the overall unemployment rate is higher the difference climbs even more.

First, let’s look at the difference just a high school education makes. [Read more…] about The Difference a Degree Makes in Unemployment Levels

OECD Unemployment Rate Hovering at 8.2% in July

September 13, 2011 by Tim McMahon

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released its report on unemployment in OECD countries today.

The unemployment rate for the entire OECD area was unchanged for the fifth consecutive month at 8.2% in July 2011. The Euro area unemployment rate was unchanged at 10.0% for the second consecutive month and has hovered around this level since December 2010.

Between June and July unemployment rates for OECD countries displayed very little movement. The single highest rise was for Luxembourg (up 0.3 percentage points to 4.6%) while the greatest fall was in Mexico (down 0.5 percentage points at 5.3%). New August 2011 data for the United States (unchanged at 9.1%) and Canada (up by 0.1 percentage point to 7.3%) confirm this current picture of broad stability in unemployment rates.

Countries where high unemployment rates continue to persist include Ireland (14.5%), Portugal (12.3%), the Slovak Republic (13.4%) and Spain (21.2%).

Around 44.5 million people were unemployed across the OECD area in July 2011, down 2.0 million from July 2010 but still 11.4 million higher than in July 2008.

OECD Unemployment Rates, s.a.

Percentage of labour force

	2008	2009	2010	2010		2011		2011
				Q3	Q4	Q1	Q2	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul
OECD – Total	6.1	8.4	8.6	8.6	8.5	8.2	8.2	8.2	8.2	8.2	8.2	8.2	8.2
Major Seven	5.9	8.1	8.2	8.1	8.1	7.7	7.7	7.7	7.7	7.7	7.7	7.8	7.8
European Union	7.1	9	9.7	9.6	9.6	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.4	9.4	9.5	9.5	9.5
Euro area	7.7	9.6	10.1	10.1	10.1	10	10	10	10	9.9	10	10	10
Australia	4.2	5.6	5.2	5.2	5.2	5	4.9	5	4.9	4.9	4.9	4.9	5.1
Austria	3.8	4.8	4.4	4.4	4.2	4.4	4.1	4.5	4.3	4.1	4.2	3.9	3.7
Belgium	7	7.9	8.3	8.3	7.9	7.2	7.3	7.1	7.1	7.2	7.4	7.4	7.5
Canada⁽¹⁾	6.1	8.3	8	8	7.7	7.7	7.5	7.8	7.7	7.6	7.4	7.4	7.2
Chile	7.8	10.8	8.2	8	7.1	7.3	7.2	7.3	7	7.2	7.2	7.5
Czech Republic	4.4	6.7	7.3	7.1	7.1	6.9	6.5	6.9	6.7	6.6	6.5	6.5	6.4
Denmark	3.4	6.1	7.4	7.4	7.7	7.6	7.3	7.6	7.6	7.3	7.4	7.3	7.1
Estonia	5.6	13.8	16.8	16.1	14.5	13.6	12.8	13.6	13.6	12.8	12.8	12.8
Finland	6.4	8.2	8.4	8.3	8.1	8	7.9	8	8	7.9	7.9	7.9	7.9
France	7.8	9.5	9.8	9.8	9.7	9.7	9.7	9.7	9.7	9.7	9.7	9.8	9.9
Germany	7.6	7.7	7.1	6.9	6.6	6.4	6.2	6.4	6.3	6.2	6.2	6.1	6.1
Greece	7.7	9.5	12.6	13	14.1	15		15	15
Hungary	7.8	10	11.2	11.1	11	11	10.1	10.9	10.6	10.3	10	9.9	9.7
Iceland	3	7.2	7.5	7.8	8.5	7.4	6.7
Ireland	6.4	11.8	13.7	13.8	14.3	14.2	14.2	14.2	14.1	14.1	14.1	14.3	14.5
Israel⁽³⁾	6.1	7.5	6.7	6.6	6.5	6	5.5
Italy	6.8	7.8	8.4	8.3	8.3	8.1	8	8.1	8.1	8	8.1	8	8
Japan	4	5.1	5.1	5	5	4.7	4.6	4.6	4.6	4.7	4.5	4.6	4.7
Korea	3.2	3.6	3.7	3.6	3.4	3.9	3.4	4	4	3.6	3.3	3.3	3.3
Luxembourg	4.9	5.1	4.5	4.4	4.5	4.3	4.3	4.2	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.3	4.6
Mexico	4	5.5	5.4	5.2	5.4	5.1	5.5	5.2	5	5.2	5.5	5.8	5.3
Netherlands	3.1	3.7	4.5	4.5	4.4	4.3	4.2	4.3	4.2	4.2	4.2	4.1	4.3
New Zealand	4.2	6.1	6.5	6.4	6.7	6.5	6.5
Norway	2.5	3.1	3.5	3.5	3.5	3.2	3.3	3.2	3.2	3.4	3.3	3.3
Poland	7.2	8.2	9.6	9.5	9.6	9.4	9.5	9.3	9.4	9.5	9.5	9.5	9.4
Portugal	8.5	10.6	12	12.2	12.3	12.4	12.6	12.4	12.5	12.6	12.6	12.5	12.3
Slovak Republic	9.5	12	14.4	14.3	14	13.5	13.4	13.5	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.4	13.4
Slovenia	4.4	5.9	7.3	7.3	7.8	8.1	8.3	8.1	8.2	8.3	8.3	8.4	8.4
Spain	11.4	18	20.1	20.5	20.5	20.6	20.8	20.6	20.7	20.7	20.8	21	21.2
Sweden	6.2	8.3	8.4	8.3	7.9	7.7	7.5	7.6	7.7	7.4	7.7	7.4	7.4
Switzerland	3.2	4.1	4.2	4.5	3.9	3.9
Turkey	9.7	12.5	10.6	10.5	9.9	9.3		9.2	9.1	9.1	9.3
United Kingdom	5.6	7.6	7.8	7.7	7.8	7.7		7.7	7.6	7.7	7.8
United States ⁽²⁾	5.8	9.3	9.6	9.6	9.6	8.9	9.1	8.9	8.8	9	9.1	9.2	9.1