Forum Post: The USA has 5 percent less jobs today than it had in December 2007
Posted 13 years ago on Oct. 20, 2011, 9:34 a.m. EST by LearnSomeHistory
(58)
This content is user submitted and not an official statement
Look at this chart:
That chart is a comparison of the current recession with previous recessions in the post-World War period, starting in 1948.
The chart shows the percentual decrease in the number of jobs available in the US economy since the beginning of each recession (the "peak employment" before the recession).
In this chart, the lines of each recession are aligned at the bottom (the month when the job losses were at a maximum).
As you can see, the current recession is much worse than any other recession in the post-World War period.
The USA has 5 percent less jobs today than it had in December 2007.
This is why so many people are unemployed: because there are no jobs available.
And don't forget the amount of "under-employed" -- people who've accepted part-time work instead of full time...or those who've gone back to school because they can't find jobs....or those who've just given up.
This is true.
The number of people who've accepted part-time work when they wanted full time jobs but couldn't find any, is also at record highs.
And the "labour participation rate" is also very low now. That's the percentual of the adult population that is currently working or actively seeking a job. A large number of adults (specially women and youth) are no longer seeking jobs, they have given up. So, they don't count in the unemployment statistics.
This is how Wall Street created a "mass destruction" of jobs.
The current downturn in the number of jobs available was deeper than that caused by the 1948 recession. That time, the "bottom" was at a 5 percent loss in jobs, this time the "bottom" was at a more than 6 percent loss in jobs.
The current downturn in the number of jobs available will have a much longer duration than that caused by the 2001 recession, that lasted for 46 months.