By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service
Correspondent Michael Ruhl reports on the recent release of the unemployment statistics for March.
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Long Segment [01:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Short Segment [00:32m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadBy Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service
Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Keith Hall testifies before Congress on the nation’s unemployment numbers from March 2009, and how the recession has affected employment.
Hall said that unemployment numbers have climbed from 8.1 percent to 8.5 percent, and that the industries hardest hit are manufacturing, construction, and temporary services.
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By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service
A day after President Barack Obama’s budget was passed by a Congress boiling with partisanship, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released a report showing unemployment at its highest since 1983. There are now 13.2 million Americans out of work.
The pouring rain in Washington mirrored the sobered mood in the room, as the Joint Economic Committee heard the testimony of Keith Hall, the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
March was one of the worst Months on record for unemployment, and when asked outright, Hall told the committee that there were no “bright spots” in the report.
National unemployment climbed to 8.5 percent in March, rising from the level of 8.1 percent in February and 7.6 percent in January.
Hall said that two-thirds of the job loss has happened in the past 5 months. Every state is in recession for the first time in 30 years, according to Carolyn Maloney (D-NY).
Official unemployment numbers do not encompass underemployed Americans or those who have officially left the workforce. It is reported that 16 percent of the country is out of work or underemployed. One in four of those unemployed have been out of work for more than six months, and of those, half have been looking for work for over a year, Hall said.
Maloney highlighted that last month, 8,000 jobs were lost in the news publishing industry. Those losses total 70,000 job cuts since Dec. 2007, Hall said, adding that most job losses have been see in the manufacturing, construction, and temporary services industries. The only area to see any growth in March was the Healthcare industry, Hall said.
Ranking Committee member Senator Sam Brownback (R-KA) noted that the impact of the ongoing recession was not severe for almost a year after it began in December 2007. Brownback attributed recent dramatic jumps in job losses over the past five months to the lockup in the credit markets and the government bailouts that followed.
The Federal Reserve believes that unemployment will peak at 8.8 percent this year, but Ranking House Committee Member Kevin Brady (R-TX) said that the unemployment rate is already higher than what the administration anticipated for 2009. Brady said that the Obama Administration’s “optimistic assumptions” would not get the country out of its current mess.
President Obama’s Economic Stimulus package was passed by Congress earlier this year, and saw an unprecedented amount of money placed into public works meant to put people back to work. Obama has pledged the legislation will save or create three to four million jobs over the next two years.
Read the report here: Bureau of Labor Statistics Report
by Christina Lovato, University of New Mexico-Talk Radio News Service
Senator Robert P. Casey (D-PA) and Keith Hall, Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics address the minority unemployment rate today at a Joint Economic Committee hearing. The unemployment rates for African-Americans and Latino’s rise by more than any other race. The hearing was held to address today’s statistics from the U.S. Department of Labor which released the rise in the unemployment rate which has risen from 7.2 to 7.6 percent. (3:01)
Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Keith Hall explains the unemployment rates in September, as well as the rates for specific groups. (0:49)
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) said that the United States is in “an unbearable financial situation” in a Joint Economic Committee Hearing. She said the job market has been “deteriorating” for the last year.
Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Keith Hall said that jobs have been lost for nine consecutive months. According to Hall, a recession is realized after nine or 10 consecutive months of job losses. He said that the biggest job losses have been in industries such as manufacturing, retail, and construction. Hall said the U.S. currently has “a broadly weak labor market.” He also said said that the many jobs that have been shipped overseas “did not return.”
The September Jobs Report released today, showed that 159,000 jobs were lost this September, the highest monthly loss in five years and the unemployment rate is at 6.1 percent. The report also said that while wages have increased by 3.4 percent in the last year, inflation has increased by 5.4 percent.
Deputy Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics Phillip L. Rones talks about the overwhelming unemployment statistics the American economy is experiencing. He says that unemployment increased in construction, manufacturing, retail trade, and temporary health services. (1:01)
As the Joint Economic Committee gathered for a full committee hearing on “The Employment Situation: May 2008” Senator Charles E. Schumer (D- N.Y.), the Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, and Phillip L. Rones, the Deputy Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, discussed the increasing unemployment rates effect on the American economy. They explained how the economy has experienced the biggest single-month surge in unemployment since 1986, with Schumer going as far as describing it as “a tsunami hitting our economy.” (more…)
Keith Hall, the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics testified before the Joint Economic Committee on the March employment statistics. He reported that employers across all sectors of the labor market cut payroll by 80,000 in the month of March. This has cause the unemployment rate to rise from 4.8 percent to 5.1 percent in the first quarter. The total decline in the last quarter was 232,000 jobs. In his opening statement Hall said, “I would note that the labor market conditions started to weaken more than a year ago.” He later added that 68,000 of lost jobs are in hosing-related industries.
There were only three members present. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), and Rep. Baron Hill (D-IN) who acted as chairman. Schumer only stayed to make an opening statement saying that these numbers should serve “as a wake up call” to the Bush administration. In the questions both Brownback and Hill asked Hall to forecast the next quarter and comment on the policy context of the recent data. Hall repeatedly refused to project data or give an opinion on policy, saying that the numbers should speak for themselves. He refused to define the economy or the labor market as in a recession.
