Weak Job Growth Pushes Employment Rate Back to Downturn Low-point

[Hannah Bell]

The establishment survey showed the economy adding just 39,000 jobs in November. As a result of slow job growth, the unemployment rate rose to 9.8 percent.

The employment-to-population ratio (EPOP) fell to 58.2 percent, the low hit in December of last year. The EPOP for white men and white women both dropped below their prior troughs. The EPOP for men fell to 67.3 percent, just below the 67.4 percent level of last December.

The EPOP for white women fell to 55.2 percent, 0.1 percentage points below the 55.3 percent level of October. The EPOP for Hispanics also hit a new low of 58.5 percent, while their unemployment rate hit a new high of 13.2 percent.

By age, workers over 55 appear to be doing best, having an employment gain of 123,000, while employment for younger workers fell 73,000. This continues a pattern that has been present since the beginning of the downturn.

Employment for workers over age 55 has risen by 1,783,000 since the start of the recession. It has fallen by 1,389,000 for workers between the ages of 25-34 and by 1,819,000 for workers between the ages of 45-54.

However, the biggest job loss has been among workers between the ages of 35-44, who have seen a drop in employment of 3,540,000, or 10.4 percent.

There were no clear patterns in job loss by education level. The EPOPs for workers without college degrees fell in November. However, workers with college degrees had the biggest rise in unemployment rates, with a 0.4 percentage point jump, pushing the unemployment rate for college grads to 5.1 percent, a record high.

Other data in the household survey were consistent with a very weak labor market; although there was a decline of 217,000 in the number of people involuntarily working part-time. The number of discouraged workers jumped to 1,282,000, almost 50 percent above its year-ago level.

Interestingly, the household survey has shown a drop in employment of 17,000 since March, a period in which the establishment survey shows a gain of 690,000 jobs.

http://www.cepr.net/index.php/data-bytes/jobs-bytes/2010-12

[dkf]

1. Is the gain in employment of 55 and older because they are coming out of retirement?

If we keep people working til they are old old old, we won't open up jobs for the young.

What a dilemma.

[jannyk]

2. Shouldn't there be an uptick due to seasonal (xmas) jobs? nt

[Hannah Bell]

3. there usually is. that's why they do seasonal adjustments.

not sure if the 9.8 is before or after seasonal adjustment of the data.

either way, not good.