December 2013 US Unemployment Rate

Posted on January 10, 2014 by admin

• Why 6.7 percent unemployment isn’t good news, By Christopher S. Rugaber (AP), January 10, 2014, Christian Science Monitor: “U.S. employers added a scant 74,000 jobs in December, the fewest in three years. The disappointing figure ends 2013 on a weak note and raises questions about whether the job market can sustain its recent gains. The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate fell from 7 percent in November to 6.7 percent, the lowest level since October 2008. But the drop occurred mostly because many discouraged Americans stopped looking for jobs. Once people without jobs stop looking for one, the government no longer counts them as unemployed…”
• Economy added 74,000 jobs in weak December report; jobless rate down to 6.7%, By Ylan Q. Mui, January 10, 2014, Washington Post: “The U.S. economy added a meager 74,000 jobs in December, according to government data released Friday morning, the latest stumble in the nation’s sputtering recovery from recession. The Labor Department also reported the unemployment rate dropped to 6.7 percent as the workforce shrunk once again — reversing the previous month’s gains. Driving the decline was the number of people who gave up looking for work, possibly deterred by a combination of cold weather, the holiday season and the expiration of long-term unemployment benefits…”
• More of the jobless are giving up on finding work, By Chis Isidore, January 10, 2014, CNNMoney: “The unemployment rate fell to 6.7% in December — the first time it’s been below 7% in five years. But the drop was for all the wrong reasons. The rate fell because many people got fed up, stopped looking for work and dropped out of the labor force altogether. (The jobless have to be actively looking for work in order to be counted as unemployed by the Labor Department.) In December, 347,000 people dropped out of the workforce. That pushed the participation rate, which is the percentage of the population in the labor force, down to 62.8%. That’s the lowest it’s been since early 1978…”
• Poor jobs stats underscore prolonged unemployment benefits fight, By Stephanie Condon, January 10, 2014, CBS News: “The Labor Department’s surprisingly weak December jobs report prompted the White House, labor unions and others to scold Congress on Friday for failing to renew emergency benefits for the long-term unemployed. Jason Furman, chairman of the White House’s Council of Economic Advisers, said in a statement that the new figures are ‘a reminder of the work that remains, especially on one of our nation’s most immediate and pressing challenges: long-term unemployment.’ The latest jobs report shows that employers added only 74,000 jobs in December, well below what was expected. The unemployment rate declined to 6.7 percent, from 7 percent, because many people stopped looking for work. Nearly 38 percent of unemployed workers have been without a job for six months or more, proving that long-term unemployment is ‘far from solved,’ Furman said in his statement…”