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University of Wisconsin–Madison
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty

July 2010 US Unemployment Rate

  • Unemployment report portrays stagnant job market, By Don Lee, August 6, 2010, Los Angeles Times: “The employment picture in the U.S. remained bleak last month as the nation’s payrolls fell for a second straight month, with private-sector businesses adding a disappointingly scant number of new jobs. The jobless rate held steady at 9.5% in July, the government said Friday. The Labor Department said that private employers added just 71,000 new net jobs in July. Meanwhile, the federal government laid off 143,000 temporary census workers, and with budget-strapped local governments also cutting back, the total number of American jobs last month fell by 131,000 from June. What’s more, Labor statisticians revised down the job figures for June, saying that total payroll jobs fell by 221,000 that month instead of 125,000 previously estimated…”
  • Jobs report shows private sector still wary of hiring, By Motoko Rich, August 6, 2010, New York Times: “With the departure of thousands of workers from temporary Census jobs and thousands more let go by cash-strapped state and local governments, American businesses were unable to rescue the American recovery. Over all, the nation lost 131,000 jobs in July, according to the Department of Labor’s monthly statistical snapshot of hiring, down from a revised number in June. Private employers added 71,000 jobs last month, easily overtaken by the 143,000 cut as the Census winds down, and about half the number that economists say is needed to simply accommodate population growth. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.5 percent…”