...The largest over-the-month decreases in employment occurred in Missouri and Ohio (-12,800 each), followed by Kentucky (-11,800), New Jersey (-9,100), Florida (-6,100), and Nevada (-5,700). Kentucky (-0.7 percent) experienced the largest over-the-month percentage decrease in employment, followed by Missouri and Nevada (-0.5 percent each), and Alabama, Kansas, Mississippi, and Ohio (-0.3 percent each)....
The percentage unemployment for Missouri, compared to a year ago:
Missouri
January 2009 - 8.1%
January 2010 (preliminary) - 9.5%
Over-the-year rate change (preliminary) - 1.4%
[emphasis added]
The actual numbers (seasonally adjusted):
Missouri
Civilian labor force (Numbers in thousands)
January 2009 - 3,053.0
November 2009 - 3,008.5
December 2009 - 3,001.4
January 2010 (preliminary) - 2,994.5
Unemployed (Numbers in thousands)
January 2009 - 246.4
November 2009 - 290.2
December 2009 - 288.0
January 2010 (preliminary) - 283.0
Unemployed (Percent of labor force)
January 2009 - 8.1%
November 2009 - 9.6%
December 2009 - 9.6%
January 2010 (preliminary) - 9.5%
[emphasis added]
It could be worse, President McCain (r) and Governor Hulshof (r) could be on the Sunday tee-vee talk shows telling us, "We're doing nothing because nothing is the best thing to do. All is well!"
...What happened was a, a lack of conviction, a lack of, you know, if you're gonna do something like this you're gonna have a stimulus program you gotta go and do it...This is the kind of situation where you're trying to build a bridge across an economic chasm. If you build half a bridge it doesn't work. You have to do the real thing...
Nonfarm payroll employment continued to decline in September (-263,000), and the unemployment rate (9.8 percent) continued to trend up, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today....
And U-6?:
Table A-12. Alternative measures of labor underutilization (Percent)
U-6 Total unemployed, plus all marginally attached workers, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all marginally attached workers (Seasonaly adjusted)
Sept 2009 17.0
[emphasis added]
That's one in six.
Take a look at this comparison of the percentages of job loss from peak employment.
...In August, the West reported the highest regional jobless rate, 10.6 percent, followed by the Midwest, 10.0 percent. The Northeast recorded the lowest rate, 9.0 percent, and was the only region with a statistically significant over-the-month rate change (+0.3 percentage point). All four regions experienced significant unemployment rate increases from August 2008, the largest of which was in the West (+4.1 percentage points).....
The percentage unemployment for Missouri, compared to a year ago:
Missouri
August 2008 - 6.2%
August 2009 (preliminary) - 9.5%
Over-the-year rate change (preliminary) - 3.3%
[emphasis added]
The actual numbers (seasonally adjusted):
Missouri
Civilian labor force (Numbers in thousands)
August 2008 - 3,009.9
June 2009 - 2,995.9
July 2009 - 3,003.3
August 2009 (preliminary) - 3,009.3
Unemployed (Numbers in thousands)
August 2008 - 186.9
June 2009 - 278.0
July 2009 - 279.1
August 2009 (preliminary) - 285.7
Unemployed (Percent of labor force)
August 2008 - 6.2%
June 2009 - 9.3%
July 2009 - 9.3%
August 2009 (preliminary) - 9.5%
...In July, the West reported the highest regional jobless rate, 10.5 percent, followed by the Midwest, 10.2 percent. The Northeast recorded the lowest rate, 8.7 percent. The West was the only region with a statistically significant over-the-month rate change (+0.3 percentage point). All four regions experienced significant unemployment rate increases from July 2008, the largest of which were in the West (+4.2 percentage points) and Midwest (+4.0 points)....
The percentage unemployment for Missouri, compared to a year ago:
Missouri
July 2008 - 6.1%
July 2009 (preliminary) - 9.3%
Over-the-year rate change (preliminary) - 3.2%
The actual numbers (seasonally adjusted):
Missouri
Civilian labor force (Numbers in thousands)
July 2008 - 3,010.0
May 2009 - 3,010.4
June 2009 - 2,995.9
July 2009 (preliminary) - 3,002.2
Unemployed (Numbers in thousands)
July 2008 - 182.6
May 2009 - 270.9
June 2009 - 278.0
July 2009 (preliminary) - 278.7
Unemployed (Percent of labor force)
July 2008 - 6.1%
May 2009 - 9.0%
June 2009 - 9.3%
July 2009 (preliminary) - 9.3%
...Thirty-five states and the District of Columbia recorded statistically significant over-the-month unemployment rate increases in May. Michigan reported the largest of these (+1.2 percentage points), followed by Rhode Island (+1.0 point) and Missouri and West Virginia (+0.9 point each)...
The percentage unemployment for Missouri, compared to a year ago:
Missouri
May 2008 - 5.8%
May 2009 (preliminary) - 9.0%
Over-the-year rate change (preliminary) - 3.2%
The actual numbers (seasonally adjusted):
Missouri
Civilian labor force (Numbers in thousands)
May 2008 - 3,010.3
March 2009 - 3,014.0
April 2009 - 3,008.4
May 2009 (preliminary) - 3,011.6
Unemployed (Numbers in thousands)
May 2008 - 174.1
March 2009 - 261.7
April 2009 - 242.5
May 2009 (preliminary) - 272.4
Unemployed (Percent of labor force)
May 2008 - 5.8%
March 2009 - 8.7%
April 2009 - 8.1%
May 2009 (preliminary) - 9.0%
Former Missouri State Treasurer and probable candidate for the open U.S. Senate seat Sarah Steelman (r) posted on Twitter about a visit to a local business she arranged for a class she teaches in Springfield::
Took my class to Askinosie Chocolate Factory tonight. Shawn with great humility talked about his business and helping kids. 5:58 PM Apr 21st from web
He is changing his neighborhood, community and the world by the choices he makes. His Chocolate University is such a great! 6:00 PM Apr 21st from web
I think the students appreciated what he is doing. He is a capitalist who makes positive choice based on service not "greed". 6:02 PM Apr 21st from web
He has a new initiative to help unemployed people.Not relying on government - but each other. He is truly an inspiration to all who meet him 6:05 PM Apr 21st from web
The initiative of this one small business is a good thing. Let's ask Sarah Steelman to do the math and try to figure out how many small businesses it would take, choosing to do the right thing, to solve this problem in the entire United States:
REGIONAL AND STATE EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT: MARCH 2009
Regional and state unemployment rates were nearly all higher in March. Forty-six states recorded over-the-month unemployment rate increases, North Dakota and the District of Columbia registered rate decreases, and 3 states had no change in their rate, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Over the year, jobless rates were up in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The national unemployment rate rose from 8.1 percent in February to 8.5 percent in March, which was 3.4 percentage points higher than in March 2008...
Missouri employment numbers:
Table C. States with statistically significant employment changes from February 2009 to March 2009, seasonally adjusted
Missouri
Feb 2009: 2,747,900
March 2009 (preliminary): 2,736,800
Over-the-month change (preliminary): -11,100
Table D. States with statistically significant employment changes from March 2008 to March 2009, seasonally adjusted
At 10:00 a.m. today, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released the monthly Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment report:
METROPOLITAN AREA EMPLOYMENT AND UNEMPLOYMENT: JANUARY 2009
Unemployment rates were higher in January than a year earlier in 371 of the 372 metropolitan areas and unchanged in 1 area, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Fourteen areas recorded jobless rates of at least 15.0 per-ent, while 23 areas registered rates below 5.0 percent. The national unemployment rate in January was 8.5 percent, not seasonally adjusted, up from 5.4 percent a year earlier...
Via Matthew Yglesias, a nifty website gives you a demographic profile of your ZIP code. Something that stands out in my area: there's a 9.4% unemployment rate, yet a whopping 24.3% of my neighbors live below the poverty line.
Incidentally, the highest poverty rate of any ZIP code in the state is 69.2%, and it's not in any inner city, but rather in Brownwood, MO, just southwest of Cape Girardeau.
