foodconsumer.org: Decrease in Labor Force Keeps Unemployment Rate out of the Double-Digits

Decrease in Labor Force Keeps Unemployment Rate out of the Double-Digits
================================================================================
admin on 01/10/2010 12:43:00
 
By Rachel Stockton
Although it may seem counterintuitive, the labor force decreased by 661,000
workers last month; ironically, this mass departure kept the unemployment rate
from climbing to over 10.4%.
The labor force decrease reflects the number of discouraged workers who have
taken themselves out of the job market; from July until December, those who did
so numbered 1.4 million, the lowest 6 month jobless rate decrease since 1961.
Although at first glance the unemployment rate is showing a decrease from the
previous month (November), economists believe that it will climb into the double
digits by the third quarter.
Unemployment vs Underemployment
To illustrate this phenomenon, the underemployment rate, or those who have
part-time jobs who want full-time jobs and those who’ve given up on the
prospect of having a job in the near future, rose from 17.2% to 17.3%.  The
number of workers who believe there are no jobs “out there” was 929,000;
this is the highest number of angst-filled job searchers since 1994, when the
underemployed began to be tracked.
Payroll Declines
Workers are particularly discouraged by the current recession, according to
Toronto-based David Rosenberg of Gluskin Sheff and Associates.  Another anomaly:
 the decrease in the labor force will be reflected in payroll declines, which at
first glance would seem to be a “good thing.”
The angst among American workers coincides with statistics showing that an
increase in those currently suffering emotionally and physically can be
attributed to the recessive turn of the economy.  In order to become more
optimistic, experts reveal that maintaining a proactive mindset can help prevent
health problems associated with the intense stress that is part and parcel of
being unemployed..  Hopelessness creates a feeling of victimization, which in
turn, hurts one’s chances of reentry into the workforce. (ICNANSWER.com).