FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 1, 2002

CONTACT:  Henry Griggs, Michelle Bazie
(202) 408-1080

OCTOBER LABOR MARKET DATA INDICATE CONTINUED LACK OF JOB GROWTH
IS TRANSLATING INTO A RISE IN LONG-TERM UNEMPLOYMENT
Through September, 1.5 Million Workers Had Exhausted Temporary UI Benefits

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The overall labor market in October is best characterized as being stagnant.  The unemployment rate of 5.7 percent is described by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as being “about unchanged” from its 5.6 percent rate in September, which is the same description it applied to the very slight drop in nonfarm payroll employment of 5,000 jobs.  What has not been stagnant, however, is the level of long-term unemployment, which is again on the rise.

The Labor Department also recently released new data on the number of individuals exhausting their unemployment insurance benefits.  These data, which go through September, further confirm the continued significance of the problem of long-term unemployment.  A Center on Budget and Policies Priorities report on these data released earlier this week found:[1]

“The numerous disturbing indicators of the depth of the long-term unemployment problem should not be ignored by policymakers,” said Wendell Primus, director of the Center’s income security division.  “Jobless workers are having great difficulty finding employment in today’s stagnant labor market, and are deserving of more assistance than is being provided by the weak temporary federal unemployment assistance program now in place.”

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization and policy institute that conducts research and analysis on a range of government policies and programs.  It is supported primarily by foundation grants.


End Notes:

[1] Wendell Primus, Isaac Shapiro, and Jessica Goldberg, “370,000 Workers Exhaust Temporary Federal Unemployment Benefits in September Alone,”  Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, October 29, 2002.

[2] These data are available back to 1980.