At 10.2%, October’s unemployment is a wake-up call

Description

Though the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) now has GDP growing again, this morning’s Bureau of Labor Statistics’ October employment report found that the jobs situation nevertheless continues to worsen. Unemployment rose dramatically to 10.2% in October, the highest rate since April 1983.  With 190,000 payroll jobs lost, October marked the 22nd consecutive month of job loss and the longest streak in 70 years. 

The upside is that October’s loss of payroll jobs is smaller than earlier in the year, and much smaller than the average monthly loss of nearly 700,000 jobs each month in the first quarter of 2009.   From the second quarter of 2009 onward, the ARRA has created or saved between 170,000 to 235,000 jobs per month; losses in October would likely have been around 400,000 without it.

Original URL

http://www.epi.org/analysis_and_opinion/entry/at_10.2_octobers_unemployment_is_a_wake-up_call/

http://www.epi.org/analysis_and_opinion/entry/at_10.2_octobers_unemployment_is_a_wake-up_call/