Long-Term Joblessness "Off the Charts"
Even though many economists say the Great Recession ended over the summer, you'd never know it by the millions of Americans still struggling to find work. The once prosperous and gainfully-employed middle class is being hit especially hard, reports CBS News Correspondent John Blackstone.
The unemployment rate has backed off a touch from 10 percent to 9.7 percent, but that's little comfort to the long-term unemployed - those out of work more than six months. They make up 40 percent of people collecting unemployment.
"These people, when you look at their unemployment rate, it's just off the charts," says Lakshman Achuthan, managing director of the Economic Cycle Research Institute. "It's very different from earlier patterns that we've seen in recessions."
For those who once worked in the auto industry, housing and manufacturing, new jobs could be a long time coming, Achuthan adds, pointing out that, "Ten years ago, we had 18 million or so people in manufacturing; now, it's a little over 10 million. So you have 8 million jobs gone and there not coming back, ever."
Blackstone spoke with Kelley Novak, who used to own a restaurant in Napa, Calif. called the No Bad Day Caf? and has been trying to cook up ways to keep money coming in at a time when finding a job seems close to impossible.
"It' hard," she says, "because there's nothing available and, you know, you just have to get creative."
What she's trying to create is a small catering business.
The recession hit her eatery hard. "We were down 30 percent like everybody else," Novak says. She had to close the restaurant and worst of all, lay off her workers. "It was sad. It was really sad," Novak recalls.
GOP's Bunning Slammed for Blocking Unemployment Benefits
With California's unemployment rate over 12 percent, it may be a long time before the six people who used to work at the No Bad Day Caf? have a good day, Blackstone remarks.
Many more may have to follow Novak's lead and find something they can do themselves - even though launching her catering business has been daunting, especially since she's doing it on her own. "It's just really frightening."
But Novak says giving up is no answer.
Copyright 2010 CBS. All rights reserved. The unemployment rate has backed off a touch from 10 percent to 9.7 percent, but that's little comfort to the long-term unemployed - those out of work more than six months. They make up 40 percent of people collecting unemployment.
"These people, when you look at their unemployment rate, it's just off the charts," says Lakshman Achuthan, managing director of the Economic Cycle Research Institute. "It's very different from earlier patterns that we've seen in recessions."
For those who once worked in the auto industry, housing and manufacturing, new jobs could be a long time coming, Achuthan adds, pointing out that, "Ten years ago, we had 18 million or so people in manufacturing; now, it's a little over 10 million. So you have 8 million jobs gone and there not coming back, ever."
Blackstone spoke with Kelley Novak, who used to own a restaurant in Napa, Calif. called the No Bad Day Caf? and has been trying to cook up ways to keep money coming in at a time when finding a job seems close to impossible.
"It' hard," she says, "because there's nothing available and, you know, you just have to get creative."
What she's trying to create is a small catering business.
The recession hit her eatery hard. "We were down 30 percent like everybody else," Novak says. She had to close the restaurant and worst of all, lay off her workers. "It was sad. It was really sad," Novak recalls.
GOP's Bunning Slammed for Blocking Unemployment Benefits
With California's unemployment rate over 12 percent, it may be a long time before the six people who used to work at the No Bad Day Caf? have a good day, Blackstone remarks.
Many more may have to follow Novak's lead and find something they can do themselves - even though launching her catering business has been daunting, especially since she's doing it on her own. "It's just really frightening."
But Novak says giving up is no answer.
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"Did a third grader write this article?"
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by lakota2012:
"What exactly did you not understand in the above article that mirrors the exact problem in America in the 21st century, while feeling the need to berate the author?"
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by MPHgrad:
"Are you under the influence of drugs and or alcohol? Why you insist upon making personal attacks and whining instead of encouraging people to diversify their skills or be optimistic instead of groveling in self-pity is beyond those with deliberative faculty."
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Hmmmmm.....seems to me it was YOU making the personal attacks, when I asked why you needed to berate the author of the above article. I merely stated the truth from the above article that almost 50% of the manufacturing jobs have been offshored, mostly due to the bush tax cuts to the wealthy and corporate elite, setting-up factories in "Chindia" for cheap labor and skirting the environmental policies.
Your arrogant need to belittle others, only because they have a different opinion than yours, and then delusionally saying they are "groveling in self pity" only proves you cannot stand opposition to your ideology or politics.
There's no doubt we will expand our manufacturing past the low of 10 million manufacturing jobs that currently exist, but I'd be willing to bet you we will never see even half of 8 million already lost ever return -- and even an addition of 4 million is a huge stretch!
BTW, just for your information, when I built my current home completed last year, I did my research to make sure I used USA materials and appliances to keep Americans working. Too bad more Americans don't buy USA products and would rather shop at WalMart! Even my BP solar panels were made at the Maryland facility!
This explains the current situation of the big corporate crime syndicate running the United States for their own profit. And the heck with the people.
"This explains the current situation of the big corporate crime syndicate running the United States for their own profit. And the heck with the people."
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And this is why I still have to give President Obama credit for trying to go up against this "big corporate crime syndicate," especially since the majority of his 2008 campaign donations were from the "little people," but just with health reform, he has found how entrenched the money and power in American can be. The moronic republiCONS keep parroting the same, old, tired FAUX NoNooz propaganda of "where's the change," but this is the proof that the oligarchic plutocracy is ruling America, and the middle class is screwed until we can transfer power back to WE THE PEOPLE, but corporate America will not give up easily!
http://www.miseryindex.us/urbymonth.asp
It shows that both "ronnie the rat" raygun and Obama both were handed a 7.2% unemployment rate, but differences can already be seen. Even towards the end of 1986, unemployment after SIX YEARS of raygun's Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, was still around 7% after being almost 11% for months. Very tough times in the 1980's, and raygun even succeeded in TRIPLING our national debt!
On the other hand, you can see that the unemployment rate was climbing during the last year of bushworld (not so during Carter's tenure, but the republiCONS have re-written history) and President Obama was handed a bill of goods in 2009 -- the worst economic catastrophe since the 1930's and a steadily rising unemployment rate after the busheviks DOUBLED our national debt!
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by jayrh:
"It's amazing! After the Democrats get power of congress, the unemployment rate goes up... Good thing Bush was in power."
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Come now jay, even somebody as economically-challenged as you, should know that unemployment is a LAGGING INDICATOR, going UP after the fact of layoffs, and going back DOWN after the economy improves.
As a matter of fact, the massive layoffs of 700,000 per month during Dec. 2008 and Jan. 2009 during bushworld, were at the top of the bell curve, with a mirror-image from Dec. 2007 to Jan. 2010. What this means to the economically-challenged, is that the massive layoffs leading to the 10% unemployment rate ended one year ago, with the same Dem majority in Congress.
The only difference has been the bushevik policies of "trickle-down" economic lunacy compared to the Obama Stimulus Bill creating and saving millions of jobs. It has been government spending that stopped the hemorrhaging of jobs, and even though we have reached somewhat of an equilibrium today in regards to job losses, it will probably be years before the unemployment rate returns to satisfactory levels.
BTW Einstein, just what legislation did the Congress pass in 2007/2008 (also that bush did not veto) that makes your point valid? Just as I figured, you're just parroting more FAUX NoNooz propaganda and conspiracy theories without one shred of PROOF!
I hope that someday the people will come. I just hope that people will stop blaming the government that we are supposed to elect and realize it has just been taken over by big corporation money.
Free-trade, privatization and globalization is a DISASTER for everyone bu the filthy rich banksters and some corporate CEOs. How did this happen and how long before we rebel?
"Honestly, this is what happens when you swallow the junk economic policy championed by the utter failure that was Ronald Reagan."
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Yep, despite the ignorant republiCONS inability to admit that it's been the last 30 years of conservitard policies and ideology, started by "ronnie the rat" raygun, that has given us the worst economic tsunami since the Great Depression, it's also given us the loss of half of our manufacturing jobs and many of the liveable wage jobs.
The republiCONS have just helped us get to 3rd world country status quicker through their "trickle-down" economic lunacy!
"The unemployment crises is the result of pre-Obama excesses. When we should have been worried about the labor crises during the lean years - all we were doing was focusing on Iraq, and the war on terror. Now, everyone wants to hold the Obama administration responsable for the greed and ignorance of the Bush era politics of out sourcing..."
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Excellent point that the FAUX NoNooz propagandists and their subsequent parroters have missed in their incessant need to wrongly blame President Obama on the current economic/jobs environment.
We should have been much more attentive to the our first JOBLESS recession recovery after the first bushevik recession of 2001, and especially after the worthless 2003 GOP "jobs and growth" tax cuts, but the bush republiCONS were pushing FEARmongering and WARmongering to keep the issue of jobs on the side-burner.
Not only did the U.S. see the first jobless recovery during bushworld as manufacturing jobs left by the millions, but the busheviks also made sure that corporate America was given huge tax credits to offshore those "liveable wage" jobs. Then, as we saw the last ten years as a negative job growth (after 22 million jobs were created during the Clinton tenure) the conservitards pushed endless WARmongering, TORTURE and changing TERROR alerts, job creation and the economy were swept under the carpet!
"Unfortunately, reality is different than your incessant FAUX NoNooz talking points and political rhetoric, since if the non-thinking Americans had a little bit more economic savvy, they would see that more past measures are dictating present and future budget deficits."
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by jayrh:
"So, how is Obama fixing these things? By spending even more money?"
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Your political rhetoric and FAUX NoNooz talking points are really getting old, tired and irritating, but it certainly seems that you republiCONS can do nothing but attack everything President Obama says and does, without regard to the TRUTH -- just more LIES and DECEPTIONS!
Besides STIMULUS spending that has definitely saved and created millions of jobs during the bush/cheney Great Recession, you really need to add more substance to your constant attacks, and quite possibly admit to the GOP nightmare of causing the current economic catastrophe.
Is the need to be spending $1 Billion per day on the interest alone on the national debt that the busheviks doubled, Obama's fault?...NO!
Is the need to be spending more on the 80,000 disabled veterans from the endless bushevik WARmongering Obama's fault?....NO!
Is the need to be spending more on replacing military equipment that was worn out from the endless bushevik WARmongering Obama's fault?..NO!
Is the need to be spending more on the GOP's gift to BIG PHARMA through the 2003 Medicare Part D fiasco, Obama's fault?.....NO!
Is the need to be spending more on Medicare/Medicaid since the GOP failed to even try to reform the health care debacle when they were in complete control of D.C., Obama's fault?.....NO!
Is the loss of $2 Trillion in federal revenue since the 2001/2003 bush tax cuts President Obams's fault?.....NO!
Spewing the same FAUX NoNooz republiCON LIES and DECEPTIONS just makes you look more ignorant.