One fifth of Californians are 'underemployed'
According to the standard unemployment rate 12.2 percent of Californians are out of work. But there's another figure kept by the Employment Development Department called 'underemployment' which represents people without jobs, people who have to take lesser or freelance employment or people who have given up looking. That number is 21.9 percent of Californians.
When we talk about the recession, we tend to follow economists' lead on when the recession begins, ends, etc. In theory, our national economy in aggregate will start growing (or has already started growing) and we will soon 'be out of the recession'. However most economists are saying it will be a 'jobless recovery' - meaning that the economy will grow but unemployment will stay the same. And if unemployment stays the same - just how much bigger is the national underemployment number? How much longer will people who took lesser paying jobs or moved into the freelance world or just plain stopped looking for work to live off their savings while the clouds passed - how much longer will those people be affected by the recession?
As the Dow goes up and the bankers at Goldman Sachs get fat bonuses again, I think this is a concerning number. The difference between economists' balance sheets and the experience of the rest of the country. What do you think? Are you affected by this? Is this something that concerns you? Something you would want to know more about?
Let us know what you think over on Current News.
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When we talk about the recession, we tend to follow economists' lead on when the recession begins, ends, etc. In theory, our national economy in aggregate will start growing (or has already started growing) and we will soon 'be out of the recession'. However most economists are saying it will be a 'jobless recovery' - meaning that the economy will grow but unemployment will stay the same. And if unemployment stays the same - just how much bigger is the national underemployment number? How much longer will people who took lesser paying jobs or moved into the freelance world or just plain stopped looking for work to live off their savings while the clouds passed - how much longer will those people be affected by the recession?
As the Dow goes up and the bankers at Goldman Sachs get fat bonuses again, I think this is a concerning number. The difference between economists' balance sheets and the experience of the rest of the country. What do you think? Are you affected by this? Is this something that concerns you? Something you would want to know more about?
Let us know what you think over on Current News.
Recently on the Current News Blog:
- Afghanistan round-up: Helicopters and a third surge
- Psst...tell Castro I said Hi-k thx Obama
- Deadly Baghdad blasts raise specter of security
- 7 stories you missed this week: Goldman Sachs jerk, threats to Obama, Andy Garcia as Saakashvili and swine flu in Iraq
- Rage Against Guantanamo - Rage Against the Machine, REM, Pearl Jam and more call for Gitmo closure
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