The US unemployment rate fell to 7.6 percent in March 2013, a low for the recovery, but job growth slowed to just 88,000

1. Economics for your Classroom
from
Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog
US Unemployment Drops
to 7.6 Percent but Job
Growth Slows
April 5, 2013
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2. Unemployment Rate Falls to 7.6 Percent
 The US unemployment rate fell to 7.6%
in March, the lowest since December
2008. The unemployment rate is the ratio
of unemployed persons to the labor force.
 The decrease in the unemployment rate
was largely due to withdrawals from the
labor force, which decreased by 496,000
for the month. The number of employed
workers fell by 206,000 and the number
of unemployed fell by 290,000
 The unemployment rate is based on a
survey of households that includes self-
employed and farm workers
April 5, 2013 Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog

3. Broad vs. Standard Unemployment Rate
 The BLS also provides a broader
measure of job-market stress, U-6
 The numerator of U-6 includes
 Unemployed persons
 Marginally attached persons who
would like to work but are not
looking because they think there
are no jobs, or for personal reasons
 Part-time workers who would prefer
full-time work but can’t find it
 The denominator includes the labor
force plus the marginally attached
 U-6 fell to 13.8 percent in February,
its lowest since the recovery began
April 5, 2013 Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog

4. Job Growth Slows Sharply in March
 According to a separate survey of
employers, which excludes self-
employed and farm workers, the
economy added just 88,000 payroll jobs
in March
 That marked a sharp decrease from the
268,000 added in February
 Most of the new jobs were in the private
service sector. Jobs in goods producing
sectors barely increased, and
government employment fell
April 5, 2013 Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog

5. Long-term Unemployment Remains Stubbornly High
 The recession and slow recovery have
been characterized by unusually high
levels of long-term unemployment
 The percentage of the unemployed
out of work for 27 weeks or more fell
slightly to 39.6 percent in March, but
remained above the low reached in
January
 The mean duration of unemployment
increased to 37.1 weeks and the
median duration to 18.1 weeks
April 5, 2013 Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog

6. Involuntary Part-Time Falls to a Low for the Recovery
 The number of people working part
time for economic reasons has also
been unusually high throughout the
recession and recovery
 These people are sometimes called
“involuntary” part-time workers to
distinguish them from people who
regularly work part time because of
family or personal obligations,
school or training, retirement, and
other reasons
 Involuntary part-time workers
decreased to 4.9 percent of the
labor force in March
April 5, 2013 Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog

7. The employment
situation at a glance
This spider chart summarizes
the employment situation for
March 2013
The zero mark in the center
of the chart represents the
worst month for each indicator
since the start of the recession
The 100 mark represents the
best month for each indicator
immediately before the onset of
the recession

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