Data for the Classroom from
Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog http://dolanecon.blogspot.com/Unemployment Duration Falls as Job Market Ends 2012 on Quiet Note Posted Jan. 5, 2013 Terms of Use: These slides are made available under Creative Commons License Attribution— Share Alike 3.0 . You are free to use these slides as a resource for your economics classes together with whatever textbook you are using. If you like the slides, you may also want to take a look at my textbook, Introduction to Economics, from BVT Publishers.

December Job Growth of 155
k Equals Year’s Average The latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shosw an increase of 155,000 payroll jobs in September, almost exactly equal to the 2012 monthly average of 154,000 The November figure was revised up from 146,000 to 161,000 and the October figure was revised down from 138,000 to 137,000 30,000 new construction jobs probably reflected rebuilding from superstorm Sandy The private sector produced 168,000 new jobs while the government sector lost 13,000, with local government education the biggest loser Posted Jan. 5, 2013 on Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog http://dolanecon.blogspot.com

Unemployment Rate Steady at 7.8
Percent The unemployment rate was steady at 7.8 percent in December. November unemployment, previously reported at 7.7 percent, was revised to 7.8 percent The unemployment rate is the ratio of unemployed persons to the labor force. The labor force increased by 192,000 for the month. The number of employed workers rose by 28,000 and the number of unemployed workers by 164,000 The unemployment rate is based on a separate survey of households that includes self-employed and farm workers Posted Jan. 5, 2013 on Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog http://dolanecon.blogspot.com

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 remained unchanged at 14.4 percent in October, its lowest rate since January 2009 Posted Jan. 5, 2013 on Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog http://dolanecon.blogspot.com

Long-term Unemployment Falls to Lowest
Since 2010 The recession and slow recovery have been characterized by unusually high levels of long-term unemployment, but the rate has begun to fall The percentage of the unemployed out of work for 27 weeks or more decreased to 39.1 percent in December, the lowest rate since November 2010 The mean duration of unemployment fell to 38.1 weeks and the median duration to 18 weeks Posted Jan. 5, 2013 on Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog http://dolanecon.blogspot.com

Long-term Unemployment Falls to Lowest
Since 2010 The recession and slow recovery have been characterized by unusually high levels of long-term unemployment, but the rate has begun to fall The percentage of the unemployed out of work for 27 weeks or more decreased to 39.1 percent in December, the lowest rate since November 2010 The mean duration of unemployment fell to 38.1 weeks and the median duration to 18 weeks Posted Jan. 5, 2013 on Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog http://dolanecon.blogspot.com