The US unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent in February 2013, the lowest since 2008. The economy added 236,000 payroll jobs

1. Economics for your Classroom from
Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog
US Unemployment Drops
to 7.7 Percent,
Lowest Since 2008
March 8, 2013
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2. Unemployment Rate Falls to 7.7 Percent
 The US unemployment rate fell to 7.7%
in February, the lowest since January
2008. (The rate was reported at 7.7%
once before, in November 2012, but that
was later revised up to 7.8%.)
 The unemployment rate is the ratio of
unemployed persons to the labor force.
The labor force decreased by 130,000
for the month. The number of employed
workers rose by 170,000 and the
number of unemployed fell by 300,000
 The unemployment rate is based on a
survey of households that includes self-
employed and farm workers
March 8, 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 14.3 percent in February,
its lowest since the recovery began
March 8, 2013 Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog

4. Economy adds 236,000 Payroll Jobs in February
 The private sector added 146,000 jobs in
February while federal, state, and local
government lost 10,000, continuing a long
trend toward shrinking government
employment
 The job increase was broad based, with
construction, manufacturing, business
services, and health care leading the way
 The jobs figure is based on a survey of
employers. It excludes self-employed and
farm workers.
March 8, 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 rose
to 40.1 percent in February, after a dip
in January
 The mean duration of unemployment
increased to 36.9 weeks and the
median duration to 17.8 weeks
March 8, 2013 Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog

6. Involuntary Part-Time Work Also Remains High
 The number of people working part
time for economic reasons also
increased in February
 Those people are sometimes called
“involuntary” part-time workers to
distinguish them from people who
regularly work part time because of
childcare problems, family or
personal obligations, school or
training, retirement or Social
Security limits on earnings, and
other reasons
March 8, 2013 Ed Dolan’s Econ Blog

7. The employment
situation at a glance
This spider chart summarizes
the employment situation for
February 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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