Unemployment and the Scope of Its Impact

The unemployment rate in the US is now 9.8%, as the Labor Department reported on Friday. That's the highest level since 1982 when the rate was 10.8%.

What the current unemployment rate does not reflect is the large number of Americans who lost a job and are no longer looking for work, which when added to the 9.8% reflects fully 17% of Americans.

Moreover, among those with a job, the average number of hours worked per week last month was 33 -- the lowest average since the 1960s.

A recent ABC News/Washington Post Poll (http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=4154543197421640958) found that 41% of American households have experienced a pay cut, and 27% say a layoff or job loss has hit their household. The total number of houseolds with a pay cut and/or job loss is 47%. The unemployment rate is an individual level measure and does not reflect the broader effect of job loss on those who rely on individual incomes.

The impact of the recession's toll on employment is much deeper than the current 9.8% unemployemnt rate suggests. Far more than one-in-ten Americans are directly impacted financially; rather it appears that about half of the US population has suffered an economic setback due to job loss. In addition, among those who have not yet been affected by a job loss, there certainly are many who are worried about it.

While many Americans feel the pinch of other fiscal problems caused by this recession (drops in the value of stocks, home values, retirement funds, loss of health care benefits, etc.), no economic problem is more widespread than unemployment -- and no other factor will weigh more heavily on Americans' minds as they assess the job government is doing and think about how they will vote in upcoming elections.