Intern's Over 40 Powder Keg Reports: Real Unemployment - 26 million people!

PowderKeg© Unemployment News (for immediate release):

"One-in-Five Able-Bodied Workers in California are Not Working 9-to-5"

Think about this: How many people do you know that are not working or are forced to work part-time? Ever been to a coffee shop at 3pm on a Tuesday? It's packed!!! How many companies have furloughed/cut hours as well as compensation/benefits?

Interns Over 40 PowderKeg has analyzed data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the last few years, and it is clear there is a potential misunderstanding of what really is happening in the jobs market. Lets make things simple:

FACTS:

• 16.8% unemployed or underemployed!! That is 16.8%* of people in the U.S. that are connected to the labor force are unemployed or underemployed.
• That represents 26 million people!! YES... 26 million are not commuting to the office and working nine-to-five everyday. OUCH!
• Over 20%** are not working in eastern, midwestern and western states including Oregon, Rhode Island, California, and of course Michigan.
• The number of available jobs have diminished by 41%*** from the start of the recession (December 2007 to June 2009)

So what makes this a problem beyond the numbers of people that are not getting the same pay check they were receiving 24 months ago? Their ability to find new jobs has been hindered not by a lack of desire to work. It's not that the average unemployed worker stops looking for a job after 30 to 90 days of not working. The main problem is that there are just not enough jobs.

Time to look for, not a new job, but your dream career. It's never too late!

By Chris Kaufmann, Interns Over 40, © 2009

* Bureau of Labor Statistics (U-6 unemployment rate, July 2009, not seasonally-adjusted). U-6 includes those who looked for work in at least the past year and those working part-time for economic reasons.
** As reported in New York Times (David LeonHardt: Part-Time Workers Mask Unemployment Woes, 7/14/09)
*** Based on the number of job openings per month (Bureau of Labor Statistics: Dec. 2007 to June 2009, seasonally adjusted).