Category: Labor Markets

On March 5th, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data on the U.S. labor market during the month of February. Below are five graphs compiled by Equitable Growth staff highlighting important trends in the data.

The prime-age employment rate increased slightly from 76.4 percent to 76.5 percent in February, remaining well below pre-crisis levels as the recession continues.

The unemployment rate remains highest for Black and Hispanic workers, while declining for Asian workers and showing little change for White workers.

Public-sector employment remains significantly below pre-crisis levels, and has seen little change since the beginning of the year. 

The proportion of unemployed U.S. workers facing long-term unemployment continued to rise in February, as 55.6 percent of unemployed workers have now been out of work for more than 15 weeks.

The number of part-time workers who would prefer full-time work remained high in February, with involuntary part-time employment currently at 6.1 million jobs.

On February 5th, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data on the U.S. labor market during the month of January. Below are five graphs compiled by Equitable Growth staff highlighting important trends in the data.

The prime-age employment-to-population ratio increased only slightly to 76.4 percent in January, reflecting a slowdown of the pace of employment recovery since late fall

Unemployment declined for Black, Hispanic and White workers, but remains higher for Black and Hispanic workers, and unemployment increased for Asian American workers, reflecting persistent disparities in unemployment by race.

After a steep decline in December, the leisure and hospitality sector continued to decline in January. Employment growth in all industries remains below pre-pandemic levels as the recession continues.

As the recession continues, a higher proportion of unemployed U.S. workers face long-term unemployment.

Public-sector employment added a small amount of jobs in January, but remains significantly below pre-pandemic levels and risks further decline in absence of fiscal relief.

On January 8th, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data on the U.S. labor market during the month of December. Below are five graphs compiled by Equitable Growth staff highlighting important trends in the data.

Despite an overall decrease in non-farm employment, the prime-age employment rate increased slightly from 76 percent to 76.3 percent.

The unemployment rate increased for Latinx workers in December as employment declined significantly in the leisure and hospitality industry where these workers are over-represented.

The unemployment rate was unchanged in December, but an increasing proportion of unemployed workers were on temporary layoff or new entrants to the labor market.

As the pandemic surged in December, an increasing proportion of unemployed workers have been out of work for fewer than 5 weeks.

Public-sector employment continued to decline in December, led by decreases to non-education local government employment.

On December 4, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data on the U.S. labor market during the month of November. Below are five graphs compiled by Equitable Growth staff highlighting important trends in the data.

Prime-age employment held steady at 76 percent showing no improvement in November, after a steep decline in the spring and only a partial recovery in the summer and fall.

The unemployment rate for Black workers remained in double digits at 10.3 percent, while the unemployment rate for White workers declined slightly to 5.9 percent due to workers dropping out of the labor force.

Part-time workers who would prefer full-time work saw no improvement in November as involuntary part-time employment remains 2.3 million above the February level.

An increasing proportion of unemployed workers are permanent job-losers with those on temporary layoff, voluntarily leaving their job, and reentering the labor market all declining.

Employment in government dropped for a third consecutive month, decreasing by nearly 100,000 jobs in November.

On November 6, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released new data on the U.S. labor market during the month of October. Below are five graphs compiled by Equitable Growth staff highlighting important trends in the data.

While the employment rate of prime-age workers continued to recover in October, reaching 76 percent compared to the pre-pandemic height of 80.5 percent, the pace of its improvement has decreased since the summer.

The unemployment rate fell to 6.9 percent for all workers, but was significantly higher for Black workers at 10.8 percent. The uncontrolled pandemic, occupational segregation, and labor market discrimination limit the ability of Black unemployment rates to recover and converge with other demographic groups.

Employment growth continues to improve across the private sector, but layoffs from the end of the 2020 Census and job losses in local and state government education offset employment recovery.

Unemployment rates continue to be significantly higher for workers with less than a college degree, who are less likely to be able to telework.

Public-sector employment declined in October, due to 147,000 Census layoffs and 159,000 job losses in education, disproportionately impacting women workers who are overrepresented in the education sector.