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What You Need to Know About the State of Urban Jobs!
National Urban League’s State of Urban Jobs site at iamempowered.com gives you everything you need to know about jobs including the monthly employment report with stats for Blacks, Whites and Latinos, the National Urban League’s position on employment and job creation policy, the facts about how investing in job creation is the best strategy for reducing the deficit, as well as resume writing tips and job listings. Click here to view and stay abreast of the latest developments.
Highlights of the February 2012 Employment Report
The economy added a net of 227,000 jobs in February, making it the 4th consecutive month that job growth exceeded 200,000. Private sector job growth (excludes government losses) was 233,000, indicating continued improvement in the U.S labor market. The number of unemployed people remained unchanged at 12.8 million in February as the labor force participation rate increased slightly to 63.9%.
Private sector job growth was again distributed across most major industries with the highest growth in professional and business services (+82,000), health care (+61,000), leisure & hospitality (+44,000), and manufacturing (+31,000). Only three industries lost jobs in February -- construction (-13,000), retail trade (-7,400) and government (-6,000). Government job losses slowed considerably in February, but a total of -226,000 government jobs — over half of which were at the local level -- have been cut since February of last year.
The national unemployment rate for February remained at 8.3%. The black unemployment rate rose slightly to 14.1% (from 13.6%), driven mainly by an increase in black male unemployment — from 12.7% to 14.3%. The unemployment rate for black women changed little (from 12.6% to 12.4%). The unemployment rate for whites remained essentially the same at 7.3% (from 7.4%) as did the Hispanic rate at 10.7% (from 10.5%). Rates of teen unemployment were 21.3% for whites (from 21.1%), 34.7% for African-Americans (from 38.5%) and 27.5% for Latinos (from 24.9%, not seasonally adjusted). The rate of underemployment (including the unemployed, marginally attached and those working part-time for economic reasons) was 14.9% (from 15.1%). The ranks of long-term unemployed (jobless for 27 weeks or more) remains elevated at 5.4 million or 42.6% of all unemployed.
Click here to read NUL's February 2012 Employment report. Also, available from the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC), the January 2012 edition (latest available) of its state-by-state snapshots which detail each individual state’s economic progress for the previous month. For more information on state and regional 2011 annual averages (latest available), click here. For more information on metropolitan area unemployment statistics for December 2011 (latest available), click here.
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About Dr. Valerie Wilson
Dr. Valerie Rawlston Wilson is an economist and Vice President of Research at the National Urban League Policy Institute where she is responsible for planning and directing the Policy Institute’s Research Agenda. She is one of the primary architects of the National Urban League’s Plan for Putting Americans Back to Work, a bold 6-point job creation plan for urban America. Dr. Wilson has served as Managing Editor and Associate Editor of The State of Black America report and is staff director and ex-officio member of the National Urban League President’s Council of Economic Advisors, designed to assist the League in shaping national economic policy. Her fields of specialization include labor economics, economics of higher education, poverty and racial inequality. Dr. Wilson earned a PhD in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
About the State of Urban Jobs
The National Urban League’s State of Urban Jobs website was launched in 2010 by Iamempowered.com and the National Urban League’s Policy Institute, to bring the Institute’s esteemed research, policy analysis and publications online. Through such activities as the annual Legislative Policy Conference and the publication of The State of Black America the Policy Institute provides a foundation from which to advocate on behalf of African Americans and urban communities. The Institute’s extensive collection of reports, fact sheets and publications is made available in one location for scholars, policy analysts, policymakers and advocacy groups, along with tools and information for entrepreneurs, job seekers, and those seeking information on the emerging green economy.
