What You Need to Know About the State of Urban Jobs!

NUL’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 September 2011 Employment Report

The economy added 103,000 jobs in September, partially reflecting the return of 45,000 telecommunications workers who had been on strike in August.  Excluding those formerly on strike, new job growth in the private sector was 92,000.  The number of unemployed people in September was essentially unchanged at 14 million as the labor force participation rate edged up slightly to 64.2%.

 
Private sector job growth was concentrated in professional and business services (+48,000), heath care (+44,000), information (+34,000) and construction (+26,000).  Most losses were concentrated in local governments (-35,000) with notable job losses also in manufacturing (-13,000), retail trade (-9,000) and the U.S. Postal Service (-5,300).
 
The unemployment rate for September was unchanged at 9.1%.  The black unemployment rate decreased to 16.0% (from 16.7%) -- the unemployment rate for black men decreased to 16.8% (from 18/0%); for black women, it decreased slightly to 13.2% (from 13.4%). The unemployment rate for whites remained unchanged at 8.0% as did the Hispanic rate at 11.3%.  Rates of teen unemployment were 21.3% for whites (from 23.0%), 44.2% for African-Americans (from 46.5%) and 27.1% for Latinos (from 37.4%, not seasonally adjusted). The rate of underemployment (including the unemployed, marginally attached and those working part-time for economic reasons) was up slightly to 16.5% (from 16.2%).  The ranks of long-term unemployed (jobless for 27 weeks or more) increased to 6.2 million (from 6.0 million) or 44.6% of all unemployed.   
 
The September 2011 Employment report is available at the State of Urban Jobs website along with NULPI’s latest report, “At Risk: The State of the Black Middle Class” and fact sheets summarizing the 2010 Income, Poverty and Health Insurance estimates released by the Census Bureau in September.  Also, available from the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC), the September 2011 edition 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 unemployment statistics for August 2011 (latest available), click here.  For more information on metropolitan area unemployment statistics for August 2011 (latest available), click here.  
 

About Dr. Rawlston 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.

Additional information:

NUL’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 response to the current crisis, 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.

The project 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.