1.2 million people want a job but aren't looking

Source: USA Today

A heartening jobs report last week masked an ominous statistic: Discouraged workers hit a record 1.2 million.

Discouraged workers are those who want a job but aren't counted in the labor force because they've stopped looking for work.

When the job market improves, many Americans on the sidelines will return to the labor force, holding up the unemployment rate even if job growth surges.

"That is going to be a major factor in keeping the unemployment rate from dropping," says Sean Snaith, economics professor at the University of Central Florida. . . .

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/employment/2010-11-08-discouragedworkers08_ST_N.htm

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Anyone surprised here at DU? I thank whatever every day that I am employed at 59. My girlfriend, who has worked so hard and effectively all her life, has been unemployed since Jan. 1 this year, for the first time. I will move in with her and she will keep her house. Are others so lucky? (Note: Not to have me move in with them; I am a pain in the you know what. But to have that option, obviously.)

It was either the BBC or ABC Radio National (Australia) but they had a story of a few Americans who moved to India for the jobs.

You can afford to work for less if you live cheaply. Problem is, you can never save enough to return home with the fruits of your labor.

it's a hard way to live, facing constant rejection

I have been out of work since Feb. of 2009. I'll quit looking as soon as I'm accepted to graduate school or when my UI runs out, whatever comes first. I can't take any more of being ignored or rejected by the job market. I'm sick of wasting my time & energy applying for things I neither want nor care about.

I have a BA plus 20 years of experience in my field, & no one will even interview me, let alone give me a job. I'm sure that my age (45) and gender (female) are factors. No one is interested in middle-aged women, it seems.

I've managed to stay employed but at age 53 live in constant fear because, well, our age/gender are always factors but add in this no-jobs climate and - gawd, I will NEVER understand why they did not see that JOBS JOBS JOBS are the number one concern in America

But that position was filled 27 years ago. Sorry.

almost 2 years and he's looking.

I can see counting those who fall out of the employment comp system, but how do the record keepers know you are unemployed and "not looking". And how do these people who are unemployed and not looking survive? it seems this stat could be massaged to be better or worse at will. Personally, from the people I know, I think the unemployment rate is much higher than the 10 or so reported.

http://www.bls.gov/cps/

And select "persons not in labor force" in the first paragraph. Then click on "Discourage Workers" in the place that sends you to.

In an interesting sign of the times, the BLS is going to modify the "length of time unemployed" in January 2011.

Today that answer is capped at 2 years, no matter how long they have been off. It is going to be raised to 5 years to more accurately capture the actual conditions for today.

I suspect that will be scary.

I know several people who are unemployed but whose unemployment has run out. They're not unemployed by choice. It's scary.

to support my family. I do DSL technical support, and I scrub toilets at an eye clinic.
It sucks, but neither job alone gives me what I need to support my wife and 2 kids. But with both jobs, I can pay my rent.
What we need is good manufacturing jobs back in the USA.

As jobs return to the economy, these folks will get back into the numbers that are officially counted as unemployed, and will offset the number of those who find jobs.

We'll see if the voters blame the Republicons for that, but being as we still control the White House and the Senate, I have my doubts.

for a job. But I am, however, a full time student now and working on getting my associates. If you to school full time after being laid off, you should not have to look for a job as long as you maintain a good GPA. My last day of employment was 10/29/09...luckily I did save from my previous employment and paid off a bunch of shit before I was the RIF (Reduction In Force).

and aren't amassing a lot of loan debt. I have a bachelor's and it ain't doing shit for me.

and this will be my first degree and I want to go right into the next at a four year college for Linguistics, primarily German so I can perhaps get the hell out of the states someday

moved to other companies just before major downsizing at the last one. One of the few remaining employed in those other companies just got let go. Her family's COBRA is $1,350 per month. Not going to pay that working at Target.

It seems that those who have found work are being let go in another round of cuts. I've lost two good jobs in the past five years, and now that I'm long-term unemployed, my chances of finding a good job are like slim to none, although I keep trying.

I'm hanging on with no insurance, but I am one major mishap away from losing everything.

I believe. It could be three months, but my friend who has started working there is not sure. Very good benefits and reasonably priced.

part time, have only catastrophic insurance, and am right there with you - one mishap away ... not easy living this way.

My field was electronics repair. The industry has become a joke. Manufacturers only provide the most basic information for setup and operation. If you have a problem, you could spend years dealing with tech support. They don't want to admit failures in design or implementation and will hang out their support system without a second thought. I won't work in that environment.

and that`s shopping cart door greeters....

in the many bizarre psychological assessments for a low paying sales clerk jobs. I'm 54 and was self employed for 7 years until the elite decided to destroy my ability to support myself along with millions of others. I've spent hours and hours answering endless useless bullshit questions. Even if I miraculously fit their profile for the perfect slave my age eliminates me immediately.

I'm living in my truck in a month. They've stolen it all from me- my measly savings, my tiny business and now my apt.

What a fucking hoax.

the unemployment numbers? If you are no longer counted, as a human being, I mean in the working population, you can not be counted if you suddenly get a job. So, this crap about the no longer counted people affecting the unemployment numbers is sheer silliness.

What really happens is that the no longer counted gets one of those rare jobs and those who are counted can't fill that job. So, there is no direct impact on the unemployment numbers but there is an impact on the jobs created numbers. So, if we see huge numbers of jobs being created yet no dip in unemployment numbers you can bet that the shadow workforce is out and about.

But I really don't see any significant amount of jobs being created. We will be stuck in this sad economy for at least the next 5 years.

My state has a 12% unemployment rate. My county has a 15.9% unemployment rate. And those are the "official" numbers. Try being over 50 and looking for work in that environment. I don't remember the last time I saw a "help wanted" sign around here.

along with underemployed/part time

:eyes: