Two out of five working-age Californians jobless, study says

[Newsjock]

Source: Associated Press

... A report to be released publicly today found that two of five working-age Californians do not have a job, underscoring the challenges in one of the toughest job markets in decades. The last time employment levels among this group were this low was February 1977, according to a study by the California Budget Project, a Sacramento-based nonprofit research group that advocates for lower- and middle-income families.

... Jean Ross, executive director of the California Budget Project, recommended Congress adopt a second extension of unemployment insurance benefits.

... Asked to explain the difference between her unemployment figure and the government's, Ross said the government's official jobless rate does not factor in working-age Californians who stay out of the work force by choice, such as stay-at-home parents, or those who have simply given up searching for work.

Taking those people into account, she said, translates to a 57.5 percent employment rate for the state, which is slightly less than the 57.6 percent recorded in 1977. The California Budget Project used figures from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Read more: http://www.rgj.com/article/20090906/BIZ/909060326

[YvonneCa]

1. Sounds about right...

...in my circle of family and friends.

[Nikki Stone1]

2. They've gutted California

Enron. The corporations. And, I'm putting some blame here on the Forest Service too.

[defendandprotect]

6. Enron showed particular hatred for California --- NY and CA centers of liberalism . . .

These attacks have been going on since at least Nixon --

Followed by Jerry Ford pretty much making the desire to punish liberal areas clear re NYC!

And remember Blackwater and Petrero . . . hope I have the name right?

And we keep hearing that people set these fires . . . yeah, right!

Agree re the Forest Service, with everything changed into right wing hands,

you can't be sure whose interests are being served!

[kestrel91316]

12. Republicans have been targeting CA for destruction for decades.

Looks like another Mission Accomplished (TM).

[Nikki Stone1]

26. Do you have an article or some info on the specifics?

I'd really like to find out what has been happening.

[Hekate]

3. The numbers need to be examined more closely. First, we DO need to factor in those who have given up

... looking and those who have run out of unemployment benefits.

Second, we should NOT be counting those who are willingly out of the workforce, such as stay-at-home parents. That's not terribly useful, unless there's something else going on I don't see from the article.

Third, we should be adding back (in a separate column, perhaps) those who are underemployed -- i.e. like the engineer my husband used to work with who ended up clerking at OSH garden supply and hardware store.

The government's figures are skewed to make it look like more people are gainfully employed than there really are, but this study is also unfortunately skewed. I want to know how bad it is -- and it's really bad. We don't need to make it look worse.

:scared: here in sunny California.

Hekate

[Aragorn]

4. this may be the realistic best way

Your best bet is to count how many adults, and how many jobs to adults. The other "reasons" are difficult to prove without a monthly or weekly census. I agree they are relevant, but consider, for example, the person who goes to get food stamps, works part-time (under-employed though) as well as the person staying home who the welfare office claims is not trying to work. Has either one given up? Only one is employed, we know that.

And we could get a pretty accurate count on how many are disabled, but seems to me that group should not count towards employment numbers - even though they can and often do work some, just not enough to lose disability. Not saying that's a scam either - it is usually a legitimate need to feel productive in a legitimately disabled person.

Just to be silly, what about volunteers under 65 y.o.?

[Hekate]

10. I'm one of those volunteers, although I certainly worked enough years to qualify for SS & a pension

... both of which I intend to collect to add my bit to our income now and after Mr H retires. Mr H intends to continue working after 65, as he has not figured out what to do with his time aside from teaching.

As I left the workforce willingly I do not consider myself unemployed, simply lucky to call my time my own. Hallelujah. There's always something to do in the social justice arena.

I only wish that all people could find such a blessing -- to have enough and know when they have enough, to work at what they like to do, and have some time of their own.

Hekate

[alcibiades_mystery]

20. "Working aged" is perhaps the dumbest standard I've ever heard, for the

reasons you enumerate nicely.

It's completely fucking meaningless, but it tricks idiots into thinking there is a 40% unemployment rate.

Oh, look. There are some idiots in this very thread. How nice.

[JDPriestly]

22. Don't forget. ooYou need to add to the number of unemployed the

extremely high number of people who are "retired," but not really by choice. These include all kinds of people who took early retirement packages as well as people who simply lost their jobs. These are people who have given up trying because they have learned through bitter experience that, in this job market, people over 55 are the last to be hired. These people place a big burden on the various retirement benefits systems including Social Security.

[harkadog]

28. Over 55 hires don't place a burden on Social Security

Almost everyone in that category have already qualified for the benefits they will get when they get to the SS age.

[JDPriestly]

29. Over 62s do, and a lot of the people I know who are unwillingly retired

are the 62-70 age group.

[pattmarty]

5. This is a little off topic, but this IS the Labor day weekend...................

..........This has to be the MOST unreported labor statistic (and disgustedly stunning) that I have ever come across: "Meanwhile, almost half of all Americans reported salaries of less than $30,000 and two-thirds salaries of less than $50,000". Take a breather and read that again. This quote is used in a Pat Buchanan book "Day Of Reckoning" of 2007. Now that is a fucking stunning figure for this "great" country.

[defendandprotect]

7. Right . . . I meant to post a thread asking how LABOR DAY is being celebrated in MSM?????

50,000 of our factories have closed in the last ten years!

[ThorDem]

9. We'll have to become a nation of scientists

Those manufacturing jobs are gone for good. Joe Bob down the road better go up to the community college and get retrained or he's going to be sitting on his porch drinking PBR for a very long time.

New high tech manufacturing might spring up, but our factory labor force isn't capable of doing that work. I'm guessing that's why Obama told kids to stay and school because otherwise you'll be a peasant. Not that the bible beating quiverfulls need to be educated or listen to our "socialist" president.

[Greyskye]

15. Tech isn't a silver bullet

I worked in high-tech (R&D, not manufacturing) for 25 years before getting laid off last spring. The official unemployment rate here in California is 11.9% - I bet it's quite a bit higher than that in reality.

[lib2DaBone]

21. As if things are not bad enough... we have to listen to trolls..

[ThorDem]

27. Listen

I'm sorry that you don't agree with me or my post count isn't high enough for you, but I have a right to say my opinion and have that opinion rebuffed in a logical manner.

[defendandprotect]

31. We have to have manufacturing ....it would be insane not to . .

and I was just reading that it is expanding again somewhat --

and Obama has appointed someone to spur it on!!

I'm for shutting the doors -- and I'd be very against having any

manufacturer who's abandoned America in order to harvest slave labor

in other nations come back here!

Meanwhile, we're being given a load of crap in electronics which have

to be replaced over and again -- from keyboards to toaster ovens!

[Jkid]

8. Just another reason to implement universal social security

aka citizen's income. Even if you want to work, they may refuse to hire you or the job market is non-existent.

[kestrel91316]

11. 40% unemployment. Sheesh. No wonder my practice income is down 50%.

[JDPriestly]

23. Doctors and lawyers are the last to be paid.

You would be best off insisting on payment via credit cared. Sure, the credit card company takes a percentage of your pay, but it's the only way you can shift the cost of bill collection on someone else. It is impossible for a sole practitioner without a very wealthy client base to collect bills right now.

[Quantess]

13. My friend in CA

got her Bachelor's degree in Technical Writing over a year ago. She has worked a grand total of 2 weeks since her graduation.

[aggiesal]

14. It should be easy to fix the problem in CA.

First they need to get rid of all the H1-B Visas.
Rumor has it that there are more people here with H1-B Visas then there
are engineers on unemployment. So if you get rid of all H1-B Visas I'm sure
almost all positions can be filled by unemployed engineers.

Second they need to get rid of all the H1-B visas.

Oh, did I mention, they need to get rid of all the H1-B visas?

[Newsjock]

16. A project for an enterprising (or unemployed) journalist

H1B filings are a matter of public record, and every company that files H1B's must have a public file available upon request. Someone with time on their hands should create and publicize a list of Silicon Valley's top 100 users of H1B labor.

In days gone by, the watchdogs at the San Jose Mercury News could have been counted on to do this type of investigation. But now that their newsroom is little more than a sports clerk and an answering machine, someone else needs to take this on.

[Honeycombe8]

17. CA needs to attract more jobs. But what with all the fires (lots of 'em in recent years)

and other natural disasters. The state has had to increase taxes in recent years because of budget shortfalls, and the state is on the verge of bankruptcy. Businesses are closing or moving out, and new businesses that consider CA end up opening in another state.

It's so expensive to live and work in CA, that I wonder how anyone makes it there. So many people move there and stay there because it's so pretty, but there are only so many workers the state can support. There are only so many mechanic jobs, maid jobs, writing jobs, teaching jobs there. The next plan for those who can afford it would be to move to another state, I guess. I did years ago, for work. Left my home state to find work. Left all my family behind. It's hard to do, but necessary, if you want to work.

[bluesmail]

18. Thanks Dick. Thanks George. Oh and I won't leave out

Thanks to the governator, and his role he played in taking down Grey Davis via Enron. Enron? Oh don't get me going.

[alcibiades_mystery]

19. But how many multi-limbed Californians are out of work?

How about bald Californians?

Wait, I know! How about, "How many Californians who prefer salsa verde are out of work?"

This has been another episode of meaningless statistics!

[JDPriestly]

24. The stark reality is much worse than the author of the article admits.

Those checks, which pay between $200 and $1,800 a month depending on a worker's previous earnings, are "the best way to keep dollars flowing to the local community," she said.

"The unemployment checks -- you spend it at the grocery store, you pay your rent, you buy a pair of shoes," Ross said. "It keeps roofs over their heads, food on their tables and small businesses going."

Your unemployment check doesn't cover the rent if you live in Los Angeles. That's because if you earned a high salary, you lived in a high-rent district (probably not less than $2000 per month) and if you didn't earn a high salary, your unemployment check will be proportionately smaller -- and still not enough to cover rent which is going to be a minimum of $500 per month and most likely a lot more just for a very small place. Rents here are unbelievably high.

Maybe in Fresno, rents are lower and your check will cover rent, groceries and shoes.

Living costs in Silicon Valley are even higher than in L.A.

Besides, employers usually try to concoct some story about how the employee was terminated for cause -- even in these times. So, a certain percentage of laid off workers have to either fight for their unemployment (and their reputations) or give up hope of unemployment compensation.

[defendandprotect]

33. THIS is the GOP's dream of a "third world America" . . . !!!

Many authors made it clear that one reason they can knock out middle class

now is that "communism" is gone as a threat.

[Selatius]

25. They've basically turned California into a banana republic. The whole US is a banana republic. nt

[OffWithTheirHeads]

37. Yes but they won't be happy until it's a complete feudal state

and the top 2% get first crack at all the virgins on their wedding day.

[Moral Compass]

30. 40% unemployment????

Really? Really? Sounds a bit extreme and that makes this a questionable statistic. What's the methodology? What's the sample? What are the parameters of the sample?

Throwing this kind of stuff around and not being able to defend it can cause credibility problems?

Remember the left has to be accurate. The right gets a free ride. The folks reading the stuff from the right are usually pretty clueless. The folks on this site and the on the left in general don't just automatically accept things just because they're in print.

Back it up or delete the thread. Right now it sounds like doom and gloom bullshit...

[TheMadMonk]

34. All myths are true. (For a given value of true.)

In this case it appears that the "truth" being put forward here is a simple, jobs available / working age population

Yes, certain people are voluntarily not in the hunt, and thus his data is skewed. However it does at the very least put an upper limit on what the REAL unemployment rate is.

And we sure as hell know that the "official" figures have been massaged until they bear only a remote resemblance to the truth. Here, dirty tricks include removing from the list of "officially unemployed" anyone who is not receiving the full benefit. Earn enough to reduce your benefit by a single dollar and hey presto, you are no longer "unemployed". Nor are those in sponsored training programs counted amongst the unemployed.

The real figure lies somewhere in between one set of unrealistic figures and the other.

[defendandprotect]

32. And Clinton and Gore overturned 60 years of welfare guarantees .. .

and GOP has pretty much ripped unemployment guarantees apart -- !!!

If there were anything left of our unions now, it would be the time to try to

move to a 5 hour workday -- even four days a week. Same salary.

That way, everyone could work. That was the goal not that long ago!

[troubledamerican]

36. Sadly... true.

[XemaSab]

35. I don't know whether this makes me feel better or worse

:(

[newspeak]

38. does anybody remember when Clinton made his speech after NAFTA-GATT

was passed? Remember he said that we were moving into the service industry. That our main focus was the service industry, instead of manufacturing. I remember turning to my hubby and telling him that we were all going to be working for McDonalds. Okay, it looks like some of us will be lucky to work for McDonalds.

[lunatica]

39. My unit of 8 people and a few hundred similar ones are being laid

of this year at UC Berkeley. So far they said we would get our layoff letters on August 31 and then they pushed that back to September 14. But in any case we'll have our 60 day notice when we get those letters.

So unemployment is still going up, but as they like to tell us, just not as fast. Phew! What a relief that half a million losses a month are now down to a smaller amount. Even in the worst of times unemployment begins to slow down as fewer people are employed.

No one is saying what all the newly created jobs are. All they say is go back to school and get a degree. Yeah, that'll help your future hamburger flipping skills. Maybe with all those smarts you can become a manager!

[David__77]

40. Bad for the economy.

I think it's highly ideal that everyone who is physically capable is engaged in some form of education or labor. It's good for society. Labor includes household work as well, of course.