Urban League Site Analyzes Latest Jobs Report

WASHINGTON - Urban unemployment continues to plague communities and hamper progress.  The National Urban League's  State of Urban Jobs site at iamempowered.com gives everything one needs to know about jobs including the monthly employment report with job stats for Blacks, Whites and Latinos, the facts about how investing in job creation is the best strategy for reducing the deficit, resume writing tips, job listings and the National Urban League's response to the current crisis. Click here to view and stay abreast of the latest developments from the August 2010 Employment report.

The economy lost a net 54,000 jobs in August, as large numbers of temporary Census jobs (-114,000) continue to wind down.  Private employment increased by a modest 67,000.  The labor market need to grow by 150,000 - 175,000 jobs each month to hold the unemployment rate constant.

The unemployment rate edged up slightly to 9.6% in August as labor force participation remained relatively stable. The black unemployment rate increased to 16.3% (from 15.6%) as the participation rate increased to 62.2% (from 61.5%).  The unemployment rate for black men increased slightly (from 16.7% to 17.3%), as did the rate for black women (from 12.9% to 13.2%).  The unemployment rates for whites (from 8.6% to 8.7%) and Latinos (from 12.1% to 12.0%) showed little change in August. Rates of teen unemployment were 23.8% for whites (from 23.5%), 45.4% for African-Americans (from 40.6%) and 33% for Latinos (from 35%). The rate of underemployment (including the unemployed, marginally attached and those working part-time for economic reasons) also increased to 16.7% (from 16.5%).

The ranks of long-term unemployed (jobless for 27 weeks or more) continue to dwindle gradually - now at 6.2 million (down from 6.6 million) or 42% of all unemployed (from 44.9%). However, many of these workers may be settling for part-time rather than full-time jobs - the increase in the number of people working part-time for economic reasons more than offsets the decline in the number of long-term unemployed.

Health care (+28,000), professional & business services (+20,000), construction (+19,000), and mining (+8,000) all displayed modest growth in August as other sectors, including state government (-14,000) and local education (-10,400) jobs were lost.