The reality of our current Unemployment Numbers - with factual statistics - Hickory, Catawba County, North Carolina

The Hound:  The latest numbers from the Bureau of Labor through the Federal Reserve. The U-3 unemployment rate has fallen to 7.3% for the month of December from 7.8% in November, but the workforce continued a steep decline to 70,419 from 71,484. That means that Catawba County lost 1,065 workers in the month of December. In January 1990, when these official statistics began, our labor force was 70,308 and the resident population was 118,945. That means in 1990, 59.1% of the people here were in the workforce... today, based on the latest statistics, less than 46% of our resident population is in the workforce.

From year to year Catawba County lost 3,079 workers (73,498 - 12/2012) and 6,268 workers since the Economic Downturn began in January 2008 (76,687 - 1/2008). We have lost 11,826 workers since our peak Labor Force occurred in February 2001 (82,245 - 2/2001). 

I will be surprised if the Catawba County Population has not fallen over the year 2013. It did increase by 381 residents in 2012 (154,339 - 2012 from 153,958 - 2011), but since 2009 we have lost 4,614 (158,953 - 2009) residents. The shrinking labor force, 3,079 workers in 2013, makes me think that we will see a corollary loss of population over the previous year.

What you see through these numbers is that there is no recovery. It very much seems that we have seen an increased rapidity of a permanent shrinkage of jobs in our Labor Market. The drop in the Unemployment rate is a cementing of the job losses that have occurred. Those that have been considered long term unemployed have now been relegated to a status of Permanently Unemployed. 

Check it out for yourself below.


 

Catawba County, NC

Civilian Labor Force in Catawba County, NC
Thousands of Persons, Monthly, Not Seasonally Adjusted1990-01 to 2013-12 (9 hours ago) usa nsa monthly bls civilian county labor force nc hickory catawba county, nc
Unemployment Rate in Catawba County, NC
Percent, Monthly, Not Seasonally Adjusted1990-01 to 2013-12 (9 hours ago) usa nsa monthly bls rate unemployment county nc hickory catawba county, nc
Resident Population in Catawba County, NC
Thousands of Persons, Annual, Not Seasonally Adjusted1970 to 2012 (2013-03-19) usa nsa annual census county population residents nc hickory catawba county, nc

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