A new Gallup poll which tracks unemployment says otherwise.
“Unemployment, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment, hit 10.3% in February — up from 9.8% at the end of January. The U.S. unemployment rate is now essentially the same as the 10.4% at the end of February 2010.”
The number of part-time workers was unchanged from the previous month.
Americans are bombarded with data about the current and projected rates of joblessness. Ben Bernanke recently said that government cost cuts being contemplated in Congress may cost 200,000 jobs. That could wipe out any advance in the jobless rate from one month to the next as 200,000 translates roughly into .1% of the national unemployment numbers.
ADP and Challenger Gray figures released ahead of the government’s jobless numbers also create a mixed picture. Challenger said yesterday that lay-offs announced during February were up 32% from January to 50,742. Some of these job losses may have been related to the weather. Others effects include the start of huge cuts in public employees as states and municipalities lower head counts to close budget deficits.
The numbers are muddled, but for the most point they show a bleak unemployment future.
Methodology: Gallup classifies American workers as underemployed if they are either unemployed or working part time but wanting full-time work. The findings reflect approximately 18,000 phone interviews with U.S. adults aged 18 and older in the workforce, collected over a 30-day period. Gallup’s results are not seasonally adjusted and are ahead of government reports by approximately two weeks.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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