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January 2013 Unemployment Report

February 1, 2013

January 2013
Unemployment Rate:           7.9 percent
Unemployed Americans:     12.3 million


“Real” Unemployment    

  • The “real” unemployment or U-6 rate is 14.4 percent for January 2013.  This is the total percentage of unemployed and underemployed workers.
  • The “real” number of unemployed Americans is 22.7 million. These are people who are unemployed (12.3 million), want work but have stopped searching for a job (2.4 million), or are working part time because they can’t find full time employment (8.0 million).

Labor Force Participation    

  • The labor force participation rate is 63.6 percent, the same as last month.  If the labor force participation rate were the same as when the President took office, the unemployment rate would be 10.8 percent.

Employment    

  • The Department of Labor reported an unemployment rate of 7.9 percent for January 2013, an increase of 0.1 percentage points, and an increase of 157,000 nonfarm jobs.
  • President Obama promised an unemployment rate of 5.2 percent by this time.
  • The Department of Labor revised total nonfarm jobs for November and December up 127,000. The November numbers were revised up from +161,000 to +247,000. The December numbers were revised up from +155,000 to +196,000.

Weeks, Hours & Wages

  • The number of Americans searching for work for more than 27 weeks held steady at 4.7 million. The average number of weeks a worker is unemployed is 35.3 weeks.
  • The average workweek for private nonfarm employees held steady at 34.4 hours.
  • The average hourly private nonfarm payroll increased by 4 cents to $23.78. Year over year hourly earnings have risen just 2.1 percent. Consumer Price Index is up 1.7 percent.