Poll Watch: Unemployment Remains at 2010 Levels – Underemployment Remains High
Unemployment, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment, is at 8.9% in mid-June — down from 9.2% at the end of May and 9.1% in mid-June a year ago.
The percentage of part-time workers who want full-time work is 9.7%.
And, underemployment is down slightly but still as high as in mid-June 2010. Underemployment is a measure that combines the percentage of unemployed with the percentage working part-time but want full-time work.
Although there is a small improvement in American unemployment, the unemployment rate remains high – around 2010 levels. Underemployment has not improved since last year. And, since last year’s rates were improving like 2011, this may be due to seasonal employment, which means the job market is flat.
Not a good report for the Obama Administration and the President’s re-election campaign.
Gallup’s U.S. unemployment and underemployment data indicate a modest improvement in job market conditions in mid-June compared with the end of May. This may partly result from a seasonal increase in employer hiring; Gallup’s data do not adjust for such changes. Still, underemployment remains at 2010 levels.
However, unemployment and underemployment tend to lag economic activity. Gallup’s employment data from the second quarter of the year are consistent with the modest 1.8% U.S. GDP growth in the first quarter of 2011. But Gallup’s measures did not show the improvement suggested by the government’s unemployment numbers earlier this year or the deterioration during April and May. Instead, they have shown the 2011 unemployment situation to be similar to that of 2010.