The recent slight up tick in job creation has prompted some to declare that the great recession is over. But the numbers tell a more ominous story. It's true - the Labor Department's employment report for May showed a gain of 431,000 jobs and an overall unemployment rate of 9.7 percent - down slightly from 9.9 percent in April.
But before breaking out the champagne, we should consider that 411,000 of the newly employed are temporary Census workers and that 15 million Americans are still looking for work. Consider also, that African-American and Latino joblessness outpaces the national average, at 15.5 percent and 12.4 percent respectively.
As summer approaches, unemployment for Black teens has climbed to 38 percent. Perhaps the most disturbing statistic in the latest jobs report is that 46 percent of all unemployed workers have been out of a job for six months or more - a clear sign that the labor market is far from being in recovery.
The burgeoning ranks of the long-term unemployed and weak growth in private sector jobs reinforce the need for legislation to fund direct job creation and training for the chronically unemployed. This will reap huge dividends for struggling families, communities and our nation. A new report from the National Urban League Policy Institute describes how investing in job creation is also the best strategy for reducing the deficit. We estimate that if the economy could replace the 8 million jobs lost since the recession began in December of 2007, the resulting increase in tax revenues would reduce the deficit by $235 million. Another $75 billion dollars in deficit reduction would be achieved from reduced spending on unemployment benefits. All told, a robust jobs surge can reduce the budget deficit by $310 million.
Rising teen unemployment is also cause for alarm. We urge the Senate to join the House in swiftly passing H.R. 4213, the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act. That bill includes $1 billion for a summer youth program and $2.5 billion in emergency assistance for needy families.
As part of our centennial year, the National Urban League challenges the nation ensure that every American has access to jobs with a living wage and good benefits by 2025. Log on to our State of Urban Jobs site at iamempowered.com to learn more about our 6-point plan for job creation, which includes:
1. Funding direct job creation by offering financial support to cities, counties, states, universities, community colleges and non-profit community-based organizations to hire the staff needed to provide critical services in communities across the nation. Eligibility for support would be based on local unemployment rates with a focus on the long-term unemployed.
2. Expanding and expediting the Small Business Administration's Community Express Loan Program through a reduction interest rate to 1 percent targeted, for those businesses in areas where unemployment rate exceeds the state average. Expansion of the program from $1 billion to $10 billion should make credit available to an additional 50,000 small businesses nationwide.
3. Creating Green Empowerment Zones in areas where at least 50 percent of the population has an unemployment rate higher than the state average. Solar panels and wind turbines manufacturers that open plants in high unemployment areas would be eligible for a zero federal income tax rate and a zero capital gains tax if they hire and retain local workers for a minimum of three years.
4. Expanding hiring of housing counselors nationwide by investing $500 million to fund housing counseling agencies to help delinquent borrowers work with their loan servicers to secure affordable mortgages.
5. Expanding youth summer jobs for 2010 by investing $5-7 billion to employ 5 million teens. A critical factor in eliminating racial and socio-economic disparities in unemployment is providing a solid foundation on which African-American youth can build future labor market expectations and experiences.
6. Creating 100 urban jobs academies to implement an expansion of the Urban Youth Empowerment Program to employ and train the chronically unemployed. UYEP, a four-year demonstration project created in partnership with the U.S. Department of Labor in 2004, is a youth career preparation initiative designed for at-risk, out-of-school, and adjudicated youth and young adults between the ages of 18 and 24.
Posted By: Siebra Muhammad
Tuesday, June 22nd 2010 at 12:09PM
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