Unemployment

In 2005 nearly 7.6 million workers experienced unemployment in the United States, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics in Employment and Earnings. Of that total the largest group comprised those who had had lost their jobs or had completed temporary jobs (3.7 million, or 48.3%). Slightly less than one-third TABLE 3.4 Unemployed persons by occupation and sex, 2004–05 "25. Unemployed Persons by Occupation and Sex," in Employment and Earnings, U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, January 2006, http://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat25.pdf (accessed January 10, 2006)(2.4 million, or 31.4%) had left the labor force and were now returning. Only 666,000 (8.8%) were new entrants to the labor force. About one-quarter of all unemployed workers had permanently lost their jobs in 2005. Among the 3.4 million unemployed men in 2005, one million (31.5%) had lost their jobs permanently, while among the 3.2 million unemployed women the number was 831,000 (27.6%). (See Table 3.8.)

Duration by Reason of Unemployment

In 2005, 35.4% of workers aged sixteen and over who had lost their jobs or who had completed temporary jobs were unemployed less than five weeks, while 34.6% were unemployed fifteen weeks or more. More than one-half (55.2%) of those who were on temporary layoff were out of work for five weeks or less. Of those who had permanently lost their jobs in 2005, more than two out of five (44.2%) remained unemployed fifteen weeks or more. (See Table 3.9.)

About two-thirds of all new entrants into the job market found work within fourteen weeks, with more than one-third (34.5%) gaining employment in less than five weeks. Younger unemployed people and temporary workers tended to find jobs more quickly than older workers. Among sixteen- to nineteen-year-olds, nearly two-thirds (64.1%) of those who had lost their jobs or who had completed temporary jobs had found work within five weeks or less. (See Table 3.9.)