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asherisNovember and December 2002 unemployment climbed to 6 percent -- the highest since 1994. All told, 1.7 million jobs have been lost since January 2001. Currently, 8.6 million Americans are actively looking for work but unable to find it --more than the combined total population of 10 states. (emphasis mine)
-- From a Jan. 21 special report released by the House Appropriations Committee minority staff.
A few excerpts from:
BUSH'S MIDTERM & THE REAL STATE OF THE UNION: Misplaced Priorities, Missed Opportunities, and the Myth of Leadership
Special Report by DNC Research
FIRST: Bush Is First President to Lose Jobs on a Monthly Basis in the Last 60 Years.
Bush is the first president since Harry Truman took office to lose jobs on an average monthly basis. Through Bush's first two years in office, the economy has shed an average of 73,000 jobs per month. No other president has had averaged monthly job losses in office since the Labor Department began keeping records in 1939.[Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1/10/03]
FIRST: Under Bush, Income Fell for First Time in 10 Years.
In 2001, the real median household income fell -- from $43,162 to $42,228 -- for the first time since 1991. Median incomes decreased for all households except for those households at the top (those earning more than $150,000). [U.S. Census Bureau, "Money Income in the United States: 2001" 9/02]
Number of Middle Class Professionals Who Are Unemployed Increased Almost 65 Percent
Since Bush Took Office.
The number of middle class professional workers who are unemployed has increased by 64 percent since Bush took office. As of December 2002, middle class professionals accounted for 41 percent of the unemployed in the country. [Time, 10/14/02; Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1/10/03]
Current Job Market Worse for Middle Class Professionals Worse Than Last Recession.
The job market for middle class professionals is worse than it was during the recession of 1990-92. Many of these workers have been unemployed for a year or longer. [Chicago Tribune, 12/1/02]
Challenge: Mass layoffs continue at high levels.
Mass Layoffs Cost 240,000 Americans Their Jobs in November 2002.
According to BLS numbers, there were 2,150 mass layoff events in November 2002 that resulted in more than 240,000 American workers losing their jobs. Since Bush took office, there have been nearly 37,000 mass layoff events that have resulted in the loss of nearly 4.2 million jobs. Mass layoffs involve at least 50 workers being laid off at a single establishment. [Washington Post, 1/2/03; Bureau of Labor Statistics, stats.bls.gov, 12/24/02]
Bush's Failed Response: BLS will no longer publish mass layoff statistics
Labor Department Stopped Publishing Mass Layoff Statistics at the End of 2002.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' Mass Layoffs report was discontinued after the November 2002 edition was published on 12/24/02. The Labor Department characterized the decision to discontinue the statistical series as a cost-cutting measure. "We have finite resources," deputy assistant secretary for the Labor Department's Employment and Training Administration Mason M. Bishop said about discontinuing the series. The announcement about the end of the series was made as a note in the November 2002 edition. [Washington Post, 1/2/03]
-- From a Jan. 21 special report released by the House Appropriations Committee minority staff.
A few excerpts from:
BUSH'S MIDTERM & THE REAL STATE OF THE UNION: Misplaced Priorities, Missed Opportunities, and the Myth of Leadership
Special Report by DNC Research
| 2,365,000 | Number of jobs lost in the private sector since Bush took office [Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1/10/03] |
| 135,000 | Average number of jobs created monthly under every President since Truman [House Appropriations Committee Minority Staff, 1/03] |
| -73,000 | Average number of jobs created monthly under Bush [House Appropriations Committee Minority Staff, 1/03] |
| 2,703,000 | Number of people who have become unemployed since Bush took office [Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1/10/03] |
| 43% | Percent increase in the unemployment rate since Bush took office[Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1/10/03] |
| 4.2% | Unemployment rate when Bush took office in January 2001[Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1/10/03] |
| 6% | Unemployment rate in December 2002 [Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1/10/03] |
| 8,590,000 | Total number of unemployed Americans [Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1/10/03] |
| 648,000 | Number of Americans experiencing long-term unemployment (27 weeks or more) when Bush took office in January 2001 [Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1/10/03] |
| 1,856,000 | Number of Americans suffering long-term unemployment in December 2002 [Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1/10/03] |
| 186% | Percent increase in long-term unemployment under Bush [Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1/10/03] |
FIRST: Bush Is First President to Lose Jobs on a Monthly Basis in the Last 60 Years.
Bush is the first president since Harry Truman took office to lose jobs on an average monthly basis. Through Bush's first two years in office, the economy has shed an average of 73,000 jobs per month. No other president has had averaged monthly job losses in office since the Labor Department began keeping records in 1939.
FIRST: Under Bush, Income Fell for First Time in 10 Years.
In 2001, the real median household income fell -- from $43,162 to $42,228 -- for the first time since 1991. Median incomes decreased for all households except for those households at the top (those earning more than $150,000). [U.S. Census Bureau, "Money Income in the United States: 2001" 9/02]
Number of Middle Class Professionals Who Are Unemployed Increased Almost 65 Percent
Since Bush Took Office.
The number of middle class professional workers who are unemployed has increased by 64 percent since Bush took office. As of December 2002, middle class professionals accounted for 41 percent of the unemployed in the country. [Time, 10/14/02; Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1/10/03]
Current Job Market Worse for Middle Class Professionals Worse Than Last Recession.
The job market for middle class professionals is worse than it was during the recession of 1990-92. Many of these workers have been unemployed for a year or longer. [Chicago Tribune, 12/1/02]
Challenge: Mass layoffs continue at high levels.
Mass Layoffs Cost 240,000 Americans Their Jobs in November 2002.
According to BLS numbers, there were 2,150 mass layoff events in November 2002 that resulted in more than 240,000 American workers losing their jobs. Since Bush took office, there have been nearly 37,000 mass layoff events that have resulted in the loss of nearly 4.2 million jobs. Mass layoffs involve at least 50 workers being laid off at a single establishment. [Washington Post, 1/2/03; Bureau of Labor Statistics, stats.bls.gov, 12/24/02]
Bush's Failed Response: BLS will no longer publish mass layoff statistics
Labor Department Stopped Publishing Mass Layoff Statistics at the End of 2002.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics' Mass Layoffs report was discontinued after the November 2002 edition was published on 12/24/02. The Labor Department characterized the decision to discontinue the statistical series as a cost-cutting measure. "We have finite resources," deputy assistant secretary for the Labor Department's Employment and Training Administration Mason M. Bishop said about discontinuing the series. The announcement about the end of the series was made as a note in the November 2002 edition. [Washington Post, 1/2/03]
