Unemployed Americans are completing for jobs with those who are already employed. According to the Huffington Post, the job market is even worse than the 9.1 percent unemployment rate suggests. The 14 million unemployed Americans are also competing with 8.8 million people who have part-time jobs but are in search of full-time work.

Those with part-time jobs are more likely to gain full-time positions before the unemployed. Economists suspect that when companies are able to add more work hours, they will tack on more hours to part-timers’ workdays before making new hires.  

The New York Times reported that August brought no increase in the number of jobs in the United States. Patrick J. O’Keefe, the director of economic research at J.H. Cohn, an accounting firm, said the economy has about the same number of jobs as it did in January 2000. “We expected a weak report, and what we got was even weaker,” said O’Keefe.  

The monthly report showed a 17,000-job gain among private employers but no growth over all. The Congressional Budget Office said it’s expected for the rate of unemployment to exceed 8 percent until 2014. Republicans pointed to recent job reports as evident that the stimulus tactics of Obama are not working.

In an email to reporters, the Republican National Committee took note of the worst jobs report in nearly a year, saying that there has been “two and a half years of Obamanomics and nothing to show for it.” Michele Bachmann commented on job climate during her visit in Iowa on Friday. 

“The American people don’t need speeches, they need jobs,”  Bachmann said. While campaigning in Florida, Mitt Romney called the job report “unacceptable.” The new job report had a negative effect on the stock market. The

Dow Jones industrial average fell 253.31 points, 2.2 percent, Friday, closing at 11,240.26. “As long as payrolls are weak, you will continue to hear cries of not just recession risk but cries that the United States is in a recession and we just don’t know it,” said Ellen Zentner, the senior United States economist for Nomura Securities.

Overall, unemployment is lower than it was a year ago, but those gains have been among whites, Hispanics and Asians. For blacks, unemployment has increased, to 16.7 percent from 16.2 percent.

Obama is expected to renew the payroll tax cut and extend unemployment benefits, both benefits that are about to expire. Obama is also scheduled to give a speech on improving unemployment rates on Thursday night.

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About the author

Mary Duke
My interests are publishing, literature, storytelling, current events and multimedia. I am concerned with issues of social justice and encouraging community engagement. I am pursuing a Master's in arts administration. I enjoy reading, writing and hiking.