As the Joint Economic Committee gathered for a full committee hearing on “The Employment Situation: May 2008” Senator Charles E. Schumer (D- N.Y.), the Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, and Phillip L. Rones, the Deputy Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, discussed the increasing unemployment rates effect on the American economy. They explained how the economy has experienced the biggest single-month surge in unemployment since 1986, with Schumer going as far as describing it as “a tsunami hitting our economy.”
Rones focused on the depth of the issue by saying that the unemployment rate has increased from 5.0 to 5.5 percent within the last month. For the year thus far, job losses have totaled 324,000 producing an overall estimated 8.5 million Americans who are currently unemployed.
Rones also explained that unemployment has hit most major demographic groups. Unemployment rates increased for adult men, adult women, teens, whites, and blacks, while employment also declined in the areas of construction, manufacturing, retail trade, and temporary help services.
Rones and Schumer also discussed the program cuts that have been experienced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) this past year, along with those that are planned to be cut in 2009. The BLS is experiencing a deficit of $30 million for 2008 and is preparing for another $50 million worth of programs to be cut next year. Schumer agreed with Rones saying that these deficits need to be fixed in order to guarantee that the Committee is able to receive the accurate information they require, helping them make the best possible decisions regarding the American economy.
Tsunami hitting the American economy
Rones focused on the depth of the issue by saying that the unemployment rate has increased from 5.0 to 5.5 percent within the last month. For the year thus far, job losses have totaled 324,000 producing an overall estimated 8.5 million Americans who are currently unemployed.
Rones also explained that unemployment has hit most major demographic groups. Unemployment rates increased for adult men, adult women, teens, whites, and blacks, while employment also declined in the areas of construction, manufacturing, retail trade, and temporary help services.
Rones and Schumer also discussed the program cuts that have been experienced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) this past year, along with those that are planned to be cut in 2009. The BLS is experiencing a deficit of $30 million for 2008 and is preparing for another $50 million worth of programs to be cut next year. Schumer agreed with Rones saying that these deficits need to be fixed in order to guarantee that the Committee is able to receive the accurate information they require, helping them make the best possible decisions regarding the American economy.