The Union of Unemployed (UCubed) welcomes the drop in unemployment numbers as reported by the U.S. Labor Department, but warns there’s still much more work to be done.
“The ‘official’ unemployment numbers underestimate the depth of this crisis,” said UCubed Executive Director Rick Sloan. “Real unemployment is not 7.8 percent but 16.8 percent. And the United States would need to create 20 million jobs – or approximately 345,000 jobs a month – jobs to return to full employment over the next 60 months.
“Full employment is four percent. At the current rate of job creation, we won’t return to full employment until October 2016 – if then.”
UCubed renews its call for Congress to act – immediately. “Congressional inaction is creating a structural unemployment crisis,” said Sloan. “And that crisis has an incredibly destabilizing impact that will ripple through jobless households, their neighborhoods and the broader community for years to come.”
“There is no clearer or more invidious danger to this country than massive, long-term joblessness,” continues Sloan. “Ignoring this crisis will not make it go away. It will only exacerbate the crisis and make an effective response even more expensive.”
