The official unemployment number (U-3) of 10.2 percent in July is down 0.9 of a percentage point from June.
But the number of long-term unemployed (U-1) is growing as Covid-19 extends into another month, from 2.1 percent in June to 5.0 percent in July. These are likely to be people with fewer skills or opportunities, who are less able to adapt to a new economic situation. This damage to the labor market is hard to repair.
The broadest published measure of unemployment (U-6) in July is still 16.5 percent, nearly double what it was in March.
Table A-15. Alternative measures of labor utilization | ||||||
HOUSEHOLD DATA (https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t15.htm) | ||||||
Measure | Seasonally adjusted, percent | |||||
July 2019 | Mar. 2020 | Apr. 2020 | May 2020 | June 2020 | July 2020 | |
U-1 Persons unemployed 15 weeks or longer, as a percent of the civilian labor force | 1.3 | 1.2 | 1.1 | 1.4 | 2.1 | 5.0 |
U-2 Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs, as a percent of the civilian labor force | 1.7 | 2.4 | 13.2 | 11.6 | 8.9 | 8.1 |
U-3 Total unemployed, as a percent of the civilian labor force (official unemployment rate) | 3.7 | 4.4 | 14.7 | 13.3 | 11.1 | 10.2 |
U-4 Total unemployed plus discouraged workers, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus discouraged workers | 3.9 | 4.7 | 15.1 | 13.6 | 11.5 | 10.6 |
U-5 Total unemployed, plus discouraged workers, plus all other persons marginally attached to the labor force, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force | 4.5 | 5.2 | 16.0 | 14.6 | 12.5 | 11.3 |
U-6 Total unemployed, plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force | 6.9 | 8.7 | 22.8 | 21.2 | 18.0 | 16.5 |
