WASHINGTON — The last time unemployment climbed past 10 percent, “The A-Team” was one of the top 10 TV shows and Michael Jackson was about to release “Thriller.”
Much has changed since the jobless rate hit 10.1 percent in September 1982, including the composition of the nation’s labor force. American workers are now older, more educated and more Latino. The elderly are more likely to be working. Fewer teenagers are in the work force.
After the last time the unemployment rate entered double digits, it stayed there for several months, through June 1983. By the time the rate got above the 10 percent mark again — hitting 10.2 percent last month — the proportion of workers employed in health care and education had nearly doubled since 1982, and manufacturing employment had shrunk by more than half.
Lawyers make up a bigger slice of the work force now. So do people who work in restaurants, hotels and other parts of the leisure and hospitality industry.
Here, by the numbers, are some other ways the work force has changed since September 1982.
More people, more workers
110.7 million: Size of the work force in September 1982
154 million: Size of the work force in October 2009
The ‘he-cession’
10.7 percent: Adult male unemployment rate in October 2009
8.1 percent: Adult female unemployment rate in October 2009
27.6 percent: Teenage unemployment rate in October 2009
9.5 percent: Adult male unemployment rate in September 1982
8.4 percent: Adult female unemployment rate in September 1982
23.6 percent: Teenage unemployment rate in September 1982.
Analysis: The greater disparity between men and women in this recession reflects the heavy impact of layoffs in male-dominated fields, such as construction and manufacturing. Industries with higher female employment, namely education and health care, have actually added jobs during the recession.
Education matters ...
15.5 percent: Unemployment rate in October 2009 for those without a high school diploma
11.2 percent: Rate for high school graduates
4.7 percent: Rate for college graduates
3 percent: Unemployment rate in March 1982 for college graduates (at the time, figure was reported once a year)
... But is no guarantee
6.8 percent: Proportion of unemployed with college degree in September 1982
14.7 percent: Proportion in October 2009
Analysis: College graduates still have much lower jobless rates than those with less education, but they are more likely to be unemployed than in 1982. Longer joblessness
16.6 weeks: Average length of unemployment in September 1982
26.9 weeks: Average length in October 2009, a record
Analysis: More than a third of the jobless in October 2009 were unemployed for 6 months or more, compared with less than 18 percent in September 1982.
One reason is that layoffs were more likely to be temporary back then, as manufacturers furloughed workers until demand returned for the companies’ products.
But last month only 10.9 percent of the unemployed were on temporary layoff, compared with 22.2 percent in 1982.
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