The recent news released by the Labor Department showed the horrific state of the economy: In December, the national unemployment rate was 7.2 percent, meaning 11.1 million people were out of work.
Those numbers are bad, but they tell only part of the story. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that as of November, the hours, and wages, of 4.7 percent of the workforce — 7.3 million people — had been cut due to economic reasons.
Taken those groups together, at least 18.4 million Americans — about 12 percent of the workforce — are suffering from a significant loss, and those numbers are certainly low considering more recent reports of massive layoffs. Not included in those statistics are the underemployed, who have taken part-time work because they couldn’t find full-time jobs.
The total number of people suffering directly in this economy is staggering and, as many in Washington have noted, it will likely get worse before it gets better.
In Nevada, that is particularly bad news because the 9.1 percent unemployment rate is among the nation’s worst. About 130,000 Nevadans are out of work, and the economy here is taking a beating with the downturn in tourism.
No one is untouched by an economic crisis of this magnitude. It is imperative that political leaders find solutions to stimulate the economy. Republican critics of the economic stimulus bill working its way through Congress say there aren’t enough tax cuts and there is too much spending on things such as food stamps and Medicare.
The bottom line is this: There are millions of Americans who either don’t have jobs or don’t have enough work to make ends meet. The government shouldn’t ignore social services. The government should lend Americans a hand to help them weather the storm until the economy recovers.
Copyright 2009 Las Vegas Sun
