Once again U-6 jumped by a much larger amount than U-3 this month signifying that the unemployment situation is going to persist well into any future recovery and that despite what some of the pundits have been saying, we are not out of the woods yet.
Link to BLS report
Link to U-6
The data is quite disappointing, as the U-6 increase (.8%) doubled the increase in U-3 (.4%), which shows a further deterioration in the confidence people have in the job market and their ability to find meaningful full-time work. This persistence of U-6 outstripping U-3 is very important, as most of those being counted in U-6 are going to try to re-enter the labor force once the economy turns, which will further exacerbate the already tight job market and likely keep a cap on wages for some time going forward. Remember, unemployment will continue to rise well into a recovery due primarily to those counted in U-6 returning to the labor force and again being counted in U-3. Hopefully, we will at least start to see the actual job loss number get back below 600,000 on a monthly basis soon.
Also note: The revision for January (741,000 jobs lost) ranks that as the worst month in the last 59 years.
Since the beginning of the recession 5.1 million jobs have been lost.
Just for quick reference so you don't have to follow the links:
nonfarm payrolls declined by 663,000 jobs.
The U-3 unemployment rate hit 8.5%
The U-6 unemployment rate hit 15.6%