Unemployment for Those Who Earn $150,000 or More is Only 3%, While Unemployment for the Poor is 31%

The CEO of Boeing succinctly summarized a recent study by Northwestern University's Center for Labor Market Studies regarding unemployment rates for different income brackets:


The Center analyzed the labor conditions faced by income-grouped U.S. households during the fourth quarter of 2009.

In the face of one of the worst economic environments in memory, those in the highest income groups had nearly full employment levels, with just a 3.2 percent unemployment rate for households with over $150,000 in income and a 4 percent rate in the next-highest income group of $100,000-plus.

The two lowest-income groups -- under $12,500 and under $20,000 annually -- faced unemployment rates of 30.8 percent and 19.1 percent, respectively.

The study - published in February - notes that the poor are suffering Depression levels of unemployment:

Workers in the lowest income decile faced a Great Depression type unemployment rate of nearly 31% while those in the second lowest income decile had an unemployment rate slightly below 20% (Table 3 and Chart 2). Unemployment rates fell steadily and steeply across the ten income deciles. Workers in the top two deciles of the income distribution faced unemployment rates of only 4.0 and 3.2 percent respectively, the equivalent of full employment. The relative size of the gap in unemployment rates between workers in the bottom and top income deciles was close to ten to one. Clearly, these two groups of workers occupy radically different types of labor markets in the U.S.

Arianna Huffington, commenting on the study, pointed out that it if were the high-earners suffering 31 percent unemployment, the media would be discussing unemployment non-stop. But because it is the poor who are suffering Depression-level unemployment, they largely ignore it.

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god i hate the MSM. especially CNN. liars, thieves, manipulators, agenda driven money loving greedy mind f**kers.... this is what they mean by a "jobless recovery" the rich recover, the poor remain jobless...

If you are accustomed to making over $150,000 a year, what are the chances you even file for unemployment in the first place?

reply to post by Carseller4


Also, if you can command such a salary, you obviously have skills in demand and are therefore much less likely to be unemployed. He in the UK, it is generally the very young and unskilled people who are out of work, whereas those with skills and experience either get jobs or remain in employment.

It is rather snobbish to bleat about the "poor" not having jobs while the "rich" (I'd hardly call $150k a year as that rich, relatively) do. Most of those on these salaries have probably worked hard, got qualifications and are valuable people.

Bottom line is, if you're one of these "poor" why not try to better yourself and become one of the "rich", nothing is stopping you.

I'm not so sure my comment belongs here. I adopted my daughter when she was seven from a family that has a background of alcoholism, unemployment and slack morals. She has one aunt who has had five children by five different men. Each of her children has been taken away from her in the hospital. They are some of the dumbest and morst worthless people I personally know. We have raised our daughter in a high income home with every kind of help available to her. I have devoted myself to taking care of her and she is melting down on me. We have put all the money she will need for college in an account for her and guess what? She could care less. She was talking to a kid about becoming a prostitute. She says she was joking, but given the other problems we are having with her, I'm not so sure. She has no direction in life. She said she does not deserve to have a good man. If she thinks something is good, she runs from it and looks for the worst she can get. Instead of aiming for the bullzeye, she is happy to just get a dart on the board.

My point is, some people are destined to be in the lower class because they lack something inside to pull themselves up. I know we are living in a nasty economic downturn, but people need to try and rise above their circumstance through good character and hard work. I feel very bad for the people who still have it rough and are doing all the right things. Students need to care more about their future than their face book, cell phones and ipods. Our culture has just about ruined the next generation.

This statistic is not surprising to me at all.

I didn’t notice Arianna mentioning that the reason for this is that the federal government seems to be taking over .

Private Sector Jobs Decline, Government Jobs Increase

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported Friday that America’s unemployment rate is the highest since 1983, but while most of the job losses have been in the private sector, public sector jobs – including jobs in government, education and health services – continued to increase.

For feds, more get 6-figure salaries; Average pay $30,000 over private sector

Federal employees making salaries of $100,000 or more jumped from 14% to 19% of civil servants during the recession's first 18 months and that's before overtime pay and bonuses are counted.

Federal workers are enjoying an extraordinary boom time (in pay and hiring) during a recession that has cost 7.3 million jobs in the private sector.

Those two statistics, taken together, explain this disparity.

Also, you have to know that the people making the decisions on who to lay off are NOT the ones making less than $100K… so who do you think ends up being laid off?

Originally posted by Carseller4
If you are accustomed to making over $150,000 a year, what are the chances you even file for unemployment in the first place?

I believe about 3%. I know several people that were laid off and they did not file for unemployment and probably wouldn't until things got bad. The vast majority of these people are not the type to be laid off. They are more likely to be fired for reasons which would exclude them from filing.

reply to post by stumason


ha!!! that is such a nieve statement.
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The truth is that over the past couple of decades, the "rules of the game" have been tilted even more in favor of the rich. Centralization and globalization have been two keys trend which have contributed to this.

______beforeitsnews/news/24685/Life_is_Great_8230;_But_Only_If_You_Are_Already_Mega-Wealthy.html

The report shows that:

•Income inequality is worse than it has been since at least 1917
•"The top 1 percent incomes captured half of the overall economic growth over the period 1993-2007"
•"In the economic expansion of 2002-2007, the top 1 percent captured two thirds of income growth."
As others have pointed out, the average wage of Americans, adjusting for inflation, is lower than it was in the 1970s. The minimum wage, adjusting for inflation, is lower than it was in the 1950s

______beforeitsnews/story/2307/Top_1_Percent_Control_42_Percent_of_Financial_Wealth_in_the_U.S._-_How_Average_Americans_are_Lured_into_Debt_Servi tude_by_Promises_of_Mega_Wealth..html

If we break the data down further we will find that 93 percent of all financial wealth is controlled by the top 10 percent of the country. That is why these people are cheering their one cent share increase while layoffs keep on improving the bottom line. But what bottom line are we talking about here? The Wall Street crowd would like you to believe that all is now good that the stock market has rallied 60+ percent. Of course they are happy because they control most of this wealth

this is a manipulated capitalist system, there HAS to be poor people, so unless your already rich, you'll never be rich... slaves cant become nobles.

Originally posted by hardamber
I'm not so sure my comment belongs here. I adopted my daughter when she was seven from a family that has a background of alcoholism, unemployment and slack morals. She has one aunt who has had five children by five different men. Each of her children has been taken away from her in the hospital. They are some of the dumbest and morst worthless people I personally know. We have raised our daughter in a high income home with every kind of help available to her. I have devoted myself to taking care of her and she is melting down on me. We have put all the money she will need for college in an account for her and guess what? She could care less. She was talking to a kid about becoming a prostitute. She says she was joking, but given the other problems we are having with her, I'm not so sure. She has no direction in life. She said she does not deserve to have a good man. If she thinks something is good, she runs from it and looks for the worst she can get. Instead of aiming for the bullzeye, she is happy to just get a dart on the board.

My point is, some people are destined to be in the lower class because they lack something inside to pull themselves up. I know we are living in a nasty economic downturn, but people need to try and rise above their circumstance through good character and hard work. I feel very bad for the people who still have it rough and are doing all the right things. Students need to care more about their future than their face book, cell phones and ipods. Our culture has just about ruined the next generation.

Maybe we should blame this on the parents? Or in this case the adopted parents? No offense, but I like that idea better than saying "some people are just destined to be low class," especially when you're supposed to be the one raising her.

reply to post by TheCoffinman


Good read mate.. sad.. but good.. perhaps it explains why I'm having such a hard time finding a job with only 9% unemployment -- it's damn well near 20 something.

I've never seen unemployment figures broken down into income brackets.. it is most illuminating, as I would have expected the 100+k jobs to have been hit significantly. Turns out thats not the case by a long shot... what is this country becoming..

I bet this was not what the voters had in mind when they heard "wealth redistribution".

So the six figure income earns can sit in their McMansions and pretend that they are isolated from the problems of the jobless recovery as their investments grow and the stock market struggles to stay above 10,000.

But lurking behind the scenes is the cold hard reality of the truth. The lower wage earners are the ones that buy the bulk of the products. They are what keeps the economy flowing. While it will come to no surprise to those that watch such ebbs and flows, a good number of people will shocked and decimated to find their positions are no longer needed.

It is hard to keep selling that widget when there is 30% decrease in demand from the so called peons unable to purchase it. And that is when this officially will be named a depression as it should have been all along to get through it faster.

Originally posted by ararisq

I believe about 3%. I know several people that were laid off and they did not file for unemployment and probably wouldn't until things got bad. The vast majority of these people are not the type to be laid off. They are more likely to be fired for reasons which would exclude them from filing.

You can only file for unemployment in a certain time frame, not just when things get bad.

Also, it is illegal for employers to state why a person was terminated. So, anybody can file for it. An employer could fight having to pay, but it's pretty unlikely.

reply to post by hardamber


Everything is in the genes. Environment can't change much. If a child has bad genes it is most likely he will inherit the bad habits of his parents (including dumbness and such). That's why our ancestors never let whores bear a baby (the child will be of mixed genes and nobody knows what habits the fathers had. But probably not good cause they liked to run through whores).
Also I do believe the telegony effect is true. I have witnessed so many evidence it's not even funny.

reply to post by TheCoffinman


Coffinman - there is something very wrong with what you are saying.

Slaves can never be nobles? WTF man so you are just admitting you will never get anywhere because of the "invisible hand"?

Jesus man, get off your ass and take some classes at your local community college and learn a special skill or something. Don't let the media decide your outcome and then you become a slave to your own twisted reality.

Since when in America are people born in shackles? This is disgusting IMO.

reply to post by GreenBicMan


every man woman and child owe $41,000. debt slaves, debt shackles... ive already been to college im in debt because of college... guess what, im unemployed, i cant pay my debt, other than being a piece of meat in the army, ive never held a decent liveable wage job. i had a car once, the bank repossesed it and have since tacked on 10k to the 12k i owed on it, so now i owe 22k aint that nice... ive had one job offer in the last year... from burger king. its your reality that is twisted...

reply to post by Blanca Rose


technicaljobsearch.com...

It's a myth that it's generally illegal in the USA for employers to truthfully say that they fired employees. Many states have laws that protect employers from liability in defamation lawsuits, for disclosing truthful information about job performance and reasons for termination. Subsequently, chances are good that your former employer can "legally" say that you were fired from your job. Your former employer might even be permitted to honestly say why you were fired from your job. On the other hand, many employers take the safe route anyway, by refusing to answer questions about whether or not they fired the employees in question and why. However, background investigators know that employers might be concerned about liability, despite laws that protect them for speaking candidly about fired employees. So, background investigators have clever ways of asking questions that make employers feel more at ease. For example, instead of asking "Why did this person leave your company?", they might ask "If given the opportunity, would you rehire this person?" A simple "No!" limits liability, while indicating to the investigative minds that you were fired from your job or at minimum, burned a bridge when you quit.

maybe another factor should be added into this discussion. back in the 60's and early 70's, welfare was being run by those who had found themselves on the welfare rolls. they'd take them hire them, train them and let them do the work (for alot less money than they are paying those workers now by the way). and, it seems like so many other opportunities have taken the same course. what you used to be able to walk out of highschool, and then have an employers train you to do, well, now, they want your to spend a small fortune to get the trainiing, then they will talk to you about it.
well...because it's required to for you to pay so much for the training, the people filling the jobs are in more need to make higher salaries, since, well, they now have student loans to pay off.

reply to post by GreenBicMan


Indeed.

I am 27 and this is my story..

My family was never rich. My dad was in the Army for 25 years and even went bankrupt after the recession in the early 90's wiped out the value of a house he had bought. I went to school with trousers that were too short, shoes with soles falling off and the cheapest, "tesco value" food in my lunchbox.

When I leftt school at 16, I had my GCSE's and that was it. Not long after I took my exams, I left home and struck out on my own after an argument with my mum. I did plan to go to college, but I now had to fend for myself so had to go to work.

I started in McDonalds and then managed to get a job as a trainee chef. At 18, I got an apprenticeship at Nortel and started to learn a trade. About a year into that, the dot com bubble burst and I was laid off.

Again, I was left unemplyed with minimal skills, so I got a job in a call centre for a local cable firm. From there, I have worked hard, done courses and kept my eye out for better jobs.

In the period from 2001-2010 I have gone from a crappy call-centre job paying £10k/year ($15k), through a variety of positions at various telecoms operators to my current position as a Network Engineer paying close to £50k/annum ($76k). I am also in line for a new job which pays even more.

I am also doing a BEng through the Open University which will enable me to earn even more.

Had I sat on my arse and not worked too hard, just bimbling along then no doubt I would have found myself unemployed. I know for a fact that the old call centre I worked in has closed. Instead, I have pulled my socks up and have kept my job through "the biggest economic downturn since the 30's", to coin a phrase, and hardly felt the recession.

The reason? I work hard and make the effort, hence I get the rewards. Too many people go through life and expect stuff to be handed to them with minimal effort, or worse yet, make bugger all effort at all.

This belief that one cannot better yourself is total BS.

It's just laziness on the part of the person stating it, but they blame "the system" or "the man" for holding them back because they can't face up to their own inadequecies.

Granted, not everyone can be super-rich, but if you don't even try then don't expect anyone to feel sorry for you. At least I can say I have tried

reply to post by GreenBicMan


What would Bernanke say?

www.youtube.com...

reply to post by drew hempel


I don't care what Ben Bernanke would say. I do care though when people have lost sense of self control in life and think they are just slaves. What a hopeless bunch if you really believe this. And it is exactly what you deserve if you can't change it yourself with determination.

Why is this website filling up with a bunch of people who just continually feel sorry for themselves? You think everyone that has reached great things in this country has just been given everything they need from someone else to accomplish great feats?

What garbage really, I can't even believe I have to say this when most of us are lucky enough to live in the USA. Don't be a hopeless little bitch is all I am saying because if you are it is exactly what you deserve.

Originally posted by TheCoffinman
reply to post by GreenBicMan

 

every man woman and child owe $41,000. debt slaves, debt shackles... ive already been to college im in debt because of college... guess what, im unemployed, i cant pay my debt, other than being a piece of meat in the army, ive never held a decent liveable wage job. i had a car once, the bank repossesed it and have since tacked on 10k to the 12k i owed on it, so now i owe 22k aint that nice... ive had one job offer in the last year... from burger king. its your reality that is twisted...

Owe 41,000 to what? What the hell are you talking about?

Great, work at BK and then go from there. You think everyone starts at the top?

Do you think I had fund managers knocking on my door for my programs? I work for close to 15-20 hours a day literally. I have cut off all social contact from most except for this website and a few others in reality.

Now after all this work and getting over a disease I have finally struck a deal with a fund manager to run a couple of my automated programs. It's a small fund but it is a start I guess you could say.

It would have been much easier for me to just quit and say it is too hard, too many things going against me.. etc.. I started all this with just a 1400mhz computer running programs that take an eternity with the hardware I have. But I do have something you cannot buy and that is relentless determination.

If you don't have that you might as well say the stuff you are saying. You are better than this coffinman, you know you are. Saying this sort of stuff has psyched you out mentally and now you are reaping the sad reality of a poor mind.

Get control of your life and better yourself. No one but yourself can help you. No one is going to go out of their way to help you. YOU are the only one that can help yourself.

You know this isn't bull# it's really one of the very few truths left in this world. Quit bitching and start accomplishing something. There are no shackles on your legs holding you back. The only thing that is holding you back is your piss poor attitude.

[edit on 25-4-2010 by GreenBicMan]