Unemployment

On Topic

Unemployment involves hardship for those who are seeking but cannot find work and can be signal of a national economic recession. While unemployment numbers have improved as the economy slowly recovers from the recession, many are still out of work. Brookings experts examine what unemployment numbers mean for the state of the economy, and discuss the role the government should play in helping the unemployed get back to work.

Job seekers stand in line to meet with prospective employers at a career fair in New York City (REUTERS/Mike Segar).

Blog Post

Should the United States Have 2.2 Million More Jobs?

May 3, 2013, Michael Greenstone and Adam Looney, The Hamilton Project

Following the last five recessions in U.S. history, the economy added government jobs—an average of 1.7 million, in fact—that helped spur our economic recovery. In contrast, during our recovery from the Great Recession, the economy has shed more than 500,000 government jobs. In this month's Hamilton Project employment analysis, Michael Greenstone and Adam Looney explore the trajectory of public sector employment since the Great Recession. The findings show that if the policy response to this recession had been similar to the response after other recent recessions, the economy would have about 2.2 million more jobs today.

Recent Activity

Refine by: U.S. Economic Performance | Job Creation | Labor Policy | U.S. Poverty

In the News

We've been in a very, very slow recovery now since 2009 and what we've been seeing is a very, very slow decline in the unemployment rate... increases in employment that barely keep up with the growth of the population.
May 3, 2013, William T. Dickens, Yahoo! News
In the News

The number of unemployed continues to shrink, and job gains entirely in the private sector continue to be fast enough so that we can be whittling down the problem of both long-term unemployment and regular unemployment.
March 9, 2013, Gary Burtless, National Public Radio
Interview | CTV News

Mass Protests in Greece Against Merkel

October 9, 2012, Daniel V. Speckhard
In the News

On many levels we are continuing to slide in the wrong direction [in terms of recovery] but just at a much slower pace. Now inter-state migration is picking up, it's still below 2007 levels, on a number of measures we are not moving down as quickly as we were. It seems the worst is over.
September 20, 2012, William H. Frey, The Guardian
In the News

Earnings for middle and lower-wage workers have fallen or stagnated over time. So you can have a situation where jobs are being created ... but the types of jobs matter. If those are jobs that pay low wages, even if you're working full-time, that might not be enough to lift you above the poverty line.
September 20, 2012, Elizabeth Kneebone, 24/7 Wall St
In the News

Amid a patchy and still anemic recovery nationwide, the Mountain West’s metropolitan areas performed somewhat better than the rest of the country in the first quarter of 2012. While there is definite variation, the region continued its steady recovery in the early months of the year.
June 27, 2012, Mark Muro, Phoenix Business Journal
In the News

I don't think people have fully appreciated how deep the hole is. The Great Recession is going to be living in our collective homes for many more years to come.
April 8, 2012, Michael Greenstone, Reuters
Podcast

@ Brookings Podcast: Reading the Monthly Jobs Report

March 23, 2012, Gary Burtless
Expert Q & A

Keystone XL Pipeline Would Benefit Economy

January 20, 2012, Ted Gayer
Podcast

@ Brookings Podcast: Job Training for American Workers Must Change

December 16, 2011, Michael Greenstone