The number of discouraged workers (i.e., persons who are not currently looking for work because they believe that there are no jobs available for them) increased sharply during the current recession, rising to 717,000 in the first quarter of 2009, a 70-percent increase from the first quarter of 2008. Relative to their share of the labor force, young people, blacks, and, to a lesser extent, Hispanics and men were over¬represented among discouraged workers.
Source:
U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2009. Ranks of Discouraged Workers and Others Marginally Attached to the Labor Force Rise During Recession. See http://www.bls.gov/opub/ils/pdf/opbils74.pdf.
Image Title:
Unemployed and marginally attached workers in first quarter of 2009 (as share of the civilian population)