Labor & Employment Law

Bankruptcies Up. No Work. Need Action Now to Create Jobs

By James Parks

How badly do we need our elected leaders to come off their extended vacations and get to work stimulating the economy and creating real jobs? Take a look at two items in the news.

First, bankruptcy filings nationwide reached their highest level in five years between April and June, up 11 percent from the same period in 2009. For the fiscal year that ended June 30, consumer bankruptcies jumped 21 percent, to 1.51 million, from the previous year.

Next, the Economic Policy Institute?s (EPI) analysis of the state-level jobs and unemployment report released today shows unemployment rates are higher in every state today than they were before the recession began. There are still 11 states with double digit unemployment rates. Only two states (Alaska and North Dakota) and the District of Columbia have more jobs today than when the recession began.

Nevada and Michigan have the highest unemployment rates at 14.3 percent and 13.1 percent, respectively, while North Dakota and South Dakota have the lowest rates at 3.6 percent and 4.4 percent.

This wide variation in joblessness clearly demonstrates the need for policies that target states that have been hit hardest. With five unemployed workers for every one job opening, Congress needs to help the states that need it the most. One example  EPI cites is Sen. Debbie Stabenow’s (D-Mich.) bill to provide 20 weeks of additional unemployment insurance for states with 7.5 percent or higher unemployment.

Add to that new Commerce Dept. data that finds U.S. corporations created more jobs overseas than in this country, and it’s clear–as if it wasn’t before now–that we need fast action to create new jobs.

As AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka has said:

How are we going to rebuild America? With jobs! Who?s going to rebuild America? Working people with jobs?

 Or as EPI says in its report:

Private businesses and 14.6 million unemployed workers are waiting to see if the government?federal, state, or local?is willing to act and get this country back on the road to recovery.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on August 20, 2010 (boomark / email).