CNN 2010-01-12

Let's get back to those unemployment numbers for just a moment. Employers cut more jobs than many people expected last month, but the unemployment rate does remain the same.

Christine Romans is joining us now from New York for more details.

The unemployment rate, 10 percent, though, Christine.

It is 10 percent. You're right, Heidi. And that is a number that's uncomfortable for many people, for both you and I, people on Main Street, and people who are in power, who are looking at a 10 percent unemployment rate and saying that's just not sustainable. Eighty-five thousand jobs lost, 10 percent unemployment rate still for the year of 2009. 4.2 million jobs were lost in this economy. And when you look at the recession 1, overall, 7.2 million jobs were lost.

Those are pretty dismal 2 numbers. But take a look at this chart. Job losses really slowed down in 2009. The beginning of the year was horrific, all the way through the summer. And then employers were slashing 3 fewer jobs. In fact, a little bit of a surprise, if you will, in these numbers. November, the economy CREATed 4,000 jobs. That was a bit of surprise. So we did finally reverse 4 almost two years of job losses in November. Four thousand jobs is not a lot in the context 5 of an economy with so many workers, and six million people, frankly 6, have, you know, are discouraged or dropped out of the workforce 7, or even millions more are working part time because they cannot get a full- time job.

So you could still see the unemployment rate continue to rise this year, Heidi, in the beginning part of the year as this flood of people who are out of the labor 8 market start tiptoeing back in, because they want to, you know, they want to try their luck again here in the beginning of the year.

We did create some jobs in temporary and professional services.

Yeah.

We know that some companies like to test the waters and hire temporary workers first. What we haven't seen, though, is those temporary work, jobs translating into full time jobs. We're still waiting for that to happen.

Yes. Yes. Got it. We've done a couple of stories on that here. And that people who came up with the idea to run companies that offer...

Right.

 ... temporary agencies.

Right.

Those are the smart guys right now.

Everybody seems to be feeling the pain of unemployment pretty equally across the board?

No, you know, it's a pretty dynamic labor market. There are a lot of differences when you look within these numbers. Adult men have an unemployment rate that is frankly higher than the general public. Indeed, if we're going to look at these numbers you can see that adult men in November, they had a 10.5 percent unemployment rate. They're still higher than the average.

Blacks have an unemployment rate that rose slightly. It had been at 15.6 percent in November. It rose to 16 percent. The unemployment rate for Hispanics also rose, you know, knocking on the door, 13 percent. And teens, record unemployment for teens, Heidi, now, 27 percent unemployment for teens.

So some of these groups have been feeling the recession far longer and far deeper than others.

Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. All right, well, we will continue to talk about these numbers...

Sure.

... throughout the morning. Christine, thank you.

You're welcome.

What happens when the homeless people won't come inside during brutal 9 cold spells like this? In St. Louis, one minister goes out to check on them himself.

Martin Savidge reports now on a man who's "Making His Mark."