Americans are deeply confused about why the economy is so bad – and their President isn’t telling them. In fact, the White House apparently has decided to join with Republicans and blame it on the long-term budget deficit.

Before I turn to the President, though, let’s be clear: The lousy economy is due to insufficient demand. Consumers – who are 70 percent of the economy — can’t and won’t buy because they’re running out of cash. They can’t borrow against homes that are worth a third less than they were five years ago, and most consumers are bad credit risks anyway because they’re losing their jobs and their wages are dropping.  They also have to start saving for the kids’ college or for retirement, which will cut their spending even more.

Without enough consumers, businesses won’t hire enough people and pay them enough to reverse the vicious cycle. So we’re dead in the water. Even the stock market has caught on to the truth.

Which means government has to step in to boost the economy – as it has every time the economy has fallen into recession over the last eight downturns. Include the massive spending on World War II that lifted us out of the Great Depression, and it’s nine. The Fed can help, but it can’t do it alone. And it’s least helpful after a huge asset bubble has burst because the financial system won’t channel low interest rates where they’re most needed – to small businesses and average consumers.

This time we tried one stimulus that was way too small relative to the size of the falloff in demand that started in 2008 — especially given that states and locales cut their spending by almost as much as the federal government increased it.

So we need another – a bold jobs plan. (I’ve offered an outline of what it might look like in prior posts.)

Which gets me to the President. Even though the President’s two former top economic advisors (Larry Summers and Christy Roemer) have called for a major fiscal boost to the economy, the President has remained mum. Why?

I’m told White House political operatives are against a bold jobs plan. They believe the only jobs plan that could get through Congress would be so watered down as to have almost no impact by Election Day. They also worry the public wouldn’t understand how more government spending in the near term can be consistent with long-term deficit reduction. And they fear Republicans would use any such initiative to further bash Obama as a big spender.

So rather than fight for a bold jobs plan, the White House has apparently decided it’s politically wiser to continue fighting about the deficit. The idea is to keep the public focused on the deficit drama – to convince them their current economic woes have something to do with it, decry Washington’s paralysis over fixing it, and then claim victory over whatever outcome emerges from the process recently negotiated to fix it. They hope all this will distract the public’s attention from the President’s failure to do anything about continuing high unemployment and economic anemia.

When I first heard this I didn’t want to believe it. But then I listened to the President’s statement yesterday in the midst of yesterday’s 634-point drop in the Dow.

At a time when the nation’s eyes were on him, seeking an answer to what was happening, he chose not to talk about the need for a bold jobs plan but to talk instead about the budget deficit – as if it were responsible for the terrible economy, including Wall Street’s plunge. He spoke of Standard & Poor’s decision to downgrade the nation’s debt as proof that Washington’s political paralysis over deficit reduction “could do enormous damage to our economy and the world’s,” and said the nation could reduce its deficit and jump-start the economy if there was “political will in Washington.”

The President then called upon the nation’s political leadership to stop “drawing lines in the sand.” The lines were obviously Republicans’ insistence on cutting entitlements and enacting a balanced-budget amendment while refusing to raise taxes on the rich, and the Democrats’ insistence on tax increases on the rich while refusing to cut entitlements.

These partisan “lines in the sand” are irrelevant to the current crisis. They’re not even relevant to the budget standoff now that Congress and the President have agreed to a process that postpones the next round of debt-ceiling chicken until after the election.

But that process itself will offer enough distraction over coming months to let the White House avoid coming up with a bold jobs plan – even if the nation succumbs to a double dip.

The drama continues this week and next as congressional leaders decide on their “super committee” of 12 lawmakers (six from each party). It then runs for another three months as the super committee decides on $1.5 trillion of proposed cuts, culminating in a tumultuous December when Congress votes on the package. Then we’ll have more drama if, as seems likely, Congress votes it down and the budget triggers go into effect – cutting sharply into defense and Medicare. But this stage won’t require any new decisions from Congress or the White House because the cuts happen automatically.

After that, we’re deep into campaign season and very possibly a double dip recession. Republicans will blame “big government” and the President and Democrats will blame Republican intransigence over the budget.

During yesterday’s pep talk, Obama restated his small-bore calls for extending a payroll tax cut that expires at the end of the year, extending unemployment insurance benefits, and creating an ill-defined “infrastructure bank” to create construction jobs. But these policy miniatures were added as a postscript to the debt talk, as if he felt obligated to mention jobs.

There’s still time for political operatives in the White House – and the person they work for – to change their minds. If economic stresses increase, Americans may insist on government doing more. A CNN poll released Monday found 60% believe the nation remains in an economic downturn and conditions are worsening. Only 36% believed that in April.

But for now the President is being badly advised. The magnitude of the current jobs and growth crisis demands a boldness and urgency that’s utterly lacking. As the President continues to wallow in the quagmire of long-term debt reduction, Congress is on summer recess and the rest of Washington is asleep.

The President should present a bold plan, summon lawmakers back to Washington to pass it, and, if they don’t, vow to fight for it right up through Election Day.

Another compromise

Another stark reality is the fact that the jobs market has stalled and job creation has fallen to its lowest level of 2011. The June 2011 employment report contained plenty of bad news; only 18,000 jobs were created, the unemployment rate increased to 9.2%, and hourly wages and hours worked both fell slightly. The job creation revisions for April and May were both to the downside.

Long-term unemployment remained at historically elevated levels as those out of work for more than 52 weeks increased by 34,000 from a year earlier to 4,364,000, or 30.3% of all unemployed. A large part of that 4,364,000 includes 2,039,000 unemployed who have been out of work for 99 weeks or longer, an increase of 105,000 from the previous month. This is the first time since the 99 week statistic has been tracked by the BLS that it has exceeded the two million mark.

99er (exhausted all unemployment benefits) Brenda McFadden, was a corporate travel consultant for more than 20 years, but is finding that the job market can be unforgiving. Has she seen job market improvements? “Not at all. My state is still over 10% (unemployment). It frustrates me to see the U.S. throwing money we don’t have to outside entities, i.e. funding wars and uprisings etc. and yet there are no funds to continue support of the Long Term unemployed during this monumental economic downturn (supporting them would be good for the economy in that they turn around and spend it not hoard it). 99ers especially, are ignored and forgotten and are being swept under the national rug.”

While unemployment is at historically high levels considering the economy is supposed to be in recovery mode, the tragedy of long-term unemployment is especially troublesome. The longer a person remains jobless the more difficult it is to find new work. Many prospective employers often disparage the long-term unemployed for being lazy, having out-of-date skills and not having the confidence to step into a new position.

“And on top of that some companies — including PMG Indiana, Sony Ericsson and retailers nationwide — have explicitly barred the unemployed or long-term unemployed from certain job openings, outright telling them in job ads that they need not apply.

D.V. from Modesto, CA, feels the sting of long-term job rejection, “Unemployment is still above 18% locally and I still don’t even get returned phone calls for minimum-wage jobs.”

The jobs crisis can be especially difficult for older workers. “At the present age of 64 and having been out of work for the last 1 3/4 years, I do a lot less, eat much less, get a special discount at the YMCA, shop on Senior discount days, walk a lot more, try to combine trips to avoid using too much fuel,” opines Thomas Rainey of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. “The job market for seniors has always been rather bleak; it seems it has really gotten a lot worse in these last few years.”

Brenda McFadden believes that new laws need to be put in place discouraging discriminatory practices that affect the long-term unemployed. “I would like to see strong legislation and penalties to employers who practice discrimination — age related or employment status — and also see relaxed credit reviews when looking at the unemployed for hire because what may have been good or great credit once may be no longer… doesn’t mean they won’t make a good employee.”

With the number of long-term unemployed increasing, it may be reasonable to think that a great deal of effort is being expended to address the issue. Unfortunately, that is not the case. More time and effort is being spent cutting unemployment benefits than devising job or retraining programs.

Many state legislatures, including Florida and Michigan, enacted legislation that reduces the number of weeks the unemployed can collect state benefits.

State changes to unemployment won’t be noticed until 2012, but the federal unemployment extensions are affecting newly laid off workers now:

Workers laid off through no fault of their own will not be eligible for any of the generous extended unemployment benefits layoff victims have received from the federal government since 2008.

Underemployment is also underreported. According to the BLS, underemployment is “persons employed part time for economic reasons.” Underemployment is a job of 1-34 hours a week. As of June, 8.6 million workers were considered underemployed. When including the underemployed, the “real’ unemployment rate spikes to 16.2%.

Underemployment is hardship for many part-timers, including “Lis Rosser” a 40-something resident of Myrtle Beach, SC. “I would say over the past years 3+ years, I have applied for at least 500 or so jobs, in 5 or more states via on-line/sending resumes, in person, or phone calls to previous employers. The answer is always the same — call back in a couple of months- or we’re not hiring right now.”

“I have been unable to find any full time or permanent work of any kind. I applied for anything from McDonald’s (they would never even interview me), even worked cleaning toilets and vacation rentals last summer, and now work as a pt (part-time) timeshare tele-marketer. No one else will hire me, and I have been with the same company for over a year @ $8.00 an hour plus commission and no benefits. They have laid me off 3 or 4 times during this time, and then call me back.”

Living on unemployment benefits or part-time wages can be very difficult, “I struggle to get by on about $150 – $175 a week- net pay, when I used to make $500 – $600 a week, plus full benefits, working for Harrah’s Resorts in Atlantic City. I receive ‘partial’ food stamps here in SC, and that’s it. My ‘health care’ is the Emergency Room. I can’t keep juggling everything, and trying to keep just my cell phone on (needed for work), my car insurance and rent paid, plus gas and car repairs, much longer. Every day I am deeper into this hole, and I don’t know how I will ever get out.”

With the GOP controlling the House, the chances for further unemployment extensions, or job assistance, regardless of the unemployment rate, are slight. Congressional Republicans are more concerned about bashing Obama about the current jobs situation than doing anything to improve matters. Republicans believe that more tax cuts and unfavorable trade agreements will be the cure-all for a long-simmering jobs crisis. And the Democrat controlled Senate is incapable of pushing forward jobs legislation due to GOP (and some Democrats) resistance.

That leaves President Obama and his mighty bully pulpit to stand up firmly and empathetically for the long-term unemployed. Wrongly, Obama completely ignores these long-suffering millions. As an example, during the president’s recent Twitterfesthe answered some jobs questions, but he was never offered a question about what he was willing to do for the long-term unemployed and 99ers who have exhausted all unemployment benefits. The Chicago Tribune picked up on that oversight when they released “Best Tweets Obama didn’t answer.” The best tweet?

Why is so little being done for the 6.2 million long-term unemployed? Why have 99ers been abandoned by Congress and White House? (Full disclosure, that was the tweet of this blogger.)

The GOP seems more inclined to cut social safety net programs in order to continue tax cuts for the wealthy. There are 2.5 million U.S. households earning more than $250,000 a year. These 2.5 million households are given an inordinate amount of congressional attention compared to the 6.3 million households experiencing long-term unemployment. Are the families of the wealthy more deserving of financial assistance than the families of the long-term unemployed? The actions of congress seem to indicate that is the case.

The GOP-controlled House appears fixated on reducing taxes on the wealthy and corporations, cutting Social Security, dismantling Medicare, and repealing healthcare legislation. But when Gallup asked, “What do you think is the most important problem facing this country today?” the top two answers were the Economy in general at 31% and Unemployment/Jobs at 27%. While Americans sense that jobs are an urgent matter needing immediate attention, the GOP House seems focused on partisan issues of less importance.

The emotional toll on the long-term unemployed can be devastating. Lis Rosser feels that the worst is not yet over for her, “I am afraid I will not survive this. As you know things are getting much worse and I fear the situation has not hit bottom yet.” While Lis isn’t yet hopeless, other long-term unemployed, such as Thomas Rainey, rely firmly on that most precious of emotions — hope. “But I am confident that there will be a light at the end of tunnel for all in need. We will prevail!”

For the sake of Thomas, Lis, Brenda, D.V. the 6.3 million long-term unemployed and the 8.6 million underemployed, it’s vital that their hopes not be exhausted before help arrives in the form of jobs or financial assistance. Unfortunately, considering the recent actions of this congress, expectations should not be high that help will arrive in time. Hopes will fade and the future will feel more terrifying.

Tom Toles - GoComics.com

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The underemployment rate did improve slightly to 15.8% from 15.9%. Underemployment is when someone wants a full-time job but is working fewer than 34 hours a week.

Those seeking full-time work found the job market less friendly than those seeking part-time positions. The unemployment rate for those seeking full-time employment rose to 9.7%, while the unemployment rate for those seeking part-time positions fell to 6.3%. The quoted unemployment rate of 9.1% is a combination of those looking for full-time and part-time work. Working 34 or more hours a week is considered full-time employment.

Working part-time is often a struggle for those who want full-time work. ML from IL is an intelligent, B.A. educated professional researcher, paralegal, proofreader/copy editor and a national manager of customer relations. “I was unemployed for two years. I am now underemployed, working part time but continuing to look for full-time work, and earning 55% less than before. While I’m grateful to even be working, I struggle to financially survive every day. I wasn’t at all sure that I’d get to be at my daughter’s college graduation and wedding because I couldn’t afford the travel expenses without family help.”

ML’s financial struggles include keeping a roof over her head, “I’ve faced eviction twice during the past couple of years, but I am still able to pay rent, barely. It isn’t okay to live this way. I want to thrive, not just survive, but I need full-time, reliable work for that to happen.”

While the employment report was disappointing on many levels, it was particularly abysmal for the long-term unemployed. The number of workers unemployed for 99 weeks or more increased 14,000 to 1,934,000. Those out of work for more than 27 weeks increased by 361,000 to 6,200,000; 45.1% of all unemployed have been out of work 27 weeks or more, which is near a record level.

Navy veteran, software consultant, and licensed realtor Virgil Bierschwale of Harper, TX, has been working on and off for the past ten years. This isn’t because of a lack of effort, but because of various economic conditions ranging from the bursting of the tech bubble to the crash of the housing market. State and federal budget cuts suddenly ended some of Virgil’s software consultation projects. His search for full-time work wasn’t a lackadaisical effort, since he would “Apply for software jobs daily with no interviews.” Has he become discouraged about finding a job? “Yes, I’m ashamed to admit that I have, but I now realize I will no longer find work doing what I successfully did for so many years.

Virgil is the website designer and author of Keep America At Work where, in his spare time, he writes about the loss of American jobs and how to keep more jobs in America.

Virgil’s income has fallen from a high of more than $100,000 in 2003 to less than $20,000 today. His wants are simple; a full-time job and a place to call home, “I currently live in an old shack on one acre of land that I can buy for $70,000. This would be my first priority because it is way past time that I set down some roots and I’ve got everything that I need and want here which isn’t much these days.”

The participation rate — those employed or looking for work — remained at a historically low 64.2%, which signals a weak job market.

Another dubious record is that now it takes longer to find a job, 39.7 weeks, than at any time since data collection began in 1948.

“I have never stopped looking for a job through all my health issues, but I did slow the search down a bit after each surgery,” said Alexandra Jarrin who has been battling homelessness, long-term unemployment and health issues for more than two years. She has exhausted all available unemployment benefits and she constantly lives on the edge of being homeless.

Alexandra has been profiled previously about her work to bring 99er stories to Sen. Bernie Sanders. (99ers are the unemployed who have exhausted all unemployment benefits, which in some cases is up to 99 weeks.) Yet through all her hardships,Alexandra’s job search has remained constant, “I have continued my work search faithfully.”

As is the case with many long-term unemployed, Alexandra’s job search has encountered numerous obstacles. “A few places that seemed interested were no longer interested when they asked for my salary history.” She’s willing to work for substantially less than she has made in the past, but that presents its own challenges, “Once they see I have made a considerable amount of money in the past they are no longer interested. One company wouldn’t set up an interview until I gave them my past salaries and told them how much I wanted to earn. That puts you in a difficult position because you don’t know how they will perceive what you are asking for if it is so much less than you have earned previously. One person asked why I would be looking for a job in fast food when I held a substantial position in a corporation.”

Whether salary concessions, career changes or the need to update software skills, interacting with potential employers often seems hopeless to the long-term unemployed, including Alexandra,”There’s just no good way to appease them.”

What are Congress and the president doing to address a stagnant and possibly deteriorating jobs market? Nothing this year. The GOP controlled House has been directing their energies toward the debt ceiling debate, defunding Obamacare, eliminating Medicare for those 55 and younger, and abortion restrictions. President Obama touts the successes of corporate bailouts, the need to increase the debt ceiling and explaining the role of the US military in Libya.

Yet beyond the poor economy in general what are Americans most concerned about? Is it the deficit? No. Is it fuel prices? No. Is it taxes? No. Unemployment and jobs are the most important issue by an almost two-to-one margin.

The jobs issue has received limited attention in the House, but no legislative action that would help improve the plight of the long-term unemployed. The House Ways and Means Committee has conducted hearings on “How Business Tax Reform Can Encourage Job Creation”, “How Other Countries Have Used Tax Reform to Help Their Companies Compete in the Global Market and Create Jobs”, and the ill-fated H.R. 1745, “Jobs, Opportunity, Benefits, and Services Act of 2011″, which included the option for states to cut the duration of unemployment benefits. While these business tax hearings may have some long-term value, they won’t create a single job in the short term.

The economy has improved for some; American companies are reaping record profits, Wall Street players are snagging outsize bonuses and compensation, and government continues its bailout policies of failed institutions. The economic picture is not improving for the long-term jobless. Congress is again in recess, so any action on the jobs crises will have to wait.

Long-term unemployment will worsen and wreck the lives of millions more unless Congress, the president and the private sector take immediate steps that lead to the creation of good jobs. ML in IL stated, “It isn’t okay to live this way.” That also applies to Virgil in TX, to Alexandra in VT and to America as a whole.

Follow Michael Thornton on Twitter: www.twitter.com/layofflist

Additionally, the unemployment rate increased to 9%, since more people began looking for work. Returning job seekers is often considered an improved sign of job availability, but if they aren’t hired, they will go back into hiding and the unemployment rate will decline. Because of returning job seekers, the number of officially unemployed increased 205,000 to 13.75 million, which is still historically high when compared to other jobs challenged times.

One of the few honest assessments of the current jobs market was offered by Heidi Shierholz of the Economic Policy Institute:

At this point, coming out of a recession this deep, we should be getting unambiguously huge growth, of 300,000 to 400,000 [new jobs] a month,” said Heidi Shierholz, a labor economist at the Economic Policy Institute. “And it’s just nowhere near that.” She concluded: “We’re still in a rocky place.”

The job market is admittedly improving for some, but it’s not improving quickly enough for millions of jobless, especially the long-term unemployed. In April, the ranks of the unemployed who have been out of work for 99 weeks or more increased by 21,000 to a record 1,920,000. That equates to 14.5% of all unemployed.

Other long-term unemployed fared a little better in April compared to March. Those out of work for 26 weeks or more decreased from 5.839 million from 6.122 million in March. But their percentage of the overall unemployment rate remained elevated at a near record level of 43.2%. The percentage of those out of work for more and 52 weeks increased from 31.5% to 32.8% of all unemployed.

The Congress, the Obama administration and most media outlets are silent about long-term unemployment. How do they reconcile the fact that 244,000 jobs were created, but 21,000 additional workers have been unemployed for more than 99 weeks? How do they put on a happy face when a near record 5.893 million or 43.2% of all unemployed workers have been jobless for more than 26 weeks? How do they rationalize their cheerful statements of job improvements with the facts that job creation is very weak considering the trillions of dollars pumped into the economy to support Wall Street and fund tax breaks? How do they high-five the economic recovery when the labor force participation rate — the share of people over age 16 who are either working or actively seeking work — is at a low rate of 64.2%, a rate not seen since 1985? They can’t. They generally ignore the issue; long-term unemployment is the elephant in the economic recovery room.

What is being done legislatively to address this elephant in the room? To date, nothing. The GOP controlled House has been busy attempting to cut the deficit, repealing healthcare funding, and restarting offshore oil drilling. The Republicans, with the help of some Democrats, are working to weaken Wall Street regulation legislation, end net neutrality, and are arguing the Defense of Marriage Act. They are pandering to their base, acquiescing to their corporate overlords and obliging their big-wallet campaign contributors.

Congressional leaders are more concerned with ideology than reality. They have not presented a jobs bill or employment training legislation, conducted investigations on how to solve long-term unemployment, or offered tax incentives for companies to hire the long-term unemployed. They have ignored legislation, such as Rep. Barbara Lee’s H.R. 589, that would help millions of long-term unemployed, the 99ers, who have exhausted all unemployment benefits. While most of the blame can be placed at the door of the GOP controlled House, the Democratic controlled Senate and Obama have been suspiciously silent about the long-term unemployment problem.

Long-term unemployment is not only a national tragedy, but it is a personal tragedy as well. Rochelle Sevier was laid off in October 2008 while working as a recruitment coordinator for a biotech firm. Since that time, “I started my job search immediately. In addition to my job search, I attended various workshops at my local career center. As part of my search I attended job fairs, partnered with temp agencies, posted my resume online, and also submitted my resume to various positions.” During the past couple of years Rochelle took part-time temporary positions that included folding sweaters and stuffing envelopes. Her unemployment benefits ended in September 2010 and she didn’t find another job until January 2011 when an administrative position became available. Unfortunately that job ended six weeks later, “I finished out my 6th week and now I am back to square one. This rejection affected my emotional and mental state. I started to feel hopeless and depressed because I now feel like I will never work again.”

The long-term unemployed are also part of the growing ranks of food stamp recipients, personal bankruptcies, foreclosures and healthcare uninsured. Ellen Turner, who was laid off from her job in December 2008 has struggled with healthcare costs since her COBRA plan ended in June 2010.

“Now I have nothing. Hoping I can stay fairly healthy till I reach 65, and I can get Medicare. I have one knee without cartilage that has to be replaced… at a cost of 10k. Can’t do it. I have severe osteoporosis; I need fusions of reclast every year. This year, the pharmaceutical co. provided the reclast, I only have to pay for the doctor visit and lab fees: $136 bucks total. I am fortunate that I can pay this, while others at my age cannot. I turned 63 on May 10th.”

Ellen is now one of the more than 50 million Americans who do not have healthcare.

Susan R. sent the following cry for help:

“Any idea on what is happening with HR 589? My unemployment ends end of the month and I cannot get a job. I have tried everywhere. I used to be a legal secretary but now they want college which I do not have, Now you have to apply for stores, etc. online and I never hear back. I think my only hope is to kill myself. There is no hope. Also they keep saying things are getting better but I don’t see where and neither does anyone I talk to. Everyone says things are bad!!”

H.R. 589 is legislation designed to help the long-term unemployed by extending Tier 1 unemployment benefits 14 weeks. Those 14 weeks could be a financial lifesaver for millions of unemployed. Although the legislation has been discussed for months, moving it forward in a Republican controlled House will be challenging. How challenging? House Republicans are hoping to introduce legislation that could cutextended unemployment benefits in favor of lower business taxes and allow states to spend that money on other programs: The Ways and Means Committee passed a bill by 20-14 today that lets states shift some of the $31 billion they are set to get for extended unemployment aid to prevent the tax increases, pay back federal loans or fund job-training programs.

While those are all commendable options, they are long-term rewards that won’t help those that need immediate financial assistance. Oil companies have reported record profits, but the GOP favors giving them billions in taxpayer subsidies while at the same time forcing the long-term unemployed to suffer without any financial assistance.

The latest H.R.589 update comes from Crew of 42′s Lauren Victoria Burke; the news is both positive and disappointing:

The good news for 99ers: The president mentioned he wants to possibly attach the 99ers money to some other big piece of legislation somehow… which piece, how and when is unclear…The bad news for 99ers: The president does not seem deeply motivated to to actively support unemployment benefits in general terms.

Congress needs to address the elephants in the room, since millions of Americans are being sidelined by a relatively weak job market. That needs to change quickly and dramatically or more hard-working individuals such as Rochelle, Ellen and Susan will continue to bare the financial hardship and personal pain of long-term unemployment. Open your eyes now, Congress. The elephants in the economic recovery room won’t simply go away if your eyes remain closed.

Tom Toles - GoComics 5-12-11

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The BLS reported that unemployment (U3) for March was 8.8%, which is a slight improvement from February’s 8.9%. 216,000 jobs were created, but that’s a relatively small monthly number of jobs for what is supposedly a strong economic recovery from the Great Recession. In comparison, during the 2004 economic recovery, 338,000 jobs were created in March.

The Obama administration and media mouthpieces seem preoccupied with the U3, 8.8% measure of unemployment, but you need to dig into the numbers to reveal the “real” state of unemployment.

A disconnected news media conveniently forgets to mention that the US needs to create about 125,000 jobs a month to simply keep up with new entrants to the workforce. If you subtract 125,000 from 216,000 jobs created in March, you end up with 91,000 “extra” jobs for 13.5 million unemployed.

Underemployment remained quite high at 15.7%, or 8.2 million workers who want full-time work, but are forced to work part-time jobs of 34 hours a week or less. Yes, full-time work is considered 35 hours or more per week, although many “real world” workers consider jobs of less than 40 hours a week as part-time.

But what was most striking about the March jobs report was the continuing increase in the number of long-term unemployed. According to the BLS, March showed 1,899,000 workers who have been out of work for 99 weeks or more, an increase of 127,000 from February. The real 99er population is growing quickly and shows no signs of abating.

NELP estimates (PDF) that “throughout 2010, 3.9 million unemployed workers exhausted all of their unemployment benefits without finding new work.” Exhausting unemployment benefits also includes those unemployed that exhausted benefits after 60, 73, 79, or 93 weeks, so NELP’s estimate is larger than the BLS estimate for those out of work 99 weeks or more.

Not only are more unemployed out of work 99 weeks or longer, but those out of work 52 and 27 weeks or more are increasing as well. Those out of work 27 weeks or more now accounts for a record 45.5% (6.14 million) of all unemployed, while for those out of work 52 weeks or more the rate is 31.5% (4.25 million) of all unemployed; again a record high.

The participation rate is another employment issue rarely discussed on the national media stage. According to the BLS, “the participation rate is the share of the population 16 years and older working or seeking work.”

The labor force participation rate was unchanged, 64.2%, the same as the previous two months. This is the lowest labor participation rate since March 1984.

The March Employment Report showed some job gains, but not nearly enough jobs were created to put a dent in the long-term unemployment problem. Media talking heads and politicians looking for 2012 votes touted the March jobs report as a winner, but it was a loser for millions of increasingly desperate long-term unemployed who are struggling without jobs or unemployment benefits. Let’s not hang those “Mission Accomplished” banners just yet…

Matt Davies - GoComics