Finances/Money
o
W ASHINGTO ,D.C. - For the
fifth year in a row, the percent-
ge' of the joblcs receiving
benefits has dropped, accord
ing to a report· issued by the
Center on Budge Policy
Priori tie . And true to
Americ n practices, Blacks
fared the worst.
Only 31.5 percent of the
'nation's unemployed received
unemployment insurance
benefits in an average month in
1988, the fifth consecutive year
the percenta�e of jobless
worker receiving unemploy
ment insurance set or tied a
record 10 , the Center
reported.
The 31.5 percent coverage
rate last year tied the record low
set in 1987.
An average of 4.6 million
jobless worker received no un
employment benefits each
month la t year, according to
the Center's analy is, which is
based on U.S. Department of
Labor data.
By contr t, in the average
ye r in the 1970s, 2.7 million
joble workers nt without
benefits, the Center found.
In Michigan, according to
the Center report, there were
232,300 unemployed persons
who did not receive unemploy
ment benefit in 1988. The
report s ys only 33.2 percent of
Michigan'S unemployed
received benefits. In 1979, by
contra t, 52.9 percent of the
joblc received unemployment
in urance. That is a drop of 19.7
percent 0 cr the p t nine years.
OfT e c n istcntly low level of
cov rage vcr the I' t five years
i unp ra ed in the hi lory 0
the unemployment insurance
program," said I aac Shapiro,
co-author f the report with
Marion ic ols. "Before -1984,
the percentage of jobl ss in- .
dividuals receiving unemploy
ment . nsurance benefits fell
belo 40 percent only once -
in 1966."
Cove ge ra es
especial)' for minoriti
Center fou d.
Only 21 percent - or one in
five - of unemployed Blac
workers received unemploy
ment insurance benefits last
year. For Hispanics, the figures
were one in seven, or 14 percent
received benefits.
The 10 level of coverage
among all of the unemployed is
a matter of particular concern
given evidence of an economic
. slowdown, the report noted.
Many analysts expect in
creases in unemployment over
the coming years, and seme
forecast a recession. A strong
unemployment insurance sys
tem is particularly needed when
the economy turns down and
the number of jobless workers
nses.
,
... more
of the ..
un mployed
not only lack
much of a
safety net to
catch them
when they
fall, they also
lack access r.
. to a ladder to
help th m .
climb back ... '
Unemployed peopl not
only receive substantially less
financial assistance than they
once did, they also arc provided
less assistance in learning a job
skill and finding a job. Federal
employment and training
programs have been subjected
to sharp reductions in funding
during the 1980s, the Center
reported.
Total outlays by the federal
government for employment
and training programs dropped
57 percent, after ajusting for in
flation, the Center reported.
• As a result, more of the UQ
employed not only lack much of
a safety net to catch them when
they fall, they also lack access to
a ladder to help them climb
bac into the labor mar et," he
Center report observed.
LOGTERM
U E PLOYED
and Ie
Although the unemp oyment
rate in 1988 fell b ck to its 1979
level, the jobless situation has
not returned to its 1979 status in
other key areas, the Report·
noted. For example, the typical
person who becomes un
employed now remains out of
wor for a significantly longer
period than in the [ate 70s. This
longer period of joblessness
contributes to the decline of un
employment benefits, because
the benefit period expires
before a job can be found.
In 1979, the average spell of
unemployment lasted 10.8
wee ,less than two and a half
months, the Center said. By
1988, the average length of un
emp oyment was 13.5 weeks, or
more than three months.
Worse yet, the Center noted,
is the number of long term un
employed remains well above
historic levels. In 1979 there
ef.i
were 535,000 people un
employed for six months or
more. In 1988, there were
809,000 long-term unemployed.
While there were ap
proximately nine percent more
unemployed people in 1988
than in 1979, the number of
long-term unemployed w 51
percent greater in 1988 than in
1979.
Percentage of the adon's Unemployed Receiving
Unemployment Ins� 1988
Percen
ReoeMng
31.5%
employment and· Training Outlays
F'lICIl Yean 1981 and 1989
Outlin
F'tSCal Year
1901
FlscaI Year
1919
- Grants to States under the Job Training
and Partnenhip Act (JTP A)
General CET A Programs
Summer Youth Employment Programs
DiIIoc.ated Worker Allastance
Corpe
del' EmpJoyment
Work tive Program
Other Tralnlng �
Federal..sta Employment Service
Public Service BInpIoyment
Tarpted JeD Tax Credit (tax expenditure)
Total Outlays
S 0
4pao
1,064 •
o
141
383
5'D
95S
1,113
3,320
422
$i3,2t1
SIPl
o
696
264
698
3.'M
91.
2'JS
1,041
o
320
u.s. eep.rtment aI Labor, 1982 �
()ffb atima • OffIce d . t and ��
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P.overty i
transit state, censu
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Poverty is a condition people
move into and out of easily, a
urvey by the Commerce
Department's Census Bureau
silo
About one of every four per
so who was poor in 1984 no
longer was in poverty by 1985.
On the 'other' hand, one in five
perso with a poverty level in
come in. 1985 not poor the
year before.
The Survey of Income and
� � J
Program Participation
measured the change through
interview with particular in
dividual conducted from
January, 1984 through Decem
ber, 985.
Full-ti e, year-round work
. is not a guarantee against pover-,
. ty, the report shows, bearing out
the statement of Rev. Je e
J aclcson that "poor people go to
work every day." Abou 0 e in
eleven adult 0 descended
into poverty in 1985 w�rked full
says
time, year-round in both 1984
and 1985.
Other findinas include:
- Persons aged 18 to 24 were
most likely to move out of
poverty between the two years,
while those under 18 and over'
. 65 were mo t li ely to remain .
poor.
- Sixty-three percent of
dults leaving poverty in 1985
had wor d at some time in
1984. A ut 25 percent in-
CooUnued 00 P 21