Take Action: Demand EPA Honesty on Environmental Aftermath from Hurricane Katrina

Friday, November 04, 2005

Katrina Victims Suffering From Staggering Unemployment

According to the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the nation added a minute 56,000 new jobs in October, a large reduction compared to previous month's growth. Unlike the September report, BLS concluded that the weak job growth was "not attributable to the areas directly affected by Katrina" because job growth was down in all areas of the country.

The most disturbing aspect of the report was a preliminary estimate of the employment status of victims of Hurricane Katrina. Shortly after the hurricane struck, BLS - along with analysts at the U.S. Census created a short series of questions designed to identify and solicit information from survey respondents who had evacuated from their homes. Based on these questions, BLS estimated nearly a quarter (24.7 percent) of the Americans impacted by the hurricanes were currently unemployed. What's worse is this survey was not able to reach those still living in temporary facilities, shelters, or hotels, the vast majority of whom are most likely struggling to find steady employment. The 24.7 percent unemployment figure, therefore, is most likely too low.

Economic Policy Institute Senior Economist Jared Bernstein believes these new data call for congressional action:

These findings strongly suggest a necessary policy intervention that would significantly boost the job prospects of those evacuees who want to return home. Given that many of those who left the affected areas have low incomes and little savings, they need to get back to work as soon as possible. Congress therefore should quickly craft and implement policies to help these displaced persons find transportation, housing, and work.

BLS plans to continue to use these special Katrina-related questions through January 2006 to track trends in the employment status of Katrina vicitms.