…and we aren’t looking much better

The Associated Press reports that with more than 6 million unemployed for the first time ever, Spain’s jobless rate shot up to a record 27.2 percent in the first quarter of 2013, the National Statistics Institute said Thursday, in another grim picture of the recession-wracked country.

The agency said the number of people unemployed rose by 237,400 people in the first three months of the year, a 1.1 percent increase from the previous quarter. The total out of work stood at 6.2 million people, the first time the number has breached the 6-million mark.

The U.S. unemployment rate ticked down to 7.6 percent in March, from 7.7 percent, but for the wrong reason, not because more people were hired but because more people have reported dropping out of the labor force completely, meaning they are neither working nor looking for work anymore. The labor force participation rate has not been this low, 63.3 percent.

This is the important part of the jobless statistics in all of the reports…  the participation.  If people have stopped looking for work and their unemployment benefits (if they had any) have run out, then it makes the jobless statistics look like a job was created. The government uses this “glitch” if you will to claim job creation when that is just not the case.

It is likely that with Baby Boomer retirements accounting for part of the slide in U.S. labor force participation, what is playing a major role in the mediocre economy is the pessimism about job prospects. The biggest drop in the participation rate has been with younger workers.  Many of whom have given the idea of finding a decent job and are instead continuing to go to school and rack up enormous amounts of student loan debt.

“…there is a crisis coming that is not getting the attention it deserves.”

I feel that there is a crisis coming that is not getting the attention it deserves.  There is a large group of long-term unemployed workers who are older and mid-life, who are dipping into their retirement savings in order to survive.  Sometime down the road, 10 years or so, these older workers who have been living on their retirement are going to find themselves living in poverty, with their retirement savings gone for good.

If you are unemployed and dealing with your mounting debt on your own, and using your hard earned retirement savings, stop!  Seek out the advice of a debt management professional and see if there is a way to take control of your debt in addition to retaining your retirement savings.

The professionals at DebtHelper.com can explain the benefits of a debt management program and provide you with a fresh start.

One of the biggest long-term benefits of the debt management plan is the reduction in interest. Reduced interest allows you to pay off your principal balances faster while saving you possibly thousands of dollars in finance charges.

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Please call (800) 920-2262 if you have any questions. DebtHelper.com’s consultations are free, call them any time.