Unemployment and Jobs Backgrounder, 2011

Unemployment and Jobs Background, February 2011

Persistent high unemployment after the recession continues to cause widespread economic, social, and spiritual harm. The USCCB highlights the depth and unequal impact of the jobs crisis, affirms the moral priority of decent work, and calls for public policies that create good jobs and protect vulnerable families while urging Catholic communities to advocate for solutions.

The problem: 

• Scale: 13.9 million unemployed; official unemployment 9% understates broader joblessness.
• Hidden joblessness: 2.8 million marginally attached; 8.4 million involuntary part-time.
• Long-term unemployment: 45% of unemployed have been jobless more than six months; average duration nine months.
• Unequal impact: Unemployment for poorest 10% about 31% versus 1.6% for the wealthiest 10%; youth disproportionately affected (16–24 are 13.5% of labor force but >25% of unemployed); Black (15.7%) and Hispanic (11.9%) rates exceed the national average.
• Persistence of weak job growth: Even substantially faster job growth would take years to return to pre-recession employment levels.

Moral and pastoral framing:

• Dignity of work: Decent work at decent wages is the most effective anti-poverty policy; prolonged unemployment undermines human freedom, family stability, and spiritual well-being.
• Catholic teaching cited: Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI characterize pervasive unemployment as a social disaster and highlight the moral obligation to protect vulnerable workers and families.

USCCB priorities:

• Advocate for policies that create decent jobs and restore full employment.
• Protect emergency supports (e.g., unemployment insurance) for families during extraordinary economic circumstances.
• Call attention to the disproportionate burden on low-income, young, and minority workers and the long-term harms of entering the labor market during a recession.

• Advocate: Educate and urge Senators and Representatives to support job-creation measures that provide decent wages for low-income individuals and families.
• Engage: Encourage dioceses and parishes to join the Faith Advocates for Jobs campaign.
• Stay informed: Sign up for action alerts and use USCCB and Catholic Charities resources to support local advocacy.

unemployment-and-jobs-2011-FINAL.pdf