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The December jobs report released late last week by the Department of Labor received a lukewarm welcome from economic analysts. When adjusted for seasonal hiring the Labor Department found that 200,000 new jobs were added in December. Chad Stone of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities called this a “glimmer of hope” but said long term unemployment continues to be a major problem. There are about 4 jobless Americans for every job opening and almost half of the nation’s 13 million unemployed have been out of work for longer than 27 weeks. The December report found that 50,000 workers dropped out of the labor force altogether, reflecting a pessimism about future prospects. African Americans remain hardest hit by the recession with a 15.8% unemployment rate, followed by 11% for Latinos and 7.5% for whites. While the monthly jobs report shines a fleeting spotlight on unemployment, the group Wider Opportunities for Women took this month’s news to call attention to the unrecognized problem of economic insecurity for these who may not be technically living below the poverty line. The organization released a study late last year called, “Living Below the Line: Economic Insecurity and America’s Families.” Wider Opportunities for Women teamed up with the Center for Social Development at Washington University to create an index of security. They call it the Basic Economic Security tables, or BEST index, and it measures the ability of families to pay for essentials like housing, utilities and food. Looking at budgets that do not stretch enough to cover hobbies, restaurant meals, or electronics, the study found that 45% percent of US residents lack income security including 55% of US children.

GUEST: Donna Addkison, President and CEO of Wider Opportunities for Women (WOW)

Visit www.wowonline.org for more information and download the report.