February 20, 2011

The Federal Reserve is projecting unemployment to continue at or near 9 percent for the rest of this year. That is 13.9 million people out of work who want to work. In addition, there is a new barrier to employment for jobless workers. As the Fed updated its forecast last week, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission held a forum on discrimination against unemployed job seekers. Members of Congress had urged the commission to explore the issue after reading press reports of numerous instances in which employers and staffing agencies refused to consider the unemployed for openings. The message — “the unemployed need not apply” — has at times been explicitly stated in job announcements. In other cases, unemployed job seekers have reported verbal rejections after a recruiter or employer learned they were not currently working. God bless America.