A Jobs Agenda
Nothing is more important to achieving immediate progress against hunger than a robust
recovery from the Great Recession. As we all know by now, the recession that started in
December 2007 and lasted until June 2009 was the worst in three generations, and the
damage it caused lingers on.
More than four years since the official end of the reces“Getting back to full
sion, the economy staggers along. It’s not working up to its
employment takes us
potential: there is an output gap of nearly a trillion dollars,
one big step toward
meaning that what the economy is capable of producing at full
ending hunger in
capacity, or full employment, is much more than it actually is
America.”
producing.11 Unemployment has fallen since the recession’s
highs of 10 percent, but the rate is still high, and it is also
an unreliable reflection of how many people are still struggling to get back on their feet.
National unemployment figures do not count people who have abandoned the labor market
in frustration or those scraping by on part-time work who need and want to work full-time.
Figure i.4
U.S. Poverty and Civilian Unemployment Rates, 1980-2012
20%
15.2%
15.1%
15
15.1%
12.8%
12.5%
2010
1993
1983
11.3%
9.6%
1989
Poverty Rate (%)
2010
2007
10
9.6%
4.6%
4.0%
5
6.9%
5.3%
Civilian Unemployment Rate (%)
0
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Department of Labor: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2013
16?Introduction
n
Bread for the World Institute
2002
2004
2006
2008
2010
2012