The U.S. economy added no jobs in August—that’s ZERO jobs—and the nation’s unemployment rate remained at 9.1 percent, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data out this morning.

The August jobs report is the worst since September 2010. Some 14 million workers remain unemployed, but a total of some 26 million Americans are unemployed, underemployed or have stopped looking for work.

Employment increased primarily in two areas: health care by 30,000 and mining by 6,000. Employment in the information industry declined by 48,000 in August, with 45,000 workers at Verizon on strike. Manufacturing lost 3,000 jobs and employment in construction, trade, transporation and other areas changed little over the month. Job loss in the public sector totaled 17,000 in August. Since employment peaked in September 2008, local government has lost 550,000 jobs.

The unemployment rate for adult men is 8.9 percent and 8 percent for women. Some 16.7 percent of African Americans and 11.3 percent of Hispanics are unemployed, with teenagers at 25.4 percent unemployment.

The stunningly bad jobs report—analysts had predicted 70,000 to 80,000 jobs would be created in August, reflects a lack of hiring that is due to a lack of demand—not the inability of employers to find the right workers or as a result of new government regulations, says Economic Policy Institute ( EPI ) economist Heidi Shierholz. She says average hours worked on the job are so far only two-thirds of what they were prior to the recession. 

AFL-CIO Richard Trumka says , “Our dying recovery is crying out for bold solutions to put Americans back to work and rebuild our country.”

Yet the political games in Washington are exacerbating inequality and joblessness….It is time for Congress to pass legislation to provide for the direct creation of millions of jobs in local communities. These jobs must pay competitive wages and target distressed communities and must not replace existing jobs.  And it’s time to reform Wall Street so that it helps Main Street create jobs. 

As a paper released this week by the EPI shows, many more Americans are experiencing the negative impact of the nation’s jobs crisis. First, the  unemployment rate also does not capture the severity of long-term unemployment—the share of unemployed workers who have been out of work for more than six months has hovered around 45 percent for more than a year. Further, according to EPI:  

Though roughly 31 percent of all U.S. workers experienced unemployment or underemployment at some point in 2009—the rates were higher for African American and Hispanic workers, at 36 percent and 41 percent, respectively. While 14.3 percent of white children had an unemployed or underemployed parent in 2010, one in four African American or Hispanic children had an underemployed parent.

High unemployment also leads to slow wage growth, EPI notes. In fact, wage growth has been slower in the past two years than at any time over the last 30 years.

Congress is coming back to Washington, D.C., next week—and America’s workers need action now to get back to work. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka this week unveiled a six-point “ America Wants to Work ” jobs and economy initiative “that is serious and reflects the scale of the crisis we face.” The plan includes:

• Rebuilding America’s schools and transportation and energy systems;
• Reviving U.S. manufacturing and ending the exportation of U.S. jobs;
• Putting people to work in local communities;
• Helping states and local governments to prevent layoffs and cuts to public services;
• Extending unemployment insurance (UI) benefits and helping homeowners keep their homes; and
• Reforming Wall Street so it helps Main Street create jobs.

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