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American Morning

Unemployment Rate Hits 4.5 Percent, Job Seekers Struggle

Aired May 04, 2001 - 09:01   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: First, let's start with job surviving and unemployment. The April figures came out just about 30 minutes ago. They show a rise in the unemployment rate to 4.5 percent.

Well, what does that all mean? It is up -- 4.3 percent in March -- businesses cutting their payrolls by more than 220,000 people last month.

CNN's Brian Palmer joins us live. He is at a site in Newark, New Jersey, where people are looking for work.

Brian, good morning.

BRIAN PALMER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Daryn. We are indeed in Newark, New Jersey, a city that's really worked hard to revitalize its downtown area.

We're at an employment agency which is next door to the veteran's administration office and around the block from a Goodwill shelter. A lot of the clients from that shelter actually use the services of this agency. It's called "Labor Ready." It's a private, for-profit company that matches workers up with employers looking for temporary day laborers in jobs like light industrial work, warehouse work, landscaping. For example, Newark Sanitation Department came by and picked up three vanloads of workers looking for day labor today.

We've spoken to a lot of people and you'll find -- we found, almost to a person, they agree that the Labor Department statistics about rising unemployment reflect their reality.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALEXANDER YARBOROUGH, JOB SEEKER: Real hard -- it's like, you walk all day, you're looking for jobs, you go put in applications everywhere. And you know, you get a lot of employers that will tell you, "Yes, come back" or "call us," it's like one of those "call us" -- don't -- "we'll call you" kind of things.

TROY BENNETT, JOB SEEKER: It's real hard to find a job around here. Either you've got to work through the agencies or you've got to work -- if we work well on a job, then they hire us permanently.

(END VIDEO CLIP) PALMER: Daryn, we've been here since a little bit after 5:00 this morning. The office was humming with activity. The manager told us they'll probably place about 45 people in jobs today. It's gotten a bit slow now and the folks who are left over may have to come back on Monday -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Brian Palmer in Newark, thank you.

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