Unemployment in Guam for September 2009 is 9.3 percent, an increase of 1.0 percentage point from the September 2007 figure of 8.3 percent and an increase of 1.9 percentage points from September 2006 figure of 7.4 percent.

The total number of people unemployed in September 2009 was 6,510, an increase of 1,200 from the previous survey in September 2007 of 5,310 figures and an increase of 1,620 from September 2006 of 4,890.

While the unemployment rate went up reflecting an increased number of persons unemployed, the number of persons employed over the latest three year period increased from 61,250 to 63,800. Guam’s total population covered by the survey, 16 years of age and over, has been steadily growing. It increased from an estimated 106,310 in September 2006 to 110,090 in September 2007 to 114,000 in September 2009. The increased civilian population and labor force has resulted in combination of increased numbers of people employed, unemployed and in the out of the labor force category. The number of persons not in the labor force increased from 39,900 in September 2006 to 43,680 in September 2009. Persons not in the labor force by definition are those persons not employed and also not actively looking for work. In the September 2009 survey period, 6,280 persons Not in the Labor Force category indicated that they wanted a job but did not look for work for a variety of reasons.

Comparisons for the three-year time period from September 2006 to September 2009 shows that unemployment rate generally increased for nearly all categories of persons, as follows: For Household Heads, the rate increased only slightly from 5.1 to 5.7 percent; the rate for Full-Time workers increased from 7.4 to 9.2 percent; and Part-Time workers went up from 6.8 to 9.5 percent. Unemployment rates increased for adult men, from 5.6 to 7.9 percent and adult women from 6.4 to 9.1 percent. The unemployment rate for U.S. Citizens increased only slightly from 7.8 to 8.1 percent, whereas the rate for Immigrant Aliens went up from 6.2 to 12.7 percent. The unemployment rate for Veterans increased from 3.0 to 9.0 percent.

 

Click here to view and/or download the September 2009 Unemployment Report in it's entirety. (pdf format)