US sees high unemployment rates, widening wealth gap: report

Source:Xinhua Published: 2014-2-28 16:31:20

Despite the recovering economy, the economic and social rights of citizens of the United States are still under challenge, says a report on the US human rights record on Friday.

The unemployment rates in the US are high, with the average length of unemployment for US workers reached 39.5 weeks in 2012, the highest level since World War II, says the report, quoting media articles.

The report titled "Human Rights Record of the United States in 2013" was released by China's State Council Information Office.

"In 2007, nearly 80 of every 100 people aged 25 to 54 in the United States had a job, whereas in the 12 months ending June 2013, only about 76 of every 100 people in that age group were working," the report says.

China on Friday responded to the United States criticism and irresponsible remarks of its human rights situation by publishing its own report on the US human rights issues.

Moreover, wealth gap in the US is widening. "The top 10 percent of US households controlled 50.4 percent of total income in 2012, the highest figures seen since 1917," it says.

The report also notes the eroding leverage of labor unions, declining working conditions and pay, swelling number of homeless as well as the problematic social security system in the US.

A US Census Bureau report said that in 2012, a total of 15.4 percent, or some 48 million people in the US were uninsured, the report says, adding that "whether they have insurance or not, people spent more on health care in 2012 than in 2011."

Posted in: Americas

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