Men’s Wearhouse helps unemployed with free suits
Staff Writer
2011-09-01
.bugnews.bloggieblog.com .
For the fourth year, Men’s Wearhouse has held a successful National Suit Drive, the country’s largest collection of gently used professional attire. The company devoted the month of August to encouraging patrons to transform their unwanted businesswear into a second chance for millions of disadvantaged Americans facing joblessness.
Despite recent job increases in select industries, the unemployment rate is still hovering just above an alarming 9 percent. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of July 2011:
African-Americans are experiencing a 16.2 percent unemployment rate – almost 1.8 times the national average of 9.2 percent.
The U.S. Latino population is experiencing an 11.6 percent unemployment rate.
U.S. males are experiencing a 9.1 percent unemployment rate, while U.S. females are facing an 8.0 percent rate.
The power of a suit in the workplace is not to be underestimated, according to the nationwide Men’s Wearhouse Well-Dressed Men Survey conducted earlier this year by Kelton Research for Men’s Wearhouse. A full 75 percent of Americans polled believe well-dressed men are more successful in the workplace than their casual colleagues, and 22 percent of men actually believe they would earn more money if only they dressed better.