The Not-so-governmental Guide to the Unemployment Rate

The not-so-governmental GUIDE TO THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE “Unemployment Soars to Highest Level in 16 Years" The New York Times The government issued a press release saying the unemployment rate has now reached, 7.2% Zoinks! That's high. Yes, but fear not! According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, even if you have lost your job, you may not be unemployed after all. Let's find out. YOU lost your job have you looked for a job? no yes did you find one? yes по did you give up looking? was it part time? ПО no yes yes were you looking for full time? has it been a year since you gave up? no yes no yes Uh, you're still employed. You are not employed, but you are not unemployed. Either way, you don't count. Congratulations, you are officially unemployed. can I collect unemployment benefits? You are neither employed nor unemployed. In fact you are not even in the labor market so you don't count As long as you are eligible, you can collect unemployment benefits if you are unemployed or not unemployed unless you are employed or underemployed. Understand? no You see the government's 7.2% unemployment rate does not count many millions of Americans who could not find a job or could not get full time employment. This is called the U-3 rate, or the 'official rate' then why use it? Because it looks nice. The government also tracks the seldom reported U-6 rate. This includes all the discouraged and underemployed workers. The U-6 unemployment rate represents real world conditions and is currently, 13.5% Double zoinks! That's really high. But it's not like it's the Great Depression or anything. Well, if the current unemployment rate were calculated like it was 80 years ago it would be, 17.5% Triple zoinks! That's scary. But still, during the Great Depression the unemployment rate was 25%, that's one in four Americans. That's true, but unemployment didn't reach 25% until four years after the market crashed. In 1930, the year after the crisis, the unemployment rate was 8.9%. That's about half of what it is today. So wait.. does that mean.. You're going to need a lot more zoinks. blog.mint.com wallstats.com/blog