Unemployment numbers' dirty little secret
From today's AOL
The official unemployment rate might be stuck at 10 percent, but the more detailed numbers in the Department of Labor's Household survey data paint a much more dire picture. The number of people with a job fell by 589,000 in December. Even worse, the number of people not in the labor force grew by an astounding 843,000 during just the last month.
The problem of people getting discouraged and giving up looking for work is ballooning. Of course, they have had good reasons to be discouraged. Similarly since February, the total number of people employed has fallen by 4 million. The actual unemployment number is much closer to 20%.
The official unemployment rate might be stuck at 10 percent, but the more detailed numbers in the Department of Labor's Household survey data paint a much more dire picture. The number of people with a job fell by 589,000 in December. Even worse, the number of people not in the labor force grew by an astounding 843,000 during just the last month.
The problem of people getting discouraged and giving up looking for work is ballooning. Of course, they have had good reasons to be discouraged. Similarly since February, the total number of people employed has fallen by 4 million. The actual unemployment number is much closer to 20%.
In fact, I was so depressed last night thinking about the economy, wars, jobs, my savings, Social Security, retirement funds, etc., I called the Suicide Lifeline. I got a call center in Pakistan, and when I told them I was suicidal, they got all excited, and asked if I could drive a truck. (Thought we needed a little humor with this dismal Bush legacy.)
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