Wiseacre
Retired USAF Chief
It really went up instead of stayin' flat...
Real Unemployment Rate Rose in August to 16.2% -- 26 Million People
Tuesday, September 06, 2011 The real unemployment rate actually rose in August, according to the Department of Labor, belying the fact that the official unemployment rate, 9.1 percent, remained flat while the economy did not create any new jobs on net last month.
According to the data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, real unemployment rose to 16.2 percent in August, up from 16.1 percent in July and tying the 2011 record set in June.
The real unemployment rate is comprised of three different measures of the labor force that more accurately reflect who is really unemployed, as opposed to the official unemployment rate, which merely measures those who told the government they were unemployed and looking for work in the past month.
The real unemployment rate is comprised of the official unemployment rate, those employed part-time because they cannot find full-time work, and those marginally attached to the labor force: people who have stopped looking for work but would return to the labor force if jobs were available.
All told, the total number of Americans who are truly unemployed those that make up the real unemployment rate is now 26 million people, according to the Labor Department data.
Real Unemployment Rate Rose in August to 16.2% -- 26 Million People | CNSnews.com
I'm always amazed of the idiocy of people including people WHO HAVE JOBS and saying they're "really unemployed." It's ridiculous.
Yes the U-6 is a useful measure, but it is NOT a measure of unemployment and BLS certainly doesn't call it one.
The official unemployment index (U-3), based on a monthly survey of sample households, counts only people who reported looking for work in the past four weeks. It doesn't account for part-time workers who want to work more hours but can't, given the tight job market. And it doesn't include those who have given up trying to find work.
When the underemployed and the discouraged are added to the numbers, the unemployment rate rises to 16.6%. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, a unit of the Labor Department, began tracking this alternative measure -- known as the U-6 for its department classification -- in 1995 after economists lobbied for a method comparable to the way Japan, Canada and Western Europe count their unemployed.
Don't care what it's called, it is an alternative way to meansure real unemployment. Nothing wrong with taking into account those who are working part time but want full time jobs.