The US adult population is composed of three groups: (1) The Employed, (2) The Unemployed and the (3) Not in the labor market. Yet the calculation for unemployment under the Obama Administration ONLY considers the employed and unemployed.
The largest growing segment of the adult population since 2008 isn't employed or unemployed its NOT IN THE LABOR MARKET!
See below you are considered "Not in Labor Force" if a person stops looking for work but are available for work. This means not a person who is now disabled or retired. "Stop looking" is measured when someones unemployment checks run out! These people are still unemployed, they are actually worse off the the official unemployed receiving checks from the government. Yet the Obama administration thinks it's wise to take them out of the unemployment numbers, so they can toss up a bullshit number showing unemployment has decreased!
True the 'Not in the Labor Market' can be for various reasons, but the vast majority of Americans are getting lumped in there because their unemployment benefits have run out and they can't find a job. This segment has grown by leaps and bounds since Obama has taken office. It's growth is the only reason the bullshit unemployment number isn't in the teens or glup 20s! The get knocked out of the number FOR POLITICAL REASONS! However, most people aren't buying it! Only partisan hacks do.
This chart shows the stagnant growth in the labor market, regardless of the propaganda pelted by the Obama administration on unemployment levels!
Three way to calculate the labor force!
The largest growing segment of the adult population since 2008 isn't employed or unemployed its NOT IN THE LABOR MARKET!
See below you are considered "Not in Labor Force" if a person stops looking for work but are available for work. This means not a person who is now disabled or retired. "Stop looking" is measured when someones unemployment checks run out! These people are still unemployed, they are actually worse off the the official unemployed receiving checks from the government. Yet the Obama administration thinks it's wise to take them out of the unemployment numbers, so they can toss up a bullshit number showing unemployment has decreased!
What is the Real Unemployment Rate, and How Could We Tell? | Rortybomb
By definition, you can be one of three, mutually exclusive types employed, unemployed or not in the labor force and you can transfer between these types. The labor force is the sum of employed people and unemployed people. December 2007 is when the Great Recession started, so we include that as a baseline in each circle.
True the 'Not in the Labor Market' can be for various reasons, but the vast majority of Americans are getting lumped in there because their unemployment benefits have run out and they can't find a job. This segment has grown by leaps and bounds since Obama has taken office. It's growth is the only reason the bullshit unemployment number isn't in the teens or glup 20s! The get knocked out of the number FOR POLITICAL REASONS! However, most people aren't buying it! Only partisan hacks do.
There are two facts to deal with in this Great Recession. The labor force hasnt grown since December 2007 when the recession started, even though we are a much bigger country. The Not in Labor Force has increased in response. This must mean that the labor-force participation rate has declined. Lets graph each normalized to December 2007:
This chart shows the stagnant growth in the labor market, regardless of the propaganda pelted by the Obama administration on unemployment levels!
Three way to calculate the labor force!
Lets take a look at three ways of counting unemployment.
1. The official unemployment rate. (or Obama Mathematics) Called U-3″, it is the total unemployed divided by the labor force. Unemployed are defined as: Persons are classified as unemployed if they do not have a job, have actively looked for work in the prior 4 weeks, and are currently available for work. If a person stops looking for work but are available for work, they end up in the Not in Labor Force category. How to keep track of those who have given up looking for work?
2. The marginally-attached unemployment rate. This refers to U-5″ unemployment. Marginally-attached workers are those that indicate that they currently want a job, have looked for work in the last 12 months (or since they last worked if they worked within the last 12 months), and are available for work. To get this rate, the BLS adds marginally-attached workers to the labor force as unemployed and recalculate the unemployment rate.
Even this alternative mechanisms of determining unemployment isnt necessarily working. If it has been thirteen months since youve last looked for work, you are no longer counted as marginally attached. Given how long this recession has been going, it is likely some people have fallen out of this measure. Well need to come up with something else.
3. A consistent labor-force participation rate. (The Only Way To Measure TRUE UNEMPLOYMENT)Many people have posted graphs on how the employment-to-population ratio has declined. How can we use that to help give us a clearer picture on the labor market?
A different way to go about it is to look at the labor-force participation rate, which is down to 64% from 66% in December 2007. How many people would have to enter the labor force to get that percentage up to where it was before the recession? I subtract these two numbers and calculate the number of people who would need to enter the labor force to keep that rate consistent, and add them to the labor force as unemployed. Im taking the the December 2007 labor force participation rate of 66% for this exercise