His system? People not looking for work have never been considered unemployed, and still aren't.
We measure unemployment to see how much available labor is not being used: how many jobs we're short. Someone not trying to work is not available and could not be hired regardless of the availability of jobs.
If I was an electrical engineer and got laid off, I don't think I would be looking for a job as a landscaper or a mechanics helper. Even if I am not looking for a job I am still unemployed.
Looking for a job means going to the unemployment office once a week. Not going there and not looking for a job doesn't mean I don't send out dozens of resumes every week.
What are the real numbers Hoss?
The unemployment rate which is under 4% of eligible workers whether they're looking for work or not.
ummm no, people not trying to work still aren't classified as unemployed.
oh and for fun, I did some math...according to BLS, in January 2017 out of an estimated adult civilian noninstitutional population of 254,082,000, there were an estimated 152,076,000 employed and 7,642,000 unemployed. That gives us a labor force of (152,076,000+7,642,000) = 159,718,000
Unemployment rate then was 7,642,000/159,718,000=4.8%
But you say it was 16%. In order to get that, you are adding around 21,325,000 more unemployed.
Except, of the 94,363,000 people neither working not looking for work, only 5.7 million said they wanted a job (and most of those said they couldn't have accepted a job if offered).
So where are you getting 21 million extra workers?