The
unemployment rate is a variable that economists routinely use to measure the
health of the economy.
However,
some people think the federal unemployment rate doesn’t accurately reflect
reality. In fact, the real rate of unemployment may actually be much higher than what’s reported.
The
state and federal governments calculate unemployment differently. States often
measure unemployment by the number of people receiving unemployment benefits.
But that, of course, can be misleading since unemployment benefits expire, leaving
the unemployed without a way to be measured.
The
federal U.S. government, which releases the ubiquitous “unemployment rate” our
country focuses on, uses a calculation to measure how many people are
unemployed, though this measurement is also flawed.
How Is the Unemployment Rate Calculated?
Surveyors
from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) visit 60,000 households every month
and ask a number of questions to determine someone’s employment status. If
someone works full-time, part-time, or is self-employed, they are considered
employed. If someone does not have a job of any kind, but has been looking for
one for the past four weeks, they are considered unemployed. If someone does
not have a job and isn’t looking for one, they are considered outside of the
labor force.
http://www.moneycrashers.com/what-is-national-us-unemployment-rate/
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