Posted on Mar 13, 2017
Labor market experts: Nope, jobs numbers aren't "phony" or "a hoax"
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Now they are real numbers!!
Few months ago the real numbers "could be as high as 50%."
Few months ago the real numbers "could be as high as 50%."
Labor market experts: Nope, jobs numbers aren't "phony" or "a hoax"
Posted from nbcnews.comPosted in these groups: 
Office of the President (POTUS)
Jobs
Office of the President (POTUS) Jobs
Posted 8 y ago
Responses: 4
The Technical Measures of the Unemployment Rate
The first two BLS measures of the unemployment rate, U-1 and U-2, are very narrow. The U-3 unemployment rate is the officially recognized rate of unemployment, measuring the number of unemployed people as a percentage of the labor force. Unless otherwise stated, all generic references to the employment rate in government communications and in the media refer to U-3 unemployment.
The U-4 unemployment rate is similar to the U-3 rate, but it adds in a category of people who are technically outside the labor force, known as discouraged workers. Discouraged workers desire work and have actively looked for work in the past 12 months, but they have not looked in the last four weeks because they don't believe there is work available for them due to economic conditions or other reasons.
The U-5 unemployment rate includes everyone in the U-4 rate, in addition to any people who are available to work, willing to work and not discouraged from looking for work, but who have not looked for work in the prior four weeks for some other reason.
The U-6 unemployment rate includes everyone in the U-5 rate plus any people who work part time because full-time work is not available due to economic conditions.
The U-3 unemployment rate is a comparatively narrow technical measure that leaves out a whole swath of out-of-work people who are willing and able to take a job but who don't fit the narrow BLS definition of "unemployed." For example, a stonemason who wants to work but who has become discouraged by a lack of opportunity in the midst of a deep economic recession would not be included in U-3 unemployment. A marketing executive who is laid off at age 57 and stops scheduling new job interviews due to her experience of age discrimination would not be included in U-3 unemployment. A person who only works one six-hour shift per week because no full-time jobs are available in his area would not be included in U-3 unemployment.
In contrast to the U-3 rate, the U-6 unemployment rate includes all of these cases. Consequently, the U-6 rate is much truer to a natural, non-technical understanding of what it means to be unemployed. By capturing discouraged workers, underemployed workers and other folks who exist on the margins of the labor market, the U-6 rate provides a broad picture of the underutilization of labor in the country. In this sense, the U-6 rate is the true unemployment rate.
The U6 is what has been reported lately by the media to try and show how bad unemployment is now under the Trump administration. And is not a true comparison as when the media reported the U3 during the Obama administration.
The first two BLS measures of the unemployment rate, U-1 and U-2, are very narrow. The U-3 unemployment rate is the officially recognized rate of unemployment, measuring the number of unemployed people as a percentage of the labor force. Unless otherwise stated, all generic references to the employment rate in government communications and in the media refer to U-3 unemployment.
The U-4 unemployment rate is similar to the U-3 rate, but it adds in a category of people who are technically outside the labor force, known as discouraged workers. Discouraged workers desire work and have actively looked for work in the past 12 months, but they have not looked in the last four weeks because they don't believe there is work available for them due to economic conditions or other reasons.
The U-5 unemployment rate includes everyone in the U-4 rate, in addition to any people who are available to work, willing to work and not discouraged from looking for work, but who have not looked for work in the prior four weeks for some other reason.
The U-6 unemployment rate includes everyone in the U-5 rate plus any people who work part time because full-time work is not available due to economic conditions.
The U-3 unemployment rate is a comparatively narrow technical measure that leaves out a whole swath of out-of-work people who are willing and able to take a job but who don't fit the narrow BLS definition of "unemployed." For example, a stonemason who wants to work but who has become discouraged by a lack of opportunity in the midst of a deep economic recession would not be included in U-3 unemployment. A marketing executive who is laid off at age 57 and stops scheduling new job interviews due to her experience of age discrimination would not be included in U-3 unemployment. A person who only works one six-hour shift per week because no full-time jobs are available in his area would not be included in U-3 unemployment.
In contrast to the U-3 rate, the U-6 unemployment rate includes all of these cases. Consequently, the U-6 rate is much truer to a natural, non-technical understanding of what it means to be unemployed. By capturing discouraged workers, underemployed workers and other folks who exist on the margins of the labor market, the U-6 rate provides a broad picture of the underutilization of labor in the country. In this sense, the U-6 rate is the true unemployment rate.
The U6 is what has been reported lately by the media to try and show how bad unemployment is now under the Trump administration. And is not a true comparison as when the media reported the U3 during the Obama administration.
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Cpl Jeff N.
You are spot on. The various unemployment numbers tell different stories. The one we traditionally look at that is reported every month now sits at about 4.7%. It is a real number but does not tell the full story. The number to really watch, in my opinion, is the number of Americans not in the labor force which peaked at 94.3 million or so under Obama. That is how many people of working age and are able but are not working. It tells the real story of where we are.
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SSG Robert Webster
MSgt (Join to see) Excellent. Main problem though is that very few that believe otherwise will even try to understand, until it directly impacts them.
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SSG Robert Webster
More of Obama's Magic Wand:
First -- four years ago, I set a national goal to provide 98 percent of Americans with high-speed wireless Internet so that any young scientist or entrepreneur could access the world’s information. Today, I can announce that we have achieved that goal, and we did it ahead of schedule. That’s a big deal.
Really Mr. Obama? Was this done and who is paying for it?
First -- four years ago, I set a national goal to provide 98 percent of Americans with high-speed wireless Internet so that any young scientist or entrepreneur could access the world’s information. Today, I can announce that we have achieved that goal, and we did it ahead of schedule. That’s a big deal.
Really Mr. Obama? Was this done and who is paying for it?
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SSG Robert Webster
Last but not least of Obama's Magic Wand:
Number three -- no young person in America should miss out on the chance to excel in these fields just because they don’t have the resources. So, five years ago, we launched a campaign called ‘Educate to Innovate,’ to help more of our students explore science, technology, engineering and math. Today, I’m pleased to announce $240 million in new contributions from businesses, from schools, from foundations across the country to help kids learn in these STEM fields. So we are very, very proud to make that announcement.
And who is benefitting from this particular program, is it any wonder why certain corporations and a number of universities and colleges were screaming about President Trump's EO on Immigration (plus the H1B visa and it's use as a tool to skirt immigration and employment laws).
When you glut the market with too many 'qualified' people, what does that do to wages and salaries for those fields of endeavor? Doesn't it add to the number of 'under' employed and unemployed?
Number three -- no young person in America should miss out on the chance to excel in these fields just because they don’t have the resources. So, five years ago, we launched a campaign called ‘Educate to Innovate,’ to help more of our students explore science, technology, engineering and math. Today, I’m pleased to announce $240 million in new contributions from businesses, from schools, from foundations across the country to help kids learn in these STEM fields. So we are very, very proud to make that announcement.
And who is benefitting from this particular program, is it any wonder why certain corporations and a number of universities and colleges were screaming about President Trump's EO on Immigration (plus the H1B visa and it's use as a tool to skirt immigration and employment laws).
When you glut the market with too many 'qualified' people, what does that do to wages and salaries for those fields of endeavor? Doesn't it add to the number of 'under' employed and unemployed?
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The formula is simple, if numbers support them they are accurate, if they support an opponent or make them look bad they are false.
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