[adorno]

18.5% underemployment, representing the official unemployment rate plus the part-time workers...

but,

where are the people who dropped out, or who gave up looking because they became discouraged with looking and just quit trying anymore?

Is there any place where that last figure is accurately kept?

[george76]

http://www.shadowstats.com/alternate_data/unemployment-charts

[JIM O]

Last month alone I think that figure was close to 300k and is the only reason the rate dropped to 8.6%. I am not aware of any source that tracks the cumulative. It seems to me the administration would not want that out there. Out of sight out of mind.

[LibLieSlayer]

The government calls the 8.7% number U3. The U6 number counts those that have seen their UE expire... it is at about 17% today... but if we figured unemployment in the same way that is was figured at the height of the great Depression... we would be over 25%... and 25% was the number during the height of the Great Depression... depressing isn't it?

LLS

[george76]

In the last year, the civilian population rose by 1,726,000. Yet the labor force fell by 67,000. Those not in the labor force rose by 1,793,000.

In November, those “Not in Labor Force” rose by a whopping 487,000. If you are not in the labor force, you are not counted as unemployed.

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-truth-about-the-falling-unemployment-mirage-in-3-charts-2011-12