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The Real Unemployment Rate: In 20% Of American Families, Everyone Is Unemployed
Zero Hedge ^ | 4/29/14 | Tyler Durden

Posted on 04/29/2014 8:14:42 PM PDT by Nachum

According to shocking new numbers that were just released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 20 percent of American families do not have a single person that is working. So when someone tries to tell you that the unemployment rate in the United States is about 7 percent, you should just laugh. One-fifth of the families in the entire country do not have a single member with a job. That is absolutely astonishing. How can a family survive if nobody is making any money? Well, the answer to that question is actually quite easy. There is a reason why government dependence has reached epidemic levels in the United States. Without enough jobs, tens of millions of additional Americans have been forced to reach out to the government for help. At this point, if you can believe it, the number of Americans getting money or benefits from the federal government each month exceeds the number of full-time workers in the private sector by more than 60 million.

(Excerpt) Read more at zerohedge.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: rate; real; unemployment
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To: F15Eagle

> Don’t get me started. I used to contribute thousands and thousands of dollars to state and federal taxes. But the whole thing is upside down. And made lots of purchases every single week (restaurants, etc.).

We’ve cut everything to the bone and just eat out on special occassions and buy just enough groceries to get by. I bet The Obama’s dog, BO (hell he even named the dog after himself using his initials; the narcissist twit), probably eats better than many households.


21 posted on 04/29/2014 9:16:22 PM PDT by jsanders2001
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To: Nachum

Those crappy numbers the Obama regime releases on Fun With Numbers Thursday and Friday don’t mean jack. Just more lies from our government masters.


22 posted on 04/29/2014 9:17:45 PM PDT by FlingWingFlyer (Obama's smidgens are coming home to roost.)
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To: F15Eagle
Don’t get me started. I used to contribute thousands and thousands of dollars to state and federal taxes. But the whole thing is upside down. And made lots of purchases every single week (restaurants, etc.).

Well, the OUTBACK down the street closed up a few weeks ago. There's a huge and increasing amount of vacant store space in our area, in one of the richest counties in the nation, traditionally. Dupage County, IL, to be specific. Quo Vadis?

23 posted on 04/29/2014 9:36:19 PM PDT by dr_lew
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To: jsanders2001
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/barackobama/6425473/It-is-not-a-dogs-life-for-Americas-first-canine.html

Bo, the Portuguese water dog that lives with Obama family in the White House, has enjoyed a first birthday befitting of America's first canine with a specially-produced cake made out of veal.

I'm certainly not against the pups living well at all but with things as they are in this country, it's pretty rude for the Obama's to flaunt this stuff. photo odog_zpse070e029.jpg

24 posted on 04/29/2014 10:03:42 PM PDT by Irenic (The pencil sharpener and Elmer's glue is put away-- we've lost the red wheelbarrow)
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To: txhurl
well I read today that a man working full time today actually makes less than a guy back in the early 70s'....

so why work?....

I've got shyster relatives on the dole both collecting SSdisability and they live like kings....

25 posted on 04/29/2014 10:08:20 PM PDT by cherry
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To: Retired Chemist

people sometimes “retire” because they have lost their jobs....try getting a job at 55 on up...if you get to 62, you “retire” whether you want to or not because you have to live...


26 posted on 04/29/2014 10:10:27 PM PDT by cherry
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To: Nachum

This is one of those things in which you have to look at the details. It looks like BLS uses “family” as equivalent to “household”, in which case an old single or widowed pensioner is a “family” with no one working. A married couple both retired would be a “family” with no one working even if they use the more narrow definition of a “family” as a household with at least one member besides the householder and related to the householder which the Census Bureau uses.

The latest Census Bureau household survey of just under 81,000 households had over 11,000 families with two members and a householder over 65, suggesting that most of the 20% of households with no one working consist of pensioners and are not something to be distressed about.


27 posted on 04/29/2014 10:13:07 PM PDT by The_Reader_David (And when they behead your own people in the wars which are to come, then you will know...)
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To: cherry

It is better financially if you retire at 62 for you can still work part-time, which you will make far more money then what they say you’ll gain by waiting.

Your hours will be limited until you reach 65, but after you can work full time and still collect your social security.

I’ve talked with folks who have done this...after 65 they took other full-time work that required less stress and strain yet they are making plenty to more than live or get by on.

The key, I think, is to stay healthy enough to work the rest of your life.... interesting is God never says a thing about us retiring from work.


28 posted on 04/29/2014 10:15:42 PM PDT by caww
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To: cherry
It's possible...you need to “re-invent yourself” and find a niche market with demand....I am 72 and now drive a tanker truck.
29 posted on 04/29/2014 11:03:07 PM PDT by spokeshave (OMG.......Schadenfreude overload is not covered under Obamacare :-()
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To: Irenic

You can tell much about a king by the way he treats his peasants as opposed to his pets.

We don’t have a president. We have a tyrant who believes he is a king.


30 posted on 04/29/2014 11:03:38 PM PDT by jsanders2001
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To: spokeshave

> It’s possible...you need to “re-invent yourself” and find a niche market with demand....I am 72 and now drive a tanker truck.

I salute you. How did you get them to hire you?


31 posted on 04/29/2014 11:10:16 PM PDT by jsanders2001
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To: jsanders2001
...."We have a tyrant"...

Well I could have said that awhile back but he's really not even in the caliber of a tyrant...he's too weak for that title. Others are running the show...clearly.

But I will agree he attempts to wear a crown, because 'HE' still sees himself as King. ..but he has no clothes.


32 posted on 04/29/2014 11:10:26 PM PDT by caww
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To: jsanders2001
How did you get them to hire you?

I delivered vehicles around the US for 15 months...then with a clean driving license and passing the physicals and background checks I was hired to drive the tankers.

33 posted on 04/29/2014 11:27:56 PM PDT by spokeshave (OMG.......Schadenfreude overload is not covered under Obamacare :-()
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To: rdcbn

Promised Change. Changed promise.

You will get used to it.


34 posted on 04/30/2014 1:47:06 AM PDT by urbanpovertylawcenter (the law and poverty collide in an urban setting and sparks fly)
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To: Nachum; All

All by design, Comrade. All. By. Design.


35 posted on 04/30/2014 4:52:14 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set...)
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To: Nachum

retirees......

deduct retirees and the number declines


36 posted on 04/30/2014 4:59:20 AM PDT by bert ((K.E. N.P. N.C. +12 ..... History is a process, not an event)
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To: jsanders2001

“Worst economy I’ve ever seen in my whole lifetime.”

You must be younger than me...Proud SURVIVOR of Jimmy Carter!

My folks had a mortgage at 18%, and credit cards (paid each month) at 22%. Long lines for gasoline when you could get it. Food shortages akin to The Great Depression.

I joined the Army because I couldn’t find a job after High School, however that ended up being the BEST decision of my life. :) (It was a few years post-Viet Nam. Most everyone thought I was nuts to join after that fiasco.)

IMHO, it’s been worse, and this is the second go-round for me. Back then, Government wasn’t AS out of control and Congress was actually HELD TO TASK for their actions.

This bunch of grifters, led by the biggest scam artist to ever live, is a lawless bunch, devoid of all empathy for anyone other than their own and others at the top of the Food Chain.

Will we survive this? You betcha. Will it be fun? Probably not. Will future generations learn anything? Doubtful.

Consider yourself a Free Agent from here on out and put yourself and your family first when it comes to multiple streams of income (EVERYONE in the household needs to pitch in!) and thwarting the tax man where you can. Starve the BEAST! :)


37 posted on 04/30/2014 4:59:52 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set...)
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To: tbw2

“What part of that 20% not working is simply a single or pair of retirees?”

I wondered the same thing. I found the source of this 20% number, which is here:

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/famee.pdf

Their definition of unemployed:

“The unemployed are persons who had no employment during the reference week, were available for work at that time, and had made specific efforts to find employment sometime during the 4-week period ending with the reference week.”

It would seem this definition excludes retired people.

But it also seems that they calculated the 80% number for families with at least one working member and did a simple subtraction to arrive at the 20% number.

So, it appears that the 20% does include retirees, so this is NOT an unemployment rate statistic, and should not be thought of as such.

The real “devil in the details” is the condition stated in that definition that requires a person to be actively seeking work to be considered unemployed.


38 posted on 04/30/2014 5:58:30 AM PDT by Fresh Wind (The last remnants of the Old Republic have been swept away.)
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To: Diana in Wisconsin

The worst economy in my own personal experience is right now though I realize Its subjective depending on the situation and who you ask. I’ve never seen America in such a chaotic state so its more than just the economy. I think there’s a lot more uncertaintly and a loss of stability that I haven’t seen before. You can just feel the evil at work in America right now; its head at 1600 Pennsylvania NW Ave...

Everyone in my household is working and actively looking for any other work we can do on the side. We’re not afraid of hard labor...: )


39 posted on 04/30/2014 7:13:11 AM PDT by jsanders2001
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To: jsanders2001

I didn’t think you were. And you’re right about the evil at work in our country. The enemy is WELL within the gates!


40 posted on 04/30/2014 10:53:16 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin (I don't have 'Hobbies.' I'm developing a robust Post-Apocalyptic skill set...)
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