Free Republic

Seventy-three percent of college graduates who enter the labor market underemployed stay that way for 10 years... almost half of America’s college graduates are working at high-school-level jobs. The study, published Feb. 22, also found that 52 percent of college graduates are underemployed a year after graduation. ... employers are increasingly turning to factors other than college degrees to determine competency. ... 52 percent of college graduates are underemployed a year after graduation. Even 10 years after graduation, 45 percent of college graduates remain underemployed. Graduates who enter the labor market with a college-level job are said to “rarely slide...

The biggest threat to a corrupt regime is when truth moves away from the "conspiracy theory" fringes and into the mainstream. Which is why we thank Jim Clifton, Chairman and CEO of Gallup, for daring to tell the truth to those who care to listen.Posted first on LinkedInThe Big Lie: 5.6% UnemploymentHere’s something that many Americans -- including some of the smartest and most educated among us -- don’t know: The official unemployment rate, as reported by the U.S. Department of Labor, is extremely misleading.Right now, we’re hearing much celebrating from the media, the White House and Wall Street...

<p>Nearly half of U.S. workers consider themselves underemployed, according to a survey of more than 960,000 people by PayScale, an online provider of salary information.</p> <p>Three-quarters of those who label themselves as such say they're not working in a job that uses their education and training. One quarter say they are working part time but want full-time work.</p>

Barack Obama is preparing for his final State of the Union Address, which he'll deliver January 12. And the president is not looking to slow down as the end of his presidency nears. "I've got 12 months left to squeeze every ounce of change I can while I'm still in office. And that's what I intend to do," Obama writes in an email to supporters. We've done a lot of remarkable things together this year, and it's because of committed citizens like you that this country keeps moving forward. You keep proving the cynics wrong. On January 12, I'll be...

It’s not every day you see you see the chairman and CEO of the Gallup polling organization come out and declare the official unemployment rate number is extremely misleading, or, as the headline suggests, “a big lie”: ... There’s another reason why the official rate is misleading. Say you’re an out-of-work engineer or healthcare worker or construction worker or retail manager: If you perform a minimum of one hour of work in a week and are paid at least $20 — maybe someone pays you to mow their lawn — you’re not officially counted as unemployed in the much-reported 5.6%....

There's a dirty little secret buried in the monthly employment data. It's a secret so dark, so exquisitely threatening to the financial media industry that those who reveal it risk being expunged from the community like magicians revealing their tricks. The National Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 192,000 jobs were added to the economy in March. The unemployment rate stayed flat at 6.7%. The participation rate rose to 63.2%. Now the dirty secret: none of that actually matters very much. 1.The number itself is simply impossible to measure with any accuracy ... 2.The unemployment rate is irrelevant. ... 3.No...

Some say “It’s the jobs stupid,” a variation of the prescient admonition of Bill Clinton’s 1992 election campaign. Well, if it’s all about the jobs, how will the incumbent Barack Obama fare against a Republican opponent, whoever that might be? Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of the Republican Study Committee, makes a case that others have alluded to – the vast number of Americans not counted among the official “unemployed.” The administration may be able to doctor the officially blessed data released monthly, but . . .

With their unemployment-insurance checks running out, some of the country’s long-term jobless are scrambling to fill the gap by filing claims for mental illness and other disabilities with Social Security — a surge that hobbles taxpayers and making the employment rate look healthier than it should as these people drop out of the job statistics.

<p>Today, millions of smart, hard working Americans are flipping burgers, waiting tables or working dead end retail jobs not because they want to, but because they have no other options. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 14 million Americans are currently unemployed and another 9.3 million Americans are currently "underemployed".</p>

The labor force is substantially underutilized relative to what we experienced in most of the post-World War II period... From 2003 to 2007, before the latest recession, O’Keefe says the number of people working part-time for economic reasons as a percent of the labor force averaged about 3 percent, or approximately four million people. Over the past 12 months, the average has been about 6 percent.

The unemployed will face tough competition from the underemployed ...The job market is even worse than the 9.1 percent unemployment rate suggests. America's 14 million unemployed aren't competing just with each other. They must also contend with 8.8 million other people not counted as unemployed -- part-timers who want full-time work. ... Combined, the 14 million officially unemployed; the "underemployed" part-timers who want full-time work; and "discouraged" people who have stopped looking make up 16.2 percent of working-age Americans. The Labor Department compiles the figure to assess how many people want full-time work and can't find it -- a number...

Gallup Daily tracking finds that 20.3% of the U.S. workforce was underemployed in March -- a slight uptick from the relatively flat January and February numbers. A rise in the percentage of part-timers wanting to work full time (from 9.2% to 9.9%) is responsible for the March increase in underemployment.

March update: civilian noninstitutional population: 239.0 million; Civillian labor force: 153,406, Employed 139,864... Which means that the Labor Force Participation rate continues to be at a 25 year low of 64.2%.

"Despite today's nearly double-digit unemployment rate, 4 in 10 unemployed Americans expect to get a job in the next four weeks and one in three underemployed have the same expectations with respect to obtaining a full-time job." That's the finding of a new Gallup poll released yesterday. I guess it's nice that so many Americans remain upbeat in the face of our economic challenges. But this goes beyond upbeat into pure delusion. As Mish points out, there are around 14.5 million unemployed people. In order to employ 40% of them, businesses would have to create 5.95 million jobs. In December...

Are you unemployed? Are you employed, but looking around for another job? Are you looking for an extra job, part-time job, work from home job, starting your own business, or finding a good turn-key business? Are you looking for a job for yourself, a family member or a friend? If any of these apply, this is the thread to bookmark.

In California and a handful of other states, one out of every five people who would like to be working full time is not now doing so. It is a startling sign of the pain that the Great Recession is inflicting, and it is largely missed by the official, oft-repeated statistics on unemployment. The national unemployment rate has risen to 9.5 percent, the highest level in more than a quarter-century. Yet it still excludes all those who have given up looking for a job and those part-time workers who want to be working full time. Include them — as the...

One-Time Lawyer Finds Job Hopes Riding on E-Mail By David Finkel Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, June 29, 2003; Page A01 First in a series of occasional articles NEWARK, Ohio Monday begins with good news, exactly the opposite of what Stuart Adkins has come to expect. "Congratulations," the e-mail Adkins is reading starts off, and that first word alone is enough to flood him with an emotion he hasn't felt in nearly two years. Later, he will describe it. "Jubilation," he will say. But for now, he reads what comes next -- "on successfully advancing to Level 2 of the...