I’ve written before<\/a> about how the “official” US unemployment rate is massaged to create an artificially low level, especially when compared with posted EU figures. Here’s the latest (March 2004) figures for the US<\/a>:
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| Category <\/TD> | % of civilian work force<\/TD> <\/TR> |
| Persons unemployed 15 weeks or longer. <\/TD> | 2.2%<\/TD> <\/TR> |
| Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs.<\/TD> | 3.0<\/TD> <\/TR> |
| Total unemployed. (Official unemployment rate)<\/TD> | 5.6<\/TD> <\/TR> |
| Total unemployed plus discouraged workers.<\/TD> | 5.9<\/TD> <\/TR> |
| Total unemployed, plus discouraged workers, plus all other marginally attached workers.<\/TD> | 6.7<\/TD> <\/TR> |
| Total unemployed, plus all marginally attached workers, plus total employed part-time for economic reasons, plus all marginally attached workers<\/TD> | 9.6<\/TD> <\/TR><\/TABLE>Marginally attached workers<\/b> are neither working nor looking for work. But they want to work and have looked for jobs. Discouraged workers<\/b> have given up looking for jobs. Workers employed part-time for economic reasons<\/b> want full-time jobs but have to settle for part-time. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics employment situation report for February<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n |