Undercounting the Joblessness

[Geee]

American Spectator:

The U.S. job growth in May -- or, more accurately, the lack of job growth -- indicates that the economic "recovery" is coming undone.
With 13.9 million people in the U.S. out of work according to the federal government's unemployment calculations (a tally that excludes those who are classified as "discouraged" workers and "involuntary part-timers," among others), the Labor Department reported that only 54,000 jobs were added to nonfarm payrolls in May, down significantly from an average of 130,500 new jobs per month during the first four months of this year.

The number of "discouraged" workers -- those who are out of work but no longer trying to get a job because they consider the prospects to be too poor -- is currently 1.3 million according to the federal number crunchers, the highest number since the figures began to be tabulated in 1994.

The U.S. labor force, the total of those who are working or actively looking for work, has shrunk by 246,000 people over the past four years. Correspondingly, the labor participation rate, the percentage of the working age population that is working or seeking work, is now 64 percent, a 25-year low.

At 54,000 new jobs per month, it would take 22 years to get the unemployed 13.9 million people back to work.