What Is the Real Unemployment Rate? 11.1 Percent?

[Draggingtree]

Weekly Standard:

 

 

 

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What Is the Real Unemployment Rate? 11.1 Percent?

11:16 AM, May 5, 2012 • By DANIEL HALPER

 

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He offers, "If the size of the U.S. labor force as a share of the total population was the same as it was when Barack Obama took office—65.7% then vs. 63.6% today—the U-3 unemployment rate would be 11.1%."

Credit: American Enterprise Institute

This 11.1 percent number "doesn’t take into account the aging of the Baby Boomers, which should lower the participation due to rising retirements," writes Pethokoukis.

"If you take into account the aging of the Baby Boomers, the participation rate should be trending lower. Indeed, it has been doing just that since 2000. Before the Great Recession, the Congressional Budget Office predicted what the partipation rate would be in 2012, assuming such demographic changes. Using that number, the real unemployment rate would be 10.7%. Of course, the participation rate usually falls during recessions. Yet even if you discount for that and the aging issue, the real unemployment rate would be 9.3%."

Whole thing here. Read More http://www.weeklystandard...daily/daily.asp

[Pepper]

Also see ZeroHedge.

 

"It is just getting sad now.

In April the number of people not in the labor force rose by a whopping 522,000 from 87,897,000 to 88,419,000.

This is the highest on record. "

 

 

The flip side, and the reason why the unemployment dropped to 8.1%.

 

There Are 100 Million Working Age Americans That Do Not Have Jobs

 

Thank you, Master Obama.

[Pepper]

See also these charts

 

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Unemployed.png

 

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Not-In-Labor-Force.png

[pollyannaish]

Also see ZeroHedge.

 

"It is just getting sad now.

In April the number of people not in the labor force rose by a whopping 522,000 from 87,897,000 to 88,419,000.

This is the highest on record. "

 

 

The flip side, and the reason why the unemployment dropped to 8.1%.

 

There Are 100 Million Working Age Americans That Do Not Have Jobs

 

Thank you, Master Obama.

 

And I know quite a few who do have jobs...that are working fewer hours and for very little renumeration. So even that number is misleading.

 

My husband works for our states unemployment division. He says that if you work one hour a week, you are considered employed. It's really amazing.