Unemployment

Analyzing unemployment data to show that "real" unemployment is worse than the headline numbers show.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• unemployment
• economy
• capacity
• inflation
• deflation

[dhukkaman]

Sorry but both yourself and Mish have merely demonstrated that you don't understand how to calculate numbers or rates of growth. U6 is clearly NOT growing faster than U3. Of course the gap between two numbers will get wider even when they increase in proportion to each other if the start point of one is higher than the other.

[khanacademy]

You are correct that the ratio of u6 to u3 is not increasing (or that U6 is not growing faster in % terms), but clearly more people/month are being added to the u6 group than the u3 group which tells us that u3 will more and more understate the "real" unemployment numbers as things get worse. At also tells us that of the 91.2% employed rate based on u3, more and more of those people are not full-time.

[khanacademy]

Also, if you prefer ratios and % changes, the employment rate as measured by u6 is a smaller number than the employment rate as measured by u3, but it is decreasing by a larger number and a larger % and the ratio of (employment rate as measured by u6)/(employment rate as measured by u3) is decreasing at an accelerating rate.

[clerlic]

Wow, that's one clear explanation and I don't know anything about economics!

Thanks!

[ruskylinee]

thank you sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo­oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much. we really appreciate

[2002BRAM]

Great!

[wadams19]

ahh i totally asked the question about services economy in comment to a prior video. get out of my head! :)

[az9az9az9]

In Estonia we have same tend to make it look better than it really is.

We have soo called "registered unemployment" 14,6%. But same time many people have lost temporary status to be counted as unemployed.

Unemployed non students in working age 15-64yr is 30,7%

14,6 -VS- 30,7 %, pretty nice right :-)

[Hudson4351]

What is the difference between U2 and U3? What is the BLS definition of a "job loser"? What's the difference between a "job loser" in U2 and an unemployed person from U3?

[bobbobmarley27]

@MrExtramoney u cant...but u can play and beat economy

[cameling88]

@khanacademy

Where did you find the screen shot you took? I would like to find the page. I've been looking but can't find it.

[michaelaccounty]

Thank you very much.

[anonymous915]

Sounds like my experience in the early 80's - we were laid off so many times we didn't know if we were coming or going. When GE was hiring, I asked if they expected a layoff anytime soon - "No, not for a LONG time" the interviewer said. 6 mo. later I was looking for work...again. Interesting what they consider to be a "long time."

[thoughtchallenge]

If there is a silver lining it would be that these examples you give all indicate a spike pattern. Just like gasoline hitting $4.35/gallon, the unemployment/underemployment rate may hit a peak and drop off just as dramatically.