Here’s a humorous clip going over some of the machinations the BLS uses in their calculations of the unemployment rate.
The other thing to keep in mind regarding the unemployment rate is that the way it’s calculated is completely different than it was during the great depression. In short, during the depression, if you were of employable age and without a job, you were considered unemployed regardless of if you were a discouraged worker or a teenager.
I do have to pose the question. If the US economy really came out of recession in the third quarter 2009, then why are sales tax and income tax receipts still declining? As I’ve said before the consumer is 70% of our economy. No consumer spending, no real economic growth.
