PAUL SOLMAN: Here are the new numbers from the Labor Department’s monthly survey of 60,000 households. The official number is what the government reports as U-3, 14.7 million unemployed as of June. That’s 9.5 percent.
U-4 adds discouraged workers who’ve stopped looking. That would make unemployment 10 percent.
U-5, marginally attached workers who say they’d take a job, but haven’t looked in a month. The number would then be up to 10.8 percent.
The most inclusive number, U-6, adds part-timers looking for full-time work, bringing the total to 16.5 percent.
Thank you for posting this! Americans need to be aware of the 16% figure and to prepare accordingly.