The U6 unemployment rate tabulates not only people without work who are seeking full-time employment but also counts “marginally attached workers and those working part-time for economic reasons.”
Please take the time to study this graph of U-6 at the top and look carefully at the other numbers. What do you see? Seasonally adjusted U-6 unemployment is now
(as of July, we get our first read of August 2013’s numbers this Friday) 14.0%. This is not very different from where it was in January 2009, which is roughly 4 and one half years ago. While the overall trend is coming down from the high of 17.1%, the movement of the trend is (a) very slow and (b) already back up from March of this year.
Some good news then–at least we are moving the right direction. But bad news–to get back even to 2007 levels [in the 8% range] there is a LONG, LONG way to go!
Those of you who are data hounds (like yours truly) will appreciate the table here.
On Labor Day 2013 as Christians these figures should trouble us profoundly, as to desire work and not have it is one of the truly dehumanizing realities of life in the start of the 21st century–KSH.
The Current Numbers for Unemployment and Underemployment in America–Looking again at U-6
The U6 unemployment rate tabulates not only people without work who are seeking full-time employment but also counts “marginally attached workers and those working part-time for economic reasons.”
Please take the time to study this graph of U-6 at the top and look carefully at the other numbers. What do you see? Seasonally adjusted U-6 unemployment is now
(as of July, we get our first read of August 2013’s numbers this Friday) 14.0%. This is not very different from where it was in January 2009, which is roughly 4 and one half years ago. While the overall trend is coming down from the high of 17.1%, the movement of the trend is (a) very slow and (b) already back up from March of this year.
Some good news then–at least we are moving the right direction. But bad news–to get back even to 2007 levels [in the 8% range] there is a LONG, LONG way to go!
Those of you who are data hounds (like yours truly) will appreciate the table here.
On Labor Day 2013 as Christians these figures should trouble us profoundly, as to desire work and not have it is one of the truly dehumanizing realities of life in the start of the 21st century–KSH.