lies, damn lies, and statistics.
Mar. 2nd, 2003 01:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
strangeanimal(cross-posted to ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
unemployment)
... all stats from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics
Does anyone else think the "official" unemployment rate in the USA (5.7% - all stats for January 2003) sounds... um, kinda low? Given that we all know people who've been laid off, former white-collar people are working at Wal-Mart, and temp agencies are bursting at the seams, how can it be that only 8.3 million people are officially unemployed?
Well, that's because the "official" numbers leave a lot of people out. If you're working part-time, or temping... you don't count in the official numbers since you're considered "employed". If you've given up looking completely, you don't count.
When we add in those numbers, the picture gets clearer. 4.6 MILLION people are working part-time because they can't find full-time employment. 4.7 MILLION people have given up looking completely.
The new numbers: 17.6 million unemployed in the USA... that's 11.7% of the available labor force. One in eight people right now who can't find full-time work.
Scary, innit?
unemployment)... all stats from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics
Does anyone else think the "official" unemployment rate in the USA (5.7% - all stats for January 2003) sounds... um, kinda low? Given that we all know people who've been laid off, former white-collar people are working at Wal-Mart, and temp agencies are bursting at the seams, how can it be that only 8.3 million people are officially unemployed?
Well, that's because the "official" numbers leave a lot of people out. If you're working part-time, or temping... you don't count in the official numbers since you're considered "employed". If you've given up looking completely, you don't count.
When we add in those numbers, the picture gets clearer. 4.6 MILLION people are working part-time because they can't find full-time employment. 4.7 MILLION people have given up looking completely.
The new numbers: 17.6 million unemployed in the USA... that's 11.7% of the available labor force. One in eight people right now who can't find full-time work.
Scary, innit?
