7xstall
Well-Known Member
Dank, here's what i found while trying to figure out the unemployment numbers thing. looked for that thread where it came up but couldn't find it so posted here.
How the Government Measures Unemployment
The Unemployment Rate Myth
Posted by: Jon Henke on Thursday, May 18, 2006
Yesterday, for about the umpteenth time, I came across a common misconception about how the Unemployment Rate [UR] is calculated, so let's put this to rest. The misconception is that the unemployment rate is calculated using unemployment benefits, and when unemployment benefits expire usually after 6 months the person, though still unemployed, is no longer counted as part of the unemployment rate.
This is, of course, wrong.
Amusingly, when I contradicted the fellow laboring under this delusion, he responded that he was a "former president of [some State Employer's organization]" and a "close friend of [some high muckety-muck on some other business council]", so, he wrote, he spoke from "EXTREMELY knowledgable (sic) position. This is not opinion or hearsay - it IS fact."
Yeah, well, the Bureau of Labor Statistics the organization that actually puts together the official Unemployment Rate has a somewhat different version of the facts. In reality, the Unemployment rate is not calculated from unemployment benefits, but from the Current Population Survey. Each month, they contact about 60,000 households and if they "do not have a job, have actively looked for work in the prior 4 weeks, and are currently available for work", they are counted as unemployed.
In fact, the BLS specifically addresses this misunderstanding. From the BLS Website:
So, that's all cleared up. Please don't let your friends make that mistake again. It really annoys me.
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the above is from: http://www.qando.net/ - The Unemployment Rate Myth
How the Government Measures Unemployment
The Unemployment Rate Myth
Posted by: Jon Henke on Thursday, May 18, 2006
Yesterday, for about the umpteenth time, I came across a common misconception about how the Unemployment Rate [UR] is calculated, so let's put this to rest. The misconception is that the unemployment rate is calculated using unemployment benefits, and when unemployment benefits expire usually after 6 months the person, though still unemployed, is no longer counted as part of the unemployment rate.
This is, of course, wrong.
Amusingly, when I contradicted the fellow laboring under this delusion, he responded that he was a "former president of [some State Employer's organization]" and a "close friend of [some high muckety-muck on some other business council]", so, he wrote, he spoke from "EXTREMELY knowledgable (sic) position. This is not opinion or hearsay - it IS fact."
Yeah, well, the Bureau of Labor Statistics the organization that actually puts together the official Unemployment Rate has a somewhat different version of the facts. In reality, the Unemployment rate is not calculated from unemployment benefits, but from the Current Population Survey. Each month, they contact about 60,000 households and if they "do not have a job, have actively looked for work in the prior 4 weeks, and are currently available for work", they are counted as unemployed.
In fact, the BLS specifically addresses this misunderstanding. From the BLS Website:
Where do the statistics come from?
Some people think that to get these figures on unemployment the Government uses the number of persons filing claims for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits under State or Federal Government programs. But some people are still jobless when their benefits run out, and many more are not eligible at all or delay or never apply for benefits. So, quite clearly, UI information cannot be used as a source for complete information on the number of unemployed.
Unemployment insurance (i.e., state and federal unemployment benefits) statistics are reported by some areas, but "they are not used to measure total unemployment". The complete methodology is outlined here.Some people think that to get these figures on unemployment the Government uses the number of persons filing claims for unemployment insurance (UI) benefits under State or Federal Government programs. But some people are still jobless when their benefits run out, and many more are not eligible at all or delay or never apply for benefits. So, quite clearly, UI information cannot be used as a source for complete information on the number of unemployed.
So, that's all cleared up. Please don't let your friends make that mistake again. It really annoys me.
----
the above is from: http://www.qando.net/ - The Unemployment Rate Myth