Learning Objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to do the following:- Calculate the labor force percentage and the unemployment rate
- Explain hidden unemployment and what it means to be in or out of the labor force
- Evaluate the collection and interpretation of unemployment data
Unemployment is typically described in newspaper or television reports as a percentage or a rate. An example report might say the following: From August 2009 to November 2009, the U.S. unemployment rate rose from 9.7 percent to 10 percent, but by June 2010, it had fallen to 9.5 percent. At a glance, the changes between the percentages may seem small. But remember that the U.S. economy has about 155 million adults who either have jobs or are looking for them. A rise or fall of just 0.1 percent in the unemployment rate of 155 million potential workers translates into 155,000 people, which is roughly the total population of a city like Syracuse, New York; Brownsville, Texas; or Pasadena, California. Large rises in the unemployment rate mean large numbers of job losses. In November 2009, at the peak of the recession, about 15 million people were out of work. Even with the unemployment rate now at 5.5 percent as of February 2015, about eight million people total are out of work.
Link It Up
The BLS tracks and reports all data related to unemployment.