Comments on: Weekly Roundup: Unexpected Unemployment Results

By: Anthony D

Anthony D — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 05:38:05 +0000

Hello! Is it Okay if I ask anything kinda off topic? I am trying to view this page on my new iPad nonetheless it will not show up appropriately, do you may have any options? Thanks in advance!

By: Lizbeth Denbow

Lizbeth Denbow — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 18:19:06 +0000

Most of the blogs online are pretty much the same but i think that your blog can be an exception. Bravo !

By: Daddy Paul

Daddy Paul — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 17:27:24 +0000

Good read. I would not have been so pleasant in my assessment of Government figures.
How does the government know if someone is looking for work?
Example students coming out of school.
People finishing a two year job overseas with an overseas company.
People forced to retire.
People losing their businesses now looking for work.
I say unemployment 20% nationwide 28% in Michigan.

By: Daddy Paul

Daddy Paul — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:15:17 +0000

I think real unemployment is much higher How can you lose net jobs and the unemployment rate go down! I would guess the real unemployment rate here in Michigan at 25% or higher.

By: S J Alarcon

S J Alarcon — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:22:37 +0000

One can never believe the figures the so-called experts throw at you. If they claim it’s 10%, the figure might really be 20%. With unemployment this high how can anyone with a brain say that we are now experiencing a recovery? Nonetheless!

By: Looking for Freedom

Looking for Freedom — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 21:26:01 +0000

I keep hearing that the recession is over, but I’m really not seeing evidence of that, you know? Seems like we’re still in a high-risk zone and could tumble again at any given time. Plus, many of the jobs we lost may never come back, so recovery is sure to be slow.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 20:18:28 +0000

I believe unemployment figures also cease to include those whose unemployment benefits have run out.

Doesn’t make a whole lot of sense…

By: MLR

MLR — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 18:16:22 +0000

@ Len / FD –

The “true” unemployment rate is pretty hard to find. Just including incarcerated individuals (after all, they are not employed) would add roughly 1-2%. How about part-timers who would like to be full-time? Marginally attached workers?

The way the US calculates it, you typically see a surge in unemployment when the economy is about to boom because people are re-entering the workforce (either leaving school, graduating, deciding to give up being a homemaker, etc). There is a lag associated with them making that decision and them being counted as employed. In a recession, you typically see the unemployment rates stabilize at a lower than expected rate (people give up hope, decide to go back to school, resort to crime and become incarcerated, etc).

I don’t think there is one better way to calculate it as long as we remain consistent. If we are consistent on how we calculate the numbers, then all that really matters is the relativity of the data (versus historic data and future projections).

Economics

By: Kaye

Kaye — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 18:10:07 +0000

I’ve gotta’ say…your round ups are the best! I’ve been introduced to so many great articles/posts and blogs via them! Thanks for the great work!

By: Benjamin Dinsmore

Benjamin Dinsmore — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:28:20 +0000

Thank you very much for including my article in your article!

It was a little intimidating revealing such personal details about my family’s finances as we paid off over $90,000 of debt, but the supportive feedback in comments and emails from your readers reinforces that it was the right thing to do!

Thanks again, and be sure to check out the remaining articles in the series over the next week or two!