They did an interesting piece on what the real unemployment rate is -- and some of the factors that go into it.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/economy/july-dec03/unemployment_07-29.htmlConclusion:
PAUL SOLMAN: So not only do the incarcerated make today's unemployment rate for men seem lower than it should be because so many more of them are behind bars, they may suppress the rate for years to come by becoming disproportionately discouraged workers once they re-enter society. That then ends the list of adjustments. Add them all up, and today's 6.4 percent official unemployment rate approaches 1982's 10.8 percent record, at least for men. There's one last way to confirm this. Back in 1982, the percent of total working age men not employed for whatever reason-- discouraged, disabled, jailed, retired early, or officially out of work-- was 17.3 percent. But as of last month, that total was even higher: 17.8 percent not employed, which make the current job bust, at least for men, look far deeper than the official unemployment rate suggests.
***So, you take a place like where I am (Portland) with a stated 8.7% unemployment rate......and add the real numbers to it...and you get something like 25%... I think that's about right.
Shoot, if the govt is willing to say 9 million are without jobs.....what must the REAL number be?