A Miserable Job Market Leads Many To Stop Looking

[Donnachaidh]

http://www.npr.org/2011/06/16/137219412/a-miserable-job-market-leads-many-to-stop-looking

The official unemployment rate, the headline number that comes out every month, was 9.1 percent in May. It measures how many people are out of work and looking for a job.

Then there's the U-6, which is technically the broadest measure of unemployment. It includes people who are underemployed — meaning they want more work — and people who have stopped looking; perhaps they've decided to go back to school or they've just given up their quest for work. That rate is 15.8 percent.

The people who keep track of this are at the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Thomas Nardone, an assistant commissioner there, describes one subset of this number as discouraged workers.

"Discouraged workers are people who have looked sometime in the prior 12 months, and the reason they are not currently looking is because they think there are no jobs available or no jobs available for which they would qualify," he says.

MORE at the link --

[RKP5637]

1. IMO the U-6 should be the only number that counts. The other is just BS feel

good stuff. Hence, I consider the unemployment rate to be 15.8%. 9.1% is just BS.

[endless october]

2. agreed. nt

[sendero]

11. Exactly.

.... the U1 number is for the rubes.

[Sirveri]

12. U-3 is the official rate, not U-1.

[sendero]

15. Yes.

.... thank you. U6 is almost double U3 and U6 is the real number without idiotic subterfuge such as "they gave up because things are so bad so they are no longer unemployed".

[Sirveri]

16. well no technically that's the U5 rate. U6 includes people with jobs.

And none of the rates account for everyone. but bls.gov does give hard data on employment numbers so it might be possible to recreate an authentic U3 or U5 or U6 rate.

Just don't sort by race, cause then it gets real scary if you happen to also be black.

[Sirveri]

13. I prefer U5, and I'd like U6-U5 separated out.

That would give us the actual unemployment rate, and then a separate underemployment rate. Underemployed at least has something, while unemployed desperately needs immediate help. They're both problems though, underemployed probably points more to GINI inequality than labor market over saturation.

[PSPS]

3. Even the U-6 is cooked

The U-6 doesn't include long-term discouraged workers because they were defined out of existence by Clinton in 1994. If you add those back in, the real unemployment/underemployment rate is over 20%.

[DCBob]

4. Hard to not blame them.. job hunting sucks..

It can have major negative affects on ego, self confidence and sense of importance as one gets rejected over and over again. It can often lead to serious depression. Hope this job situation improves soon.

[girl gone mad]

9. Hope is not a plan.

That should be the lesson of 2008, if nothing else.

[DCBob]

14. never said it was a "plan"..

is there something wrong with hoping for good things for those unemployed??

[TBA]

5. That's me!

I can't take it anymore. I've applied for everything, anything ... nothing.

I've resigned myself to abject poverty since I do not get unemployment (was 1099).

As a last resort I may end up living with my sister and doing her housework/cooking/errands in exchange for room and board.

Will be applying for food stamps soon when my savings are gone.

I have worked since I was 15 (51 now).

The worst part is the boredom.

Every time I think I might have a chance and it slips through my fingers I have to deal with severe depression that lasts for days.

It is a complete mind fuck.

You think you should spend your mental and emotional energy job hunting but that means dealing with the depression.

Then you think... well I should just resign myself to the fact that I will have nothing and be nothing until I die and strangely that seems easier.

I hate when people say "Oh you will find something soon" and other worthless platitudes. They have no idea how brutal it is out here.

In a sick sorta way I kinda hope everything would just crash so I would not be so alone...

[Donnachaidh]

6. hey TBA -- welcome to DU

:hug:

We hear ya. My DH went through a year and a half of it, and finally found something with a 25% pay cut. We went through ALL of what you ae going through.

[TBA]

7. Thanks

Not actually new to DU - but lost login info.

I wish I had a spouse or kids who had made it - (one disabled, one also unemployed).

I do have sis but that means moving back to FL where I would get no health care.

At least in CA food stamps are a decent amount and I can see a Doc once I am eligible for Medi-Cal.

See ... I once was a tax paying citizen.

Now I will be a drain on the economic health of our country.

For the life of me I cannot understand how it makes sense for our government to be ok with this.

Multiply me by millions ... This is unsustainable folks.

[Dawson Leery]

8. I know of a few that graduated in 2007 and still cannot find stable work.

[notadmblnd]

10. I was there. And on the occasion that I did have a job interview, I couldn't get through it without

crying. finally, I went to the Dr. for my depression. I hadn't worked since 2004. I finally found a job last August through Craigslist. It's not glamorous. In fact, it's literally a shit job. Just yesterday, I cleaned a house, the owner must have had an ass blowout. There was shit all over the toilet, there was shit all over the shower wall. when I had finished cleaning up- after this poor well to do slob, I went down the hall to the next bathroom. Not just the bowl, but the side of the tank, the wall and the handle. Not only that, it was under the rug on the floor! I just couldn't imagine how one has an accident and gets shit under the rug and not on top of it? I found myself thinking, how can a grown adult not have enough self respect to shit all over himself and instead of cleaning it up-leave it for the housekeeper? But I digress.

It is better pay than what I would earn working for Wal-Mart or some fast food joint. The hours are pretty flexible and I like the freedom of not sitting in one place all day. Plus, I've lost a good 40 pounds since last August. I earn enough to support my son and a sister who is going through the same as what you are going through. It is difficult and I don't pressure her to do anything. She's on anti-depressants and unlike me, they don't seem to be working for her. She does- but, I don't ask her to do anything for me. I do get tired of seeing her in bed and try to encourage her to get out of the house (she doesn't leave for weeks at a time). Sometimes, I feel that I'm enabling her to continue on as she does, but I fear that if I push her to hard, she may attempt suicide (she's already done that once. When things got tight and her husband bailed).

I said all that I guess- to tell you that you are not alone. So many are right there with you or have been there and despite finally getting a job are still struggling. I am off all my anti-depressants now. And when I begin to feel like a having a little pity party for myself- I tell myself that there are others who have it so much worse.

I also want to tell you to look over Craigslist. Often smaller companies are hiring. Besides some of these general labor jobs, there are some little gigs like helping someone move or doing weekend yard work or small construction projects that people post for help with that could give you some cash for personal expenses. But don't give up and don't isolate yourself. Even if you have to live with your sister. Good luck!

I didn't mention that my former career was in IT. 28 years and not old enough to retire. And the good news is- just another 2 years and I get m pension- if it still exists.

[ck4829]

17. Where did the CCC go? Where did the WPA go?

We need these programs now as much we needed them back in the New Deal. Democrats need to stand up and refuse to work with Republicans or Obama until these programs are revived.