So I keep hearing that we measure unemployment differently now than during the great depression. I googled and found this amusing visual display:
Current Unemployment Rate & Statistics 2009 - Job Layoffs, Loss | Mint.com Blog | Personal Finance News & Advice
But it doesn't exactly cite it's source. According to this link if we highlighted the "U6" unemployment number instead of the "U3" we'd be at 13.5% unemployment, and if we measured the same way we did during the great depression, it would be 17%+.
So how accurate is that? What's being left out? We hear the doom and gloom, but so far my circle of family and friends has waaay less than 1 in 5 unemployed, more like 1 in 10 underemployed, but at least with some sort of job. I'm not refusing to believe the government would spin numbers positively, but if the above claims are true, where are the breadlines and hoovervilles?
Current Unemployment Rate & Statistics 2009 - Job Layoffs, Loss | Mint.com Blog | Personal Finance News & Advice
But it doesn't exactly cite it's source. According to this link if we highlighted the "U6" unemployment number instead of the "U3" we'd be at 13.5% unemployment, and if we measured the same way we did during the great depression, it would be 17%+.
So how accurate is that? What's being left out? We hear the doom and gloom, but so far my circle of family and friends has waaay less than 1 in 5 unemployed, more like 1 in 10 underemployed, but at least with some sort of job. I'm not refusing to believe the government would spin numbers positively, but if the above claims are true, where are the breadlines and hoovervilles?