CNSNews.com) – The “real” unemployment rate rose from 13.6% in September to 13.8% in October, according to figures released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
Though the national unemployment rate is 7.3%, the “real” unemployment rate is a broader measure of the number of people in the United States, 16 and older, currently looking for jobs.
Known as the U-6 unemployment rate, this “real” unemployment figure, seasonally adjusted, includes the unemployed “plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force, plus total employed part time for economic reasons ….”
The U-6 rate captures the fuller picture of people who are willing and able to work, but cannot find a job.
Real unemployment is represented by the blue line below
It includes all those in the civilian labor force who are unemployed, all those in the civilian labor force who are employed part time but need full time, and all those conveniently not in the civilian labor force who need work: