Sorry, been a while since I looked @ all these definitions and I was typing from memory. A discouraged worker is one who has looked for work at some point in t

Sorry, been a while since I looked @ all these definitions and I was typing from memory. A discouraged worker is one who has looked for work at some point in the last 12 months, but is no longer looking because they believe there is no work to be found. (and are often correct in aggregate) Where the BLS further skews the statistics is that discouraged workers who have been discouraged longer than 12 months just drop from the labor force completely, they are a hidden statistic. (I believe this definition was changed under the Clinton Administration)