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BLS considers 6 levels of unemployment, U1-U6, which covers all of this. We commonly report U3 to match historical definitions and how other countries report th

BLS considers 6 levels of unemployment, U1-U6, which covers all of this. We commonly report U3 to match historical definitions and how other countries report their numbers. And nothing in the way it's measured has changed. Also U1-U6 move pretty much in lockstep, so there is no real need to report the various flavors except for academic checking. > Many unemployed give up after a while. The labor force participation rate has been ticking up, so those who once left are now returning. And unemployment is decreasing. And median wages are increasing. https://www.bls.gov/cps/cps_htgm.htm https://www.bls.gov/cps/cps_htgm.htm https://www.bls.gov/charts/employment-situation/civilian-labor-force-participation-rate.htm https://www.bls.gov/charts/employment-situation/civilian-lab...

dexen 7y ago
Thank you for the informative comment. Through the years I've seen various far fetched explainers about U1...U6 supposedly obscuring the real state of the economy. You made it clear for me, as practical & pragmatic measures.
- ChrisLomont 7y ago
  Yeah, unemployment numbers, like inflation numbers, draws a whole host of crazy ideas, but all can be debunked with a little careful research on the why of things, and by checking some external consequences if these numbers are a lie. If you want to see something neat, here is a graph from FRED of U1-U6, showing how well correlated they are. You can download the datasets (I have) and fiddle with them. At the end of the day, U3 is a really good number because it's used internationally and historically, allowing comparisons. The others are nice too, if for nothing else than to counter the people that dislike the definition of U3 and think it's a scam. It's all tracked for all to see. https://fredblog.stlouisfed.org/2015/05/the-many-flavors-of-unemployment/?utm_source=series_page&utm_medium=related_content&utm_term=related_resources&utm_campaign=fredblog https://fredblog.stlouisfed.org/2015/05/the-many-flavors-of-...

dexen 7y ago

Thank you for the informative comment. Through the years I've seen various far fetched explainers about U1...U6 supposedly obscuring the real state of the economy. You made it clear for me, as practical & pragmatic measures.

ChrisLomont 7y ago
Yeah, unemployment numbers, like inflation numbers, draws a whole host of crazy ideas, but all can be debunked with a little careful research on the why of things, and by checking some external consequences if these numbers are a lie. If you want to see something neat, here is a graph from FRED of U1-U6, showing how well correlated they are. You can download the datasets (I have) and fiddle with them. At the end of the day, U3 is a really good number because it's used internationally and historically, allowing comparisons. The others are nice too, if for nothing else than to counter the people that dislike the definition of U3 and think it's a scam. It's all tracked for all to see. https://fredblog.stlouisfed.org/2015/05/the-many-flavors-of-unemployment/?utm_source=series_page&utm_medium=related_content&utm_term=related_resources&utm_campaign=fredblog https://fredblog.stlouisfed.org/2015/05/the-many-flavors-of-...