Abbott & Costello on how to compute unemployment. :)

[John Schmidt]

I have been trying to pound this into people's heads for years:  Once you run out of unemployment benefits you are no longer considered unemployed by government statisticians. No one listens to me. I hope Abbott & Costello have better luck, albeit posthumously!
 
ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT!
 
COSTELLO:  I want to talk about the unemployment rate in America  .
 
ABBOTT: Good Subject.  Terrible Times.  It’s 5.6%.
 
COSTELLO:  That many people are out of work?
 
ABBOTT: No, that’s 23%. 
 
COSTELLO: You just said 5.6%.
 
ABBOTT:  5.6% Unemployed.
 
COSTELLO:  Right 5.6% out of work.
 
ABBOTT: No, that’s 23%.
 
COSTELLO: Okay, so it’s  23% unemployed.
 
ABBOTT: No, that’s 5.6%.
 
COSTELLO:  WAIT A MINUTE. Is it 5.6% or 23%?
 
ABBOTT: 5.6% are unemployed.  23% are out of work.
 
COSTELLO: If you are out of work you are unemployed.
 
ABBOTT:  No, Obama said you can’t count the “Out of Work” as the unemployed.  You have to look for work to be unemployed.
 
COSTELLO: BUT THEY ARE OUT OF WORK!!!
 
ABBOTT: No, you miss his point.
 
COSTELLO:  What point?
 
ABBOTT:  Someone who doesn’t look for work can’t be counted with those who look for work. It wouldn’t be fair.
 
COSTELLO: To whom?
 
ABBOTT: The unemployed. 
 
COSTELLO: But ALL of them are out of work. 
 
ABBOTT: No, the unemployed are actively looking for work. Those who are out of work gave up looking and if you give up, you are no longer in the ranks of the unemployed.
 
COSTELLO: So if you’re off the unemployment roles that would count as less unemployment?
 
ABBOTT: Unemployment would go down. Absolutely!
 
COSTELLO: The unemployment just goes down because you don’t look for work?
 
ABBOTT: Absolutely it goes  down. That’s how it gets to 5.6%. Otherwise it would be 23%.
 
COSTELLO: Wait, I got a question for you. That means there are two ways to bring down the unemployment number? 
 
ABBOTT: Two ways is correct.
 
COSTELLO: Unemployment can go down if someone gets a job?
 
ABBOTT: Correct.
 
COSTELLO: And unemployment can also go down if you stop looking for a job?
 
ABBOTT: Bingo. 
 
COSTELLO: So there are two ways to bring unemployment down, and the easier of the two is to have people stop looking for work.
 
ABBOTT: Now you’re thinking like a Democrat.
 
COSTELLO:  I don’t even know what the hell I just said! 
 
ABBOTT: Now you’re thinking like Hillary.

[old2soon]

Good un John.  ALWAYS liked Abbott and Costello.  2 true comedians who COULD/WILL get their point across without vulgarity.     RIDE SAFE.

[Robert]

Good one, I will not listen to the man but for a second in someones car I heard, that he says the most new jobs created, yes but what about all those who lost jobs in the downturn just before all those new jobs came out? Nothing he said is the whole truth.


For December 2015 the official U-6 unemployment rate was 9.8% up from 9.6% in November. While the independently produced Gallup equivalent called the “Underemployment Rate” was 13.8% in October, 14.4% for November and 14.0% in December.

The current differential between Gallup and BLS on supposedly the same data is 4.2%! or roughly a 43.75% margin of error!

the unadjusted U-6 unemployment rate was 15.2% in December 2011 and 14.4% in December 2012. By July it bounced up again to  15.2% and in October the U-6 miraculously fell back to 13.9% just in time for the election. But by January 2013 it was back to 15.4%. By January 2014 it was at 13.5% and by October 2014 it was down to the 11% range. In January 2015 it bounced back up to 12% but promptly returned to 10.4% by April.

[art]

Not knowing the exact figures it seems that if they add up all the new jobs the gov. created every month we would have about 140% of the people working. Something don't add up.

[cookiedough]

I don't hold much faith in those numbers being unemployed.  

If say 10%, that is 1 in 10 American are unemployed,  that to me is a LOT.

Even 5% is 1 in 20 unemployed,  that is about right but still a lot of people.

I wonder how the percentage of unemployed is considered where I work having roughly 70% of their entire workforce being 'seasonals' not full time with NO benefits working 'on an as needed on call' basis say 25-32 hours per week on average for most of the year?  Most receive unemployment benefits say 5-8 grand per year when not working over 32 hours per week, but a lot do not use up even 1/2 of that unemployment since mgmt. and HR like to keep as many 'seasonals' working around 30-32 hours tops so as to NOT have to pay much into unemployment either yet also NOT having to give health insurance to them as well since not full time.  Cheap _astards!