How come unemployment rate is at 9.6%?

[cstfx]

Quote from hajimow:

while we constantly lose 400K+ plus jobs every month. In good months we only lose 10,000 less than 400K+

You are confusing weekly jobless claims with monthly net employment gains (or losses) and even after this figure is corrected going out, we do not CONSTANTLY lose 400k jobs a month (net).

And as to why the employment rate stays the same, not all the unemployed are included in the survey.

n.b. I really wish they would take into consideration household job creation in these numbers as this survey is not an accurate portrayal of those actually "working".

 

[Kassz007]

Quote from hajimow:

It also seems that those who lose their hope in finding a job are not considered as unemployed anymore !!. There is an 8 month buffer for unemployment data. You are unemployed over 8 months, you are not included in data.

Disgruntled job seekers not being counted as unemployed is not new...

Need we debate the official unemployment rate calculation every single month?

 

[LeeD]

Quote from Kassz007:

Disgruntled job seekers not being counted as unemployed is not new...

Need we debate the official unemployment rate calculation every single month?

I think we do.

That's the core of understanding what those figures actually mean... or if they mean anything at all.