US unemployment rates not counting almost half of the unemployed

AFP Photo / Kevork Djansezian

While the official US unemployment rate lies just above 8 percent, the national “real” unemployment rate is lying at 15 percent in July.

The US government’s official unemployment rate, now at 8.3 percent, only takes into consideration those who have no job and are looking for work. This number is called a “U-3” rate. It does not count those who have stopped looking for work or who are working part-time.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics takes these other factors into consideration for data it calls the “U-6” – and these numbers are shockingly higher.

U-6 data includes “discouraged workers,” which the Bureau defines as people not in the labor force, but want and are available for work and had looked for a job in the prior year.

Those who have not looked for work in the prior month are not included in the U-3 unemployment rate.