Saturday, January 2, 2010

Unemployment - Hide the Incline

Sort of the reverse of what the climate people do, but Tyler at Zero Hedge has an interesting article suggesting that:
While the government is willing to admit to a 10% unemployment rate, the numbers have been massaged since about March of last year, and the real U-3 unemployment rate is closer to 13%. Of course this would drive the U-6 up to about 22% which would match Shadowstats number from two posts back.

Remember, when you are told that the Happy Days Are Here Again because "only" 250,000 people were laid off last month as opposed to 255,000 who were laid off the month before, that the pool of unemployed is still growing, not shrinking.

2 comments:

Brad K. said...

I wonder. Has anyone considered that 20% people out of work, means that unemployed people will now be coming from the 80% still working, meaning that each new job loss counts 5/4 what the first job loss cost, to the economy?

Has anyone taken into account that people unemployed part or all of 2009 have mostly depleted savings, assets, and retirement accounts, instead of continuing to manage and grow them? Has this loss of investment asset to the economy been accounted for, in determining what can be taxed? That leaving people unemployed not only reduces the income that should have been taxed, but their assets have been withdrawn - permanently, as in destroyed - as a base for current and future wealth generation and tax revenue?

Gack.

Billll said...

It's called "transparency".