[SeekAndFind]

RE: 1 in 6 American Men Between Ages 25-54 Are Not Working

That’s 16.6% unemployment right there. Yet our official rate is 6.3%.

I think it’s high time we do away with the current way of presenting unemployment and use a different measure to include those who are REALLY NOT WORKING and NOT EVEN LOOKING.

That would give us a better picture of how dire or how good the economy really is.

[george76]

Less than 59 percent of adults are employed.

[kabar]

In the fourth quarter of 2013, the standard unemployment rate (referred to as U-3) for native-born adults who have not completed high school was 16.6 percent, while for those with only a high school education it was 8.5. The U-3 unemployed are people who have looked for a job in the last four weeks.

The broader U-6 measure of unemployment — which includes those want to work, but have not looked recently, and those forced to work part-time — was 28.7 percent for native-born adults who have not completed high school and 16.5 percent for those with only a high school education.

The total number of native-born, working-age adults (18 to 65) of any education level not working (unemployed or out the labor force) was 50.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2012 — 8.8 million more than in the fourth quarter of 2007, and 14.7 million more than in the same quarter of 2000.

n the fourth quarter of 2013, there were only two working-age natives holding a job for every one that was not employed. This represents a huge deterioration. As recently as 2000, there were three working-age adults holding a job for every one not working.

[zeestephen]

Re: “I think it’s high time we do away with the current way of presenting unemployment.”

Yes, the headline number - 6.3% - has become meaningless.

The number that the “Weekly Standard” uses in this article comes from a better - but not perfect - measurement.

Namely: “Total Number Of Working Age Adults Who Have A Job.”

Last month, as I recall, that number was at a 35 year low.