Every now and then they let slip the accounting magic tricks they are pulling. Look for the term “Unemployment claims.” And the absence of the term “Full time.” They changed the “unemployment” formula to 1. Use applications for unemployment insurance as the measure of “unemployment.” A number that will consistently drop as less and less people working means less and less qualify to apply for unemployment insurance benefits when they lose their job. And, 2, they also use the generic term “jobs” to cover that they are now including part-time jobs in the formula. so a person with 2 part time jobs gets counted twice, etc.
Bottom line - its all smoke an mirrors.
When most unemployment was short term, the UI claims would be a better mirror of who’s “out of a job.”
Not only has the span of typical unemployment increased, but a lot of the employment still left has become contracts of set duration.
That shrugs off healthcare costs, too. I don’t know what the best answer is, but Obamacare isn’t it. Being able to tie such insurance to being in the workforce at least had the actuarial advantage of showing that you weren’t so sick you could not work. That kept it semi-affordable.