They’ve probably been unemployed for over 6 months, and then you aren’t unemployed, you drop from the labor force participation rate.
Yup. This was the big trick during the Great Recession. People were out of work for a long time. Therefore it doesn’t count. They “gave up”.
Of course nobody asked them if they “gave up”. We’re just going to say they did because if we counted them, it would look bad for the government.
There are a lot of jobs available, but at minimum wage. Fast food joints, restaurants, retail clerks, etc. Few can afford to live on those wages unless they work 60-80 hours a week. Some places are raising their wages but that fuels inflation.
Here in southern California a one-bedroom apartment in a nice area goes for $1,800/month. You have to make three times that much in income to qualify on the apartment application.