Why would anyone include those who have given up looking for work in unemployment figures? Their not unemployed, because they are not looking to be employed.
My brother is a good man with a family and he is a veterian of the Gulf War. He sat on unemployment until it almost ran out before looking for a job. He figured he's been paying into unemployment many years...he's gonna cash out. If I was laid off I would find a job before my benifits ran out. I would take 2 or 3 lower paying jobs before my house got repossed or my family was forced to eat Mac n Cheese twice a week. I don't know why our government pays people to sit at home, but I would rather not count them in the figure for those who are unable to find work.
They also don't account for "underemployed" people - engineers with years of experience who are now flipping burgers, stocking shelves, or otherwise working far below their level, or working part-time.
And now their losing those jobs to illegal immigrants. Wow! It must suck to be an engineer! We have always had people who don't want to work and people who can't find a job that suits there skills. How is that different than any previous year? What's the difference.
CNN - 5.6% Unemployment is 'low' (1996), 5.6% Unemlpoyment is high (Today)
Unemployment is 5.4% today.Economists didn't expect June's unemployment rate to be much different from May's, which was an already-low 5.6 percent. But in fact, it did fall -- to 5.3 percent. The unemployment rate hasn't been that low since June 1990.