[ScottfromNJ]

“I could care less the status of non working people who are NOT looking.”

The BLS assumes they’re not looking.

[khelus]

“I could care less the status of non working people who are NOT looking.”

The BLS assumes they’re not looking.

One of the cool things about the formulas used by the BLS to apply the results of their Household Survey to the general populace is their flexibility which allows them to adjust data 'as needed'.

[Praxeologue]

The Household Survey includes people who were not asked if they want a job as people who "do not want a job now". However, there must be more to John Williams' "long-term discouraged" workers number, which would have to be around twenty million. The 1994 change excluded workers who had not searched for twelve months, but that number, per the current Household Survey, is only 3.9 million. The Krugmans of the world and other loose money advocates just conclude that Williams is wrong and a conspiracy theorist on all counts, not just unemployment.

If you are aware of the labor market, then you know the real number is much higher than reported. How do you prove it, though, and how do you assess what appear to be serious shortcomings in Williams' methodology?