The US government reports two different unemployment statistics. The one we are most familiar with is the one most talked about in the news media, something called the “U-3 unemployment rate.” It currently hovers just under 10%.
There is also the less well-known “U-6″ rate, which is now over 17%. It includes what the Bureau of Labor Statistics calls “involuntary part time, underemployed workers” and “discouraged” workers who have stopped looking.
For people struggling to stay positive after a year or more of unemployment, I’m sure that even the higher number must seem too low.
