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Sunday, September 6, 2015

A look at the U-3 and U-6 Unemployment numbers.

This is a quick look at the U-3 unemployment rate vs the U-6 rate: 
CNBC: The Labor Department said Friday that the U-3 unemployment rate fell to 5.1 percent in August—but does that tell the real story? The BLS defines U-6 as "total unemployed, plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force," plus all marginally attached workers. 
Note: The U-6 numbers are typically used against Democrats, while the U-3's lower rate is used exclusively to support Republican governors:
  
The U-6 rate dipped in August to 10.3 percent, the lowest since June 2008. The overall trend in the U-6 has been more volatile than the main unemployment rate (also known as the U-3). Take today's release (5.1) with a grain of salt, though: Jobs figures for the past ten Augusts have been revised upward by an average of 58,000 jobs, according to a Reuters analysis of news releases and subsequent revisions. August is the most common month for estimates to miss, likely due in part to seasonal adjustment.

2 comments:

  1. No one is lying, you paranoid frightened conservative freak!

    ReplyDelete
  2. So which number is the correct one? The U3 number or the U6 number?

    Please enlighten me with your marxist wisdom.

    ReplyDelete