Double-Digit Unemployment
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Yes, it's here. From both
Mish and
Naked Capitalism I learn that the U-6 unemployment rate in the U.S. is now above 10%. To quote Naked Capitalism:
A very important point often missed in the discussion of unemployment figures is how they have been degraded refined over the years, with certain types of workers that used to be included in the labor pool now excluded from the "headline" unemployment figure, known as U-3. U-6, another measure of unemployment that has the broadest measure of unemployment ("Total unemployed, plus all marginally attached workers, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all marginally attached workers"). One can debate whether that figure is too inclusive, but it is closer to how many EU members define unemployment than the widely-reported U-3. U-6 was 11.0% in September, while U-3 was 6.1%.
Naked Capitalism quotes the
New York Times:
The highest level since the Great Depression, 10.8 percent, came in November and December of 1982 as the economy was shaking off a severe recession.
...though I don't know if in 1982 they were still using the U-6 measure, or the watered-down U-3 measure.
P.S. A few weeks ago, about the time the bailout was passed, I decided to start re-reading
Atlas Shrugged. So this came as something of a jolt, when I read it in the New York Times article:
"The steel mills, big suppliers to many sectors of the economy, are shutting 17 of the nation's 29 blast furnaces -- a startling indicator of how quickly output is declining as corporate America struggles to adjust to the spreading crisis."Brad - Sunday 26 October 2008 - 22:00:00 -
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