Friday's headline U3 unemployment rate of 6.7% is probably an undercount of the number of out-of-work people in the United States, not by design, but by the peculiar circumstances of the pandemic. By adjusting the number of unemployed to include the number of people who are not in the labor force but want a job, the pandemic unemployment rate jumps to ... READ MORE >
pandemic unemployment rate
CHART OF THE DAY: Estimating unemployment during the pandemic
Friday's headline U3 unemployment rate of 6.9% understates the number of out-of-work people, not by design, but by the peculiar circumstances of the pandemic. In our estimation, this needs to be taken into account by policymakers around decisions on fiscal stimulus and other policies to stimulate employment. By adjusting the number of unemployed for ... READ MORE >
CHART OF THE DAY: What’s the real unemployment rate?
Estimates from the Department of Labor indicate that the pace of re-employment is slowing. Monthly increases in nonfarm payrolls fell for the third straight month, to 661,000 in September from nearly 1.5 million in August, and the unemployment rate decreased to 7.9%. But that decline masks the significant pain felt by the millions who have exhausted ... READ MORE >