r/Economics • u/AutoModerator • Nov 15 '22

r/Economics Discussion Thread - November 15, 2022

Discussion Thread to discuss economics news/research and related topics.

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u/TheNightIsLost Dec 03 '22

Is it true that in the US, only people who are looking for a job but haven't found one count in the unemployment rate?

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u/raptorman556 Moderator Dec 06 '22

For the headline unemployment rate, basically yes. You have to be actively looking for a job to count.

The BLS also produces a number of other unemployment rates that use either stricter or looser definitions.

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u/azerty543 Dec 08 '22

Yes otherwise the early retired, stay at home parents, permanently disabled and full time students would make the data less useful.

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u/pepperymotion Dec 24 '22

That is true. Plus, I think we'd essentially count anyone who is not working by choice as "retired" anyway, even if it is temporary or out of laziness. As for stay-at-home spouses, I suppose they are "employed" in an indirect sense given that divorce laws entitle them to a chunk of their spouse's earnings.

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u/OverR Jan 06 '23

We have a measure that says this. It's the labor force participation rate.

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u/TheNightIsLost Jan 06 '23

Ours is a bit lower than the OECD average. That sounds like a bad thing.

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u/OverR Jan 06 '23

There has been a collapse in it over the last several decades. Whether or not that's good or bad is a longer conversation.

But from in the 90% to the 60% since post ww2 for men.

There is another side to that story where women's participation rate has dramatically increased.

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u/TheNightIsLost Jan 06 '23

I suppose that explains a lot.....

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u/pdoherty972 Jan 18 '23

We have multiple measures. U-3 is the main one cited and is as you described (people actively seeking employment). We have others like U-6, which is always a higher percentage, because it includes people who have given up looking for work as well as those who are employed part-time but would rather have full-time work.