So I’m just wondering, is our national unemployment really at an all-time low? US Labor Board has our unemployment at a low, 8.5%, since the great national shit-pants crash of 2008. However, every time I read these statistics, I always read the fine print and notice that they measure this percentage by the number of people who are still collecting unemployment.
Let me reiterate: the 8.5% unemployment means the number of people vs. the national total who are collecting unemployment. Have you noticed that gobs of your friends, neighbors, and relatives, are complaining that their unemployment has ended, meaning that they’ve been on it since 2008, haven’t found a job, and now their grace period has run out?
So, to recap: the reported unemployment rate is going down, not directly related to whether or not it’s actually going down, but directly related to how many people are actually collecting unemployment.
I’m not suggesting that it isn’t going down; I am suggesting that this figure isn’t accurate based on how much of the nation is now officially worse off than they were in 2008 because they have both no job, and no unemployment benefits anymore. I do believe the economy is getting better, but I don’t believe it’s really at 8.5%. Really, all this number is good for is celebrating that there’s less draw on state and local government funding (Republicans, rejoice!).
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