U6 Unemployment rate hits 12.5%

[RedEarth]

Broader Unemployment Rate Hits 12.5%, RTE: The headline unemployment rate of 6.7% in November isn’t the only one the Labor Department reports. They also break the rate down by age, gender, ethnicity, and education. And in table A-12, on page 19 of the report, they also share their broadest estimate of the unemployment rate, which includes the total unemployed (the standard rate) plus “all marginally attached workers, plus total employed part time for economic reasons… plus all marginally attached workers.”

That rate (called “U-6”) in November? A whopping 12.5%. ...

http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2008/12/more-bad-employ.html

[Hawkowl]

1. More historically accurate

The U6 measurement more closely resembles the unemployment rate reported before Reagan changed the definition of U3 to make his recession not seem as bad.

[GainesT1958]

2. "U-6" counts "discouraged' workers...

Making it by far the most accurate unemployment stat. That's the REAL unemployment rate we're looking at for this recession right now, folks. :-(

B-)

[Hawkowl]

4. Bush Depression

It's not a recession! It's a Bush Depression!

Seriously, we need to take a page out of Rove's manual and preemptively name this as the Bush Depression before the media whores start trying to pin this on Obama.

[valerief]

3. It feels like the mid-70s again. nt