21 million unemployed?

[Hannah Bell]

The headline unemployment rate for December is the number every TV newscaster, economic blogger and talk radio host focused on Friday. That rate, the highest in 16 years, translates into 11.1 million Americans without jobs.

But 7.2 percent doesn't capture how many people are out of work. By another measure — from the same employment report — as much as 13.5 percent of the labor force is either unemployed or underemployed.

...Add them in and you're looking at 21 million unemployed or underemployed workers, representing 13.5 percent of the labor force.


COMPARING DECEMBER WITH PAST DOWNTURNS:

11.1 million: People unemployed in December 2008.

11.9 million: People unemployed in November 1982, the final month of the last recession of more than a year.

10.8 percent; 111.1 million: Unemployment rate and total work force in November 1982.

7.2 percent; 154.4 million: Unemployment rate and total work force in December 2008.

January 1993: Last time the unemployment rate was this high.

61.0 percent: Portion of the total population that had jobs in December.

January 1987: Last time the portion was this low.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iDry4KDCaXQ1WhEgwCVZdkvfCjwwD95JSAH83

[aquart]

1. At least.

[fasttense]

2. To put that into perspective, Illinois only has a population of about 13 million.

New York has a population of about 19.5 million. Only 2 states have a population of over 20 million - California and Texas.

The average state population size is about 4 million. So the number of unemployed can be said to equal about four states.