US Job Market Outlook
With 92 million unemployed or under-employed Americans, the country's employment statistics have entered a new era; they reflect the people in the market searching for jobs and leave out those who have thrown in the towel.
That includes a large number of baby-boomers, people with lots of experience in their chosen careers, who lost jobs and then had to accept whatever they could find to get by. This widespread reduction in worker's incomes, combined with the people who have dropped out of the job-seeking market, have a real impact on the economy.
The U-6 unemployment rate is a better reflection of the job market. The U-3 rate is the one you hear cited on the news and from the White House. The enormous discrepancy between the U-3 and U-6 unemployment rates is the difference between a feel-good rate and reality. The U-6 statistic shows the full, real unemployment picture. The U-3 unemployment figures ignore people who were not actively seeking work during the four weeks preceding the unemployment survey.
The current U-3 rate that is often cited as evidence of an improving job market is 5.6 percent. The U-6 is currently 11.3 percent.