Unemployment

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The labor department just released unemployment figures. The media outlets scream: MORE UNEMPLOYED SINCE 1992, NEARLY 598,000 JOBS LOST.

So I looked at the Department of Labor's website.

Sure enough: their press release lead paragraph is:

THE EMPLOYMENT SITUATION: JANUARY 2009


Nonfarm payroll employment fell sharply in January (-598,000) and the unem-
ployment rate rose from 7.2 to 7.6 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of
the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Payroll employment has declined
by 3.6 million since the start of the recession in December 2007; about one-
half of this decline occurred in the past 3 months. In January, job losses
were large and widespread across nearly all major industry sectors.

Then I took a look at Table A-1. Table A1

If I read it correctly, 5.643,000 people would like a job out of a non-institutional labor force of 153,716,000 workers.

I make that to be just under 3.7% of the workforce is seeking employment.

A year ago 3.3% of the non-institutional workforce was seeking a job.

It seems to me there is a difference between not choosing to work, and wanting to work.

Why does the DoL want to dramatize the higher number?

Something about the "Lying liars that lead them" maybe?