[geeks] Socialized medicine [was Re: nVidia 8800GT for Apple Mac Pro]

[Brian Dunbar]

Phil Stracchino wrote:
> Lionel Peterson wrote:
>> Unemployment rates are at 4.5-5% here right now, using the only
>> measure available.
> 
> Except that it's not the only measure available.  The "official"
> unemployment rate includes only one category:  People who lost their
> jobs and are receiving unemployment benefits or government-provided
> retraining.  If your unemployment benefits have run out, you're no
> longer considered unemployed.  Which is sort of like saying a systems
> failure after the sysadmin has gone home for the night doesn't count.
> Likewise, if the only work you can get is a single four-hour shift at
> MacDonalds per week, you're considered employed.  (A single hour per
> week gets you out of the "unemployed" list, in fact.)
> 
> There is another figure also provided by the Dept of Labor, which
> includes people whose benefits have run out and still haven't found work
> yet, and people who don't have jobs and want them, but have given up
> looking because they can't find work (there's a special term for them;
> the DoL calls them "discouraged workers").
> 
> That figure is rather higher ... it's currently running about 13%, if
> memory serves.
> 
> 

Are you talking about this category?

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t12.htm

                                                      ....
U-6 Total unemployed, plus all marginally attached workers, plus total
employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian
labor force plus all marginally attached workers

....
Apr 2007 - 7.9
....
Apr 2008 - 9.2



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Brian Dunbar
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