Wiser Worker Blog

What does the unemployment rate mean?  I know that when the number is HIGH lots of people are out of work, but what do the numbers really tell us? The U.S. current unemployment rate soared to 9.7% this month

People may hear these numbers but most don’t understand what they mean. The 9.7% unemployment rate does not represent the amount of United States citizens who are not working. Instead, it represents the amount of people actively seeking employment who cannot find it.

The type of unemployment being talked about here is largely something called cyclical unemployment, this refers to unemployment that rises during economic downturns and falls when the economy improves. This is a natural byproduct of the normal upward and downward movements of the economy. In other words, what goes up will eventually come down and then back up then back down. It’s a natural cycle and one we have lived through time after time.  

So with this definition in mind what has to happen for unemployment to go down is the economy must improve. However to those that are unemployed this may seem rather gloomy. However it will bounce back and because you are a older worker you are most likely the best qualified candidate for any position.

There you have it the unemployment rate explained.

These days you can’t open a paper, turn on the news or log on to your computer without hearing about the unemployment situation.   Every media outlet in the country is talking about how high the unemployment rate has gotten or about how hard it is to get a job. Today I logged on to msnbc.com and was hit by today’s article entitled “More states see jobless rate top 10 percent”.  On the surface this is a pretty eye catching topic, but then I started to wonder what does this all really; to me and then to you the job seeker.

So I dug deeper to take a look at what the unemployment rate is and what it means and how it affects you. So I started with my friends over at Wikipedia to get the boiled down version of the unemployment rate.  They define the unemployment as when a person is available to work and currently seeking work, but the person is without work, pretty cut and dry right; and the rate of unemployment is the number of people who are not working.  Who records and reports on this data?  I often wondered who was the keep of all this wonderful news……

The Current Population Survey (CPS) is a monthly survey of households conducted by the Bureau of Census for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They provide a comprehensive body of data on the: labor force, employment, unemployment and persons not in the labor force.

Where do the statistics come from? Because unemployment insurance records relate only to persons who have applied for such benefits, and because it is impractical to actually count every unemployed person each month, the Government conducts a monthly sample survey called the Current Population Survey (CPS) to measure the extent of unemployment in the country.  Click here, I actually have included the latest compilation of their unemployment reports.

This information is useful on many levels but it’s important to remember this…its just a report, there are jobs in your market.  If you are looking for a job, keep looking and visit wiserworker.com daily to see the newest opportunities for people just like you. While the unemployment rate is widely talked about it’s also just a number. You are a person who is looking for a job; in my mind that’s more important.

Continue to focus on finding a job because that’s what’s important!