The Real Unemployment Number: 102 Million Working Age Americans Do Not Have A Job

By Michael Snyder
Did you know that the number of working age Americans that do not have a job right now is far higher than it was during the worst moments of the last recession?  For example, in January 2009 92.6 million working age Americans did not have a job, but we just found out that in May the number of working age Americans without a job increased to just a shade under 102 million.  We’ll go over those numbers in more detail in a moment, but first I want to talk a bit about the difference between perception and reality.  According to the bureaucrats in the federal government, the “unemployment rate” in May was the lowest that we have seen in 16 years.  At just “4.3 percent”, we are essentially at “full employment”, and so according to them anyone that really wants a job should be able to find one pretty easily.
Of course that is a load of nonsense.  John Williams of shadowstats.com tracks what our economic numbers would look like if honest numbers were being used, and according to his calculations the unemployment rate is currently 22 percent.
So what accounts for the wide disparity between those numbers?
Well, the truth is that the official “unemployment rate” that the mainstream media endlessly hypes is so manipulated that it has essentially lost all meaning at this point.
In May, we were told that the U.S. economy added 138,000 jobs, but that is not even enough to keep up with population growth.
However, when you look deeper into the numbers some major red flags quickly emerge.  You won’t hear it on the news, but in May the U.S. economy actually lost 367,000 full-time jobs.  That is an absolutely nightmarish figure, and it confirms the fact that economic activity is starting to dramatically slow down.
But somehow the “unemployment rate” in May fell from “4.4 percent” to “4.3 percent”.
How in the world can they do that?
Well, for years the government has been taking large numbers of people from the basket known as “officially unemployed” and dumping them into another basket known as “not in the labor force”.  Since those that are “not in the labor force” do not count toward the official unemployment rate, they can make things look better than they actually are by moving people into that category.
In May, the government added a staggering 608,000 Americans into the “not in the labor force” category.  So now the number of working age Americans “not in the labor force” has reached a total of 94.98 million.  When you add that total to the number of Americans that are “officially” unemployed (6.86 million), you get a grand total of 101.84 million.
In other words, when you round up to the nearest million you get a grand total of 102 million Americans that do not have a job right now.
If you go back to January 2009, there were 81.02 million Americans that were “not in the labor force” and 11.61 million Americans that were considered to be “officially unemployed”.  And so that means that according to the federal government there were 92.63 million working age Americans that did not have a job at that point.
So if the number of working age Americans without a job has risen by 9.21 million since January 2009, are we really doing so much better than we were during the depths of the last recession?
Another way to look at this is by examining the civilian employment-population ratio.  Just before the last recession, about 63 percent of the working age population had a job, but then during the recession that number fell to between 58 and 59 percent for quite a while.  We have finally gotten back to the 60 percent mark, but we are still far, far below the level that we were at before the last recession struck.

And of course all of the above assumes that the numbers that the government is giving us accurately reflect reality, and that is highly questionable.
For example, according to one recent analysis the “business birth and death model” has accounted for 93 percent of all “new jobs” reported by the government since 2008…

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As our friends at Morningside Hill calculate, a full 93% of the new jobs reported since 2008 – 6.3 million out of 6.7 million – and 40% of the jobs in 2016 alone were added through the business birth and death model – a highly controversial model which is not supported by the data. On the contrary, all data on establishment births and deaths point to an ongoing decrease in entrepreneurship.

In essence, government bureaucrats pull a number out of the air and add jobs to the report based on an estimate of how many new businesses they think are being created in America in a particular month.
Is it possible that there is a chance that they are being overly optimistic when they make this estimate?
Most people have no idea that the “official numbers” that we get from the government are highly speculative, and there is always a temptation to make things look better than they actually are.
There is no way in the world that we are anywhere near “full employment”.  I hear from people all over the country that say that it is exceedingly difficult to find good jobs where they live.  And according to a brand new report that was just released, the number of job cuts in May 2017 was 71 percent higher than it was in May 2016.
We also know that over the past ten years the average rate of economic growth in the United States exactly matches the average rate of economic growth that the U.S. experienced during the 1930s.
I don’t see how anyone can possibly claim that the U.S. economy is doing well.  Just prior to the last recession there were 26 million Americans on food stamps, and now we have 44 million.  We are on pace to absolutely shatter the all-time record for store closings in a single year, and the number of homeless people living in Los Angeles County has risen by 23 percent over the past 12 months.
But once again, it is a battle of perception vs. reality.  Their televisions are endlessly feeding them the message that everything is just fine, and most Americans seem to be buying it, at least for now…

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2 thoughts on “The Real Unemployment Number: 102 Million Working Age Americans Do Not Have A Job”

  1. Many are jobless due to there being no jobs at all. President Trump’s policies have only begun to take effect to reverse this trend. Rebuild of the infrastructures should help improve job availability, similar to the TVA & WPA of the 1930’s.
    Then, there is the current employment environment itself; bullying, long hours, low pay, no benefits, usually 20 hours per week ,and unreasonable demands for the type of work being performed.
    It is important to realize that many of the 99er’s who have drawn the maximum unemployment benefit, are no off the rolls, and are no longer counted as being unemployed.
    The REAL unemployment figure based on those who are still unemployed and are now off the rolls still without employment post-Clinton, post-Bush and post-Obama is 39%! This may even be higher in the rural areas.
    The homeless are at an economic disadvantage, however;
    They are also out of the matrix in part; they are not paying taxes, having to deal with the banks, utility company smart meter rip-offs, and smart-ass bosses and co-workers on the job! Their lives are simple, with no one to really answer to! They can freely move about and not be tied down.
    When you take these factors into account, you will then see that people who end-up fired, laid-off, jobless, downsized, re-organized, under-employed etc. and who may be long-term unemployed have discovered that yes; having no steady income is a problem.
    But the trade off is total liberty, if not freedom itself from bills, responsibilities and obligations.
    Many homeless and jobless actually do work, and are paid cash under the table in some instances. Some work on-the-grid jobs, pay taxes, but don’t make enough to cover the cost of rent, etc.
    The Veterans are in a unique position, as they have been trained to live in survival conditions as the norm, so that the transition into a tent and one meal a day, while not really desirable, is an option. However, with the glut of Jayco trailers available under FEMA, these should be offered to Disabled Veterans and their families first, and then the non-disabled Veterans or Veterans with Compensation pending on a secondary basis.
    RV Parks similar to KOA, etc. could be set-up for Veterans, and other locations made available for those dispossessed.
    At least then they would have an address, a safe place to sleep, shower & toilet, and be able to check job postings in the RV Park’s Community Clubhouse.
    And once a week, reps from Job Service, Unemployment, Veterans Organizations & the Department of Veterans Affairs can come and do updates to claims, services, etc. and provide transportation to the DVA Clinics as needed!
    Those non-veterans who are in such a situation as well would have the same provided to them, minus the DVA unless they are the dependent or child of a deceased Veteran.
    The Campgrounds would later undergo a transformation from Jayco camper trailers to small homes, which is affordable, easy to build and build quickly, plus the infrastructure would have already been in place (ie water, sewer, street, lighting, etc.) The Jaycos would then be moved to another location until that location has upgrades, & eventually every homeless person, family and Veteran will have a home under the Trump Administration.

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  2. Absolutely correct, Wee Willie Wonkie; in fact, this story is currently running at Infowars, and I believe it’s also running over at Activist Post and Breitbart as well.
    The Mini Homes / Tiny Homes are stop-gap measures, to say the least, but: they are a short term solution to shelter, and it’s better than being on the street!
    From that pattern, the housing can be expanded.
    They also can by-pass a many-decades mortgage by going to this mini home / caravan / gypsy lifestyle.
    That’s why the populations in Europe and the UK have been taught to hate the Gypsies; they have no real matrixed or orchestrated responsibilities!
    However, a Roma lawyer has now approached the UNHRC about the continued Human Rights violations that are currently being committed against Roma, Gypsies, and the homeless on a global scale.
    Nowadays, in many areas of the U.S., it is a crime to be homeless and it has become an arrest offense.
    & just try to park a camper / RV / mini-home on land whether you lease or own the land; the county code enforcement will come around and declare your abode to be ‘not a permanent structure’ and will demand that it be moved or abandoned as a mainstay / primary home.
    Hence, one then has to enter into a lease agreement for an apartment, condo or house, OR you can become enslaved to the ZBC (Zionistt Banking Cartel) for enslavement to a mortgage.

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