Unemployment - what exactly does that mean? Part I

Unemployment means that you do not have a job or that you are simply unemployed. However this simple definition is not so simple when it comes to theory of economics and calculating unemployment figures. The unemployment rate is a mathematical calculation that is reported as a percentage. That formula is: Unemployment Rate = Unemployed Workers/Total Labor Force *100. Seems simple enough, right? You just find the figures for the categories above, plug them and majically you receive the unemployment rate. The current rate of unemployment is 4.7% and holding.

You are informed by the media and the government that they are happy that unemployment is holding at 4.7% and that this is good thing because the economy is holding steady. All the while you are sitting there wondering about where all the jobs are because you have been looking for the last six months and cannot find work. You might be thinking great, the unemployment and economy are allegedly steady but how can I afford $4.00 a gallon of milk? Economics as a whole is a rather odd area of study and sometimes makes as much sense as the current bankruptcy code that President Bush signed into law. Bottom line it that both the figures from economics and the logic of the bankruptcy code is that neither one is set in reality at all in my opinion.

Continue to Part II of Unemployment.